The judge presiding over the case of the accused gunman in the April 17 mass shooting at Florida State University agreed to push his trial back again — this time until next fall.
On Oct. 1, Leon Circuit Judge Lance Neff granted a defense motion to continue the trial of Phoenix Ikner, setting a new trial date for Oct. 19, 2026. The 20-year-old former FSU student is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in the shooting.
During a hearing last month, Neff set what he indicated was a firm trial date in March 2026 for Ikner, who faces the death penalty. However, the defendant’s appointed attorney, Blake Johnson of the Office of Criminal Conflict and Civil Regional Counsel, asked for more time in a Sept. 25 motion.
In a five-page order, Neff granted the request, with instructions. Though he called it an “imperfect analogy,” he noted that the Manhattan Project took less than three years to go from “theoretical physics” to detonation of an atomic bomb in 1945.
“Defendant’s counsel now has 410 days from the date of his notice of appearance to the start of trial,” Neff wrote. “Counsel would be well-advised to spend that time wisely, efficiently and in compliance with all the laws we have sworn to uphold.”
In his motion for a continuance, Johnson wrote that there are more than 250 witnesses and hundreds if not thousands of hours of video evidence in the case. He also said his agency has only two lawyers to handle death penalty cases across 32 counties and is litigating six other such cases. Johnson also represents Chloe Spencer, who is accused in the May 19 child-abuse murder of her 5-year-old daughter, Missy Mogle.
Neff earlier signaled he would not give Ikner’s lawyer more time to prepare for trial. During a Sept. 10 hearing, he set a court date for March 30, 2026, saying that gave the defense “way more time than what the Supreme Court deems as required” to prepare. He later told the parties the date was “not aspirational,” according to the defense motion.
Two people, Robert Morales, a 57-year-old dining coordinator at FSU, and Tiru Chabba, a 45-year-old Aramark employee from Greenville, South Carolina, were killed in the shooting. Five students were shot and injured and later released from the hospital. Two others were shot at but not struck.
Ikner is being held without bond in the Wakulla County Detention Facility. His trial is expected to last three weeks.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Judge sets new trial date for accused Florida State University mass shooter
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
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