The suspect in the murder of Barry Schmalbach appeared in a Lee County court on Thursday - the defense asking for more time.
NBC2 was in the courtroom when Christopher Davis, 36, made his appearance at 1:30 p.m.
The State expressed frustration with the duration of the case. Prosecutors believe Davis and the defense have had sufficient time to put their case together.
Davis pleaded not guilty back in July of this year. He, along with the defense, remain on the same page - they are "ready to prove his innocence."
Despite the 72 pages worth of court documents that detail may have lead to the disappearance of 56-year-old Schmalbach.
Schmalbach was last seen with Davis, his boyfriend at the time, on July 19, 2023, at Cruisers bar in Cape Coral. Davis was arrested on an unrelated out-of-state warrant nearly a month later.
Police say Schmalbach called his friend asking for help to get away from Davis but that friend didn't see that voicemail until the next day. Barry hasn't been seen or heard since.
Davis spoke in court on Thursday, saying he thinks things should move along but his attorneys said they need more time.
The judge decided to set a pretrial date on Dec. 19. He requested that Davis' attorney and the State attorney talk by then about when they want the trial to start.
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