UPDATE:
On Feb. 1, the 18th Judicial Circuit Court granted the state's motion to strike the demand for a speedy trial. The case was continued and will not go to trial next week.
EARLIER:
A man charged with a brutal double murder in Cocoa in 2013 will soon head to trial.
- Marcus Royal is charged in the 2013 slaying of 2 people
- Judge ruled that his trial can continue as death penalty case
- RELATED:
The death penalty for Marcus Royal is still on the table, even though the U.S. Supreme Court ruled Florida's death penalty process unconstitutional a year ago.
Royal made a court appearance Tuesday. He's accused of killing 80-year-old Faye Jones and 58-year-old Michael Fallon.
Prosecutors say Royal brutally attacked the elderly woman inside her Cocoa home March 17, 2013, then turned on Fallon as he arrived at the house to take her to church that day.
Fallon survived in a coma for a year and a half until his family chose to take him off life support.
Royal was on the run shortly after the crimes, eventually turning himself in to authorities in Virginia.
Despite the uncertainty of the state's death penalty process, Judge Jim Earp ruled last week that the state can continue preparing for a death penalty case. Earp also granted the defense's motion for a speedy trial.
But Tuesday, the defense changed its mind, asking for a continuance.
That didn't sit well with the judge, who called their actions a "sham."
"I am not continuing this case. I am giving Mr. Royal the speedy trial he asked for, thank you. This hearing is over," Earp said.
Both the defense and prosecution will have to prepare as though this were a death penalty case.
Jury selection begins Monday.