MOULTRIE, Ga. — In a dramatic turn of events, attorneys in a Colquitt County quintuple murder have case reached an agreement in which prosecutors will no longer seek the death penalty in the case and will allow the trial to go forward in June.

In return Jeffrey Alan Peacock has agreed to waive his right to a jury trial and instead have the case heard by the trial judge.

The deal between prosecutors and defense attorneys was announced on Friday at a hearing in the Colquitt County Courthouse Annex courtroom.

Superior Court Judge James E. Hardy set the trial date for June 17 at the same location.

Peacock is accused of fatally shooting five people on May 15, 2016, at their 505 Rossman Dairy Road residence.

During Friday’s status hearing in the case Peacock answered questions from Hardy.

Peacock said he understood the arrangement and agreed to proceed under those conditions.

If convicted on a murder charge, Hardy said, Peacock could be sentenced to a life term either with or without parole that could mean up to 30 years in prison before becoming eligible for parole.

The remaining charges in the indictment will be merged into one charge that carries a prison term of between one and five years.

Peacock’s defense attorneys told the judge that they believe they have all of the evidence they have requested, including DNA and ballistics reports compiled by the Georgia Bureau of Investigation, which is the lead law enforcement agency in the case.

Peacock was arrested within days of the slayings of Jonathan Garrett Edwards, Ramsey Jones Pidcock and Aaron Reid Williams, all 21; 20-year-old Alicia Brooke Norman; and Jordan Shane Croft, 22.

Peacock was one of three people who called 911 the morning of the slayings to report that the residence was on fire. It was nearly destroyed in the blaze and law enforcement agencies spent days at the scene collecting evidence, including the sifting of ashes.

Since there will be no jury in the case defense motions challenging the makeup of juries in the county are moot.

It also means there will be no request for a change of venue to hold the trial in another location where publicity has not been widespread as it has in the area and the trial can be held in Colquitt County.