Less than a week before the man accused of killing Alyssa Lokits was to face trial, court proceedings have been delayed until the end of the year.
Paul Park, 30, was arrested and charged the day after Lokits was attacked at the Mill Creek Greenway in Antioch in 2024. He was initially scheduled to go to trial Aug. 10.
Family and friends of Lokits said they're disappointed at the delay.
"It has been nearly two years of agonizing grief, through which we have steadily dedicated ourselves to carrying her legacy through the nonprofit created in her honor, Free to Move," a statement from the nonprofit said. "While no amount of justice being served will ever make up for the loss of Alyssa, a sentence could provide a semblance of comfort for those left
in the wake of this unimaginable tragedy."
Lokits was exercising at the Mill Creek Greenway in Antioch when she was attacked. She was in sight of the parking lot and yelled for help, but it took several minutes to find her after she'd been shot in the head. A south precinct officer applied pressure to her head until an ambulance could get to her. She died at Vanderbilt University Medical Center.
Video footage captured Park getting out of his BMW and following Lokits. It was that video footage that led to such a quick identification of Park. Police distributed that footage among themselves, and another officer identified Park as the brother of a suicide victim from a 2021 case.
Park was charged with criminal homicide. A grand jury indicted him on charges of first-degree murder, felony murder, two counts of attempted aggravated rape and felon in possession of a weapon.
In April, prosecutors filed paperwork notifying the court of their intent to seek a life without parole sentence for Park should he be convicted.
Any time prosecutors seek a penalty that will result in the defendant's death in prison, they are required to notify the court.
Prosecutors and attorneys for Park appeared in court Aug. 5 for a status conference. During that hearing, the trial was delayed and another status hearing was scheduled for Dec. 10. Calls to the District Attorney's Office about the delay were not immediately returned.
"It is appalling and shameful for the defense to force the loved ones of an innocent victim to linger, painfully awaiting justice," the statement from Free to Move said. "Postponing the trial only prolongs the trauma, not just for us, but for the greater Nashville community and the millions of people who have heard Alyssa’s story."
This article originally appeared on Nashville Tennessean: Trial for man accused of killing Alyssa Lokits delayed
