CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) — A man charged with strangling two women and suspected in the deaths of five other women whose bodies were found in abandoned homes in Gary is getting a new judge.

Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Boswell unexpectedly recused herself from Darren Vann’s case Wednesday and ordered the clerk’s office to reassign the case. The (Munster) Times reports online court records didn’t include an explanation for why she removed herself from the case.

The move comes just weeks before Vann is scheduled to stand trial Jan. 25 on murder charges in the deaths of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy and 35-year-old Anith Jones of Merrillville. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against the 44-year-old Gary man.

Vann has not been charged in the other deaths.