An apparent medical incident involving Bessman Okafor during the penalty phase of his murder trial shut down the entire Orange County Courthouse for about 30 minutes Thursday afternoon.

The judge called for an immediate recess around 2 p.m. Thursday after Okafor, who was convicted Wednesday of murdering 19-year-old Alex Zaldivar in 2012, was seen rocking back and forth at the defense table.

Moments later, a medical team was seen coming through the courtroom. Deputies would not let anyone into the building for about a half-hour.

Okafor was taken to the hospital. Court is scheduled to resume Friday at 8:30 a.m.

Outside the courthouse, supporters of both the killer and the victim were having words with each other. Okafor faces a possible death sentence for killing Zaldivar, who was scheduled to testify against Okafor in court the next day.


Deputies block the entrance to the Orange County Courthouse after a medical emergency involving Bessman Okafor, Thursday, Aug. 27, 2015. (Amanda McKenzie, Staff)

The same jurors who convicted Bessman Okafor on Wednesday must now decide if he should be sentenced to death for murdering Alex Zaldivar.

As the penalty phase of Okafor's trial began Thursday, the surviving victims and Zaldivar's family members relived the horrific night nearly three years earlier.

Kyoko Zaldivar, Alex's mother, cried through much of her testimony Thursday.

"A mother always feels what their children feel," she said. "The day Alex died, a piece of me died with him."

Prosecutors said they planned to call more of Zaldivar's family members to give victim impact statements. They will also show the jury a video montage featuring photos throughout Zaldivar's life, up until his funeral.


Alex Zaldivar would have turned 22 on Wednesday, Aug. 26, 2015, the same day Bessman Okafor was convicted of his murder.

The first to take the stand Thursday was Brienna Campos, one of Zaldivar's roommates who survived the shooting. She has now testified five times against Okafor, each time having to relive those night she nearly died and witnessed her roommate's murder.

On the stand Thursday, Campos had to focus on the pain she felt and was able to speak freely about her memories of her friend.

"He was soft-spoken when you first met him, really polite and well-mannered," Campos said of Zaldivar. "As you slowly get to know him, he gets more comfortable, and it's just jokes left and right, so you’re just laughing all around him. He was extremely athletic. We did a lot of sports together when we had free time after school."

Campos also told the jury Zaldivar was a first-year student at Valencia College studying business. She said he worked part-time and was able to fully support himself at just 19 years old.

The defense said it plans to present Okafor's education records as it relates to his poor childhood, and will call upon evidence from a psychologist.

The jury will decide whether to recommend the death penalty for Okafor, but it will ultimately be up to a judge to make the final decision.