DOWNTOWN TALLAHASSEE, FL (WTXL) — Nearly a year and a half after the deadly shooting at Florida State University, the case against Phoenix Ikner is moving toward trial, with jury selection scheduled to begin Oct. 19th.
WATCH FULL REPORT BELOW:
The April 17, 2025, attack left 2 people dead and 6 others injured, including FSU students, shaking the campus and the Tallahassee community.
During Tuesday's virtual hearing, attorneys and Judge Lance Neff shifted their focus from discovery to trial preparation. State Attorney Jack Campbell told the court depositions are continuing, discovery remains on track, and both sides are following the court's scheduling order.
"Depositions are ongoing. I think we're right in the glide path. We're working hard on discovery," Campbell said.
Since the last case management hearing, prosecutors have provided additional discovery materials and witness disclosures to the defense as both sides continue preparing for trial.
With discovery well underway, the court is now turning its attention to jury selection. Because of the case's widespread publicity, the defense says selecting an impartial jury will require special consideration.
"I think that we probably need small panels, especially with pre-trial publicity and death qualification, perhaps individual voir dire," defense attorney Blake Johnson said.
Judge Neff says the court plans to use written juror questionnaires before questioning begins and will allow both sides to submit proposed questions. He also noted that simply knowing about the case does not automatically disqualify a juror.
"The case law from this DCA has set the standard pretty high on pre-trial publicity; not only you have to know about it, which in this day of age of mass media and social media that's not unusual to hear about something," Neff said.
The court has set aside about a month for jury selection and trial proceedings.
This story was reported on-air by a journalist and has been converted to this platform with the assistance of AI. Our editorial team verifies all reporting on all platforms for fairness and accuracy.
Want to see more local news? Visit the WTXL ABC 27 Website.
Stay in touch with us anywhere, anytime.
