CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — A northwestern Indiana man charged with strangling two women and suspected of killing five others has had his trial delayed until January.

A Lake County judge on Friday granted the request from attorneys for Darren Vann. The (Munster) Times reports Vann’s attorneys argued they needed more time to prepare since prosecutors decided in April to seek the death penalty.

Vann was to face trial starting June 22 on murder charges in the deaths of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy and 35-year-old Anith Jones. The trial is now set to start Jan. 25.

Police say Vann confessed to killing Hardy in a Hammond motel and six women whose remains were found inside abandoned houses across Gary in October, but he’s only been charged in the two deaths.