(AP) - The defense attorney for a New Jersey man accused of killing three women has quit after a judge found the man could no longer afford her services.

Khalil Wheeler-Weaver will now be represented by a public defender after a judge allowed Shevelle McPherson to withdraw from the case on Monday.

The 21-year-old Orange resident was indicted in February for three murders and the kidnapping, sexual assault and attempted murder of a fourth woman last fall. He did not appear at the court hearing held Monday.

His alleged victims include 20-year-old Sarah Butler, 33-year-old Joanne Brown and 19-year-old Robin West. A detective's affidavit says both Brown and Butler were strangled.

Court documents filed by prosecutors show investigators linked Wheeler-Weaver to the crimes using cellphone records.