An Army judge has ordered a recess in the court-martial of a Fort Stewart sergeant charged with murder in the 2008 slayings of a superior and a fellow U.S. soldier in Iraq.

Prosecutors rested their case against 41-year-old Sgt. Joseph Bozicevich of Minneapolis on Tuesday after two weeks of testimony. The judge has instructed Bozicevich's attorneys to open their defense next Tuesday.

The decision to take a break in the case was prompted by Fort Stewart's training calendar. Troops at the Georgia Army post have a 4-day weekend coming up, with days off Friday and Monday, to give them extra leave around Mother's Day.

Bozicevich could face the death penalty if he's convicted of killing Staff Sgt. Darris Dawson of Pensacola, Fla., and Sgt. Wesley Durbin of Dallas.