Federal prosecutors say they will file new murder charges against Jared Loughner, the 22-year-old college dropout held in the Tucson massacre.

Dennis Burke, the U.S. attorney for Arizona, last week asked a judge to drop earlier charges in the slayings of U.S. District Judge John Roll and congressional aide Gabriel Zimmerman Jan 8.

Spokesman Robbie Sherwood told the Tucson Sentinel it was a "procedural matter" and the counts will be refiled before a March 9 status conference on the case.

Loughner also is charged with four other killings, the attempted assassination of U.S. Rep. Gabrielle Giffords, D-Ariz., and the wounding of a dozen other people in a shooting spree at a constituents gathering outside a Tucson supermarket.

Federal jurisdiction in the case derives from the killing or attempted killing of federal judges, members of Congress and their aides in the course of their duties.

The two murder charges could lead prosecutors to seek the death penalty. The U.S. attorney's office in Phoenix has said prosecutors are taking their time with the murder charges since they may involve capital punishment.
Read More: Upi