EL RENO, Okla. (AP) — A status hearing in the case of a 28-year-old ex-convict accused of strangling his girlfriend and her four children has been delayed.

Canadian County Assistant District Attorney Paul Hesse says the hearing in the first-degree murder case of Joshua Steven Durcho has been rescheduled for May 31.

At that time, a judge could set a trial date for Durcho, who faces five counts of first-degree murder in the 2009 deaths of 25-year-old Summer Rust and her children, 7-year-olds Kristen and Autumn Rust; 4-year-old Teagin Rust, and 3-year-old Evynn Garas. Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty.

Durcho initially was scheduled for trial in April 2010, but a judge delayed the start of the trial after Durcho's original attorneys were allowed to withdraw from the case.