INDIANAPOLIS (AP) — A man accused of killing his mother and grandparents and burying their bodies in concrete has changed his mind and decided he does not want to be executed.

Kenneth Lee Allen appeared briefly in Marion Superior Court on Thursday to reverse a request he made last month to represent himself and seek the death penalty. Allen, 32, in April had submitted a handwritten motion to a judge seeking to plead guilty and be executed.

Allen said little during his brief appearance in Marion Superior Court.

Prosecutors are seeking the death penalty against Allen. He is charged with murder, conspiracy and robbery in the slayings of his mother, Sharon Allen, 53, and grandparents, Leander Bradley, 91, and Betty Bradley, 75.

Allen also had requested the death penalty in February 2005.

Such indecision is common in death penalty cases, according to Monica Foster, one of Allen's court-appointed attorneys. She said many defendants, including Allen, suffer some form of child abuse and become "terribly depressed" and want to kill themselves.

"This sort of thing happens in capital cases all the time," she said.

Allen's change of heart also didn't surprise Marion County chief trial prosecutor David Wyser.

"Certainly he would have saved the taxpayers a lot of money if we would have been able to proceed according to his request, but I didn't expect that to happen," he said.

Police have said Allen stabbed his mother to death Dec. 30, 2004, in her Noblesville apartment after she refused to help him steal his grandparents' $200,000 nest egg. He also is accused of smothering his grandmother and beating his grandfather to death with a hammer four days later.

All three bodies were found buried in concrete in the basement of his grandparents' home on the east side of Indianapolis.

Allen's sister, Kari Allen, pleaded guilty to three counts of conspiracy to commit murder and agreed to cooperate with prosecutors at her brother's trial.

Wyser said he plans to use Allen's motion requesting death during the penalty phase of his trial, when he asks jurors to decide on capital punishment.

"I'm going to introduce that evidence that that's in fact what he wanted for himself," he said.

The prosecutor was asked after Thursday's hearing if he thought Allen was the perfect candidate for the death penalty.

"He's killed his mother and his grandparents, cut them up into pieces, buried them in their basement. If you're going to impose a death penalty, that's certainly an appropriate case for it," he said.