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June trial date set for Gary man suspected in 7 deaths

CROWN POINT, Ind. (AP) – A judge has set a June 22 trial date for a Gary man charged with murder in the strangulation deaths or two women and suspected of killing five others.

The (Munster) Times reports Lake Superior Court Judge Diane Boswell set the trial date Friday for 43-year-old Darren Vann. He’s charged in the deaths of 19-year-old Afrikka Hardy of Gary and 35-year-old Anith Jones of Merrillville. Prosecutors have said they may seek the death penalty against Vann

Police have said Vann led them to six bodies in abandoned buildings in Gary after he was questioned in the death of Hardy. Her body was found Oct. 17 in a motel in nearby Hammond. Jones was reported missing that same month.

A court affidavit says Vann confessed to killing Jones.