After repeated requests by the defense, the judge in the 2025 Florida State University mass shooting case agreed to push back the trial date, this time until well into 2027.
According to court documents, Acting Circuit Judge Lance Neff issued an order Aug. 17 granting a defense motion for a continuance in the first-degree murder trial of Phoenix Ikner.
And while a copy of Neff’s order wasn’t immediately available, separate instructions from the judge show that he moved the court date to June 8, 2027. It had been set for Oct. 19.
The ruling came just days after Ikner’s appointed attorney, Blake Johnson of Jacksonville, filed a new motion seeking a continuance, writing that Ikner had “serious mental health issues.”
In the motion, Johnson said the Regional Conflict Office that is handling his case noted that less than four months have passed since it completed an unrelated capital case.
“In that short period of time, counsel has observed serious mental health issues with Mr. Ikner that require considerable time and context to understand,” the motion says. “The current trial date does not provide counsel with sufficient time to prepare for the guilt or penalty phase of this complex case.”
Neff, who was appointed to the 1st District Court of Appeal in March but remains assigned to the Ikner trial, showed little interest in moving the trial back during a hearing in May. Johnson told Neff then that it would be “virtually impossible” for the defense to meet deadlines proposed by the state at the time.
Neff told Johnson then that Ikner wouldn’t “get forever” to prepare his defense. Ikner, who turns 22 on Aug. 18, is charged with two counts of first-degree murder and seven counts of attempted first-degree murder in the April 17, 2025, mass shooting in and around the Student Union.
“I guess my question for you is if something is on an objective source of evidence such as videotape, what does it help you to get subjective testimony from 20, 50, 100 other witnesses who saw the same thing when you have the videotape of the alleged event?” the judge asked at one point.
Robert Morales, 57, a former Tallahassee restaurateur who served as FSU’s dining coordinator, and Tiru Chabba, 45, an executive with FSU vendor Aramark from Greenville, South Carolina, were killed in the shooting. Five people were injured, and two others were fired upon.
Ikner was shot in the face and taken down by an FSU police officer who arrived at the scene on his motorcycle three minutes into the attack.
Contact Jeff Burlew at jburlew@tallahassee.com or 850-599-2180.
This article originally appeared on Tallahassee Democrat: Murder trial for accused FSU mass shooter pushed back to 2027
Reporting by Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat / Tallahassee Democrat
USA TODAY Network via Reuters Connect
By Jeff Burlew, Tallahassee Democrat | USA TODAY Network
