William Craig Miller, who is accused of killing five people, sought to plead guilty on Wednesday, but a Maricopa County Superior Court judge postponed the pleading for one month after Miller asked for a lawyer. The attorney said he needed time to prepare.

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PHOENIX — A Phoenix judge on Wednesday denied a Scottsdale man's request to plead guilty in the killings of five members of an extended family after the man made an about-face and asked that an attorney represent him.

The move by William Craig Miller, 30, stunned the judge and the attorney and caused victims' family members to cry and hug each other in and outside the courtroom.

Miller had previously fired his lawyers and passed a mental-competency test to get the chance to change his plea from not guilty to guilty of five counts of first-degree murder.

He was expected to continue representing himself Wednesday, but instead asked that a lawyer who was supposed to act only as his advisory counsel be appointed as his attorney of record.

Once Maricopa County Superior Court Judge Margaret Mahoney approved that request, Miller asked that she continue with the hearing and allow him to change the plea.

"I have accepted my fate," Miller told her in a soft, cracked voice. "I know what is in store for me. I don't feel the need to delay it any longer."

But Miller's new attorney, Dave Powell, told the judge he would need more time to read the case file and police reports and listen to dozens of recordings before he could proceed.

"I have not had a chance to sit down and work this through," Powell said. "I just feel it would be unfair at this time ... to go forward on something this serious."

Mahoney gave Powell a month to prepare for a rescheduled Sept. 14 change-of-plea hearing.

Miller is accused of fatally shooting Steven Duffy, 30, and Duffy's girlfriend, Tammy Lovell, 32, who were former employees of Miller's and who became informants against him in an arson case.

Also killed were Duffy's brother, Shane Duffy, 18, and Lovell's children — Cassandra Lovell, 15, and Jacob Lovell, 10.

A police report said Miller was trying to get more than $1 million in damages from an insurance company for the fire.

Family members of the victims said Miller's surprise move Wednesday was just another one of his games.

"His new attorney needs a month? It took him what, two minutes to kill my sister and her entire family by execution?" said Luhanna Chesley, Tammy Lovell's sister. "We're done. It's a year and a half later. It's ridiculous."

Lovell's mother, Patricia Morehart, saw Miller for the first time at Wednesday's hearing.

"My heart just dropped," she said. "This was a guy that was part of my daughter's life, a part of my grandchildren's life. He supplied her livelihood when she worked for him, and then he turned around and he just takes it from them. ... He needs to pay for what he did and not just keep prolonging our agony."

The Maricopa County Attorney's Office is seeking the death penalty against Miller. Prosecutor Juan Martinez declined to comment on the case.