Accused cop killer Markeith Loyd to face death penalty again, judge says

A judge decided Tuesday that accused cop killer Markeith Loyd will face the death penalty again.

Defense attorney Ted Marrero made another attempt at sparing his life, but to no avail.

Loyd is accused of killing his ex-girlfriend Sade Dixon, her unborn baby, and Orlando Police Department Lt. Debra Clayton.

Marrero claims that State Attorney Aramis Ayala should never have had the case taken away from her.

Defense attorney Ted Marrero is arguing that the @FLSupremeCt's ruling upholding @FLGovScott's decision to take cases away from @DonellAyalaEsq was wrong, at least in the case of #MarkeithLoyd. #WFTV
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) September 11, 2018

Marrero: “[Ayala] made determinations about this case, Markeith Loyd’s case specifically, prior to making determinations about the rest of the cases" that were ultimately taken from Ayala based on her blanket announcement of refusing to seek the #deathpenalty. #WFTV
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) September 11, 2018

Attorneys said Ayala decided not to subject Loyd to the death penalty before she made a blanket decision about the rest of her cases.

ORANGE COUNTY, Fla. — WATCH: Jailhouse videos of Markeith Loyd speaking with family

"I disagree that the supreme court ruling applies to this case specifically," Marrero said. "In this situation, with Ms. Ayala, her determination has been completely above-board."

MOTION DENIED by Judge Lauten: “Under starre decisis, I’m bound by [the Florida Supreme Court's] decision and I’m going to deny the motion to strike the state's notice of seeking the death penalty.” #WFTV
— Field Sutton (@EFieldSutton) September 11, 2018

Marrero stated in court that he planned to file a motion seeking Dixon's medical records, saying, “Since Mr. Loyd is accused of killing an unborn fetus, we have constitutional questions about that and we’ll be filing a more detailed motion seeking those.”

The defense still has several other motions related to the death penalty.

A hearing is scheduled for Oct. 3.

The dates for the first of three trials have not been released.