KALAMAZOO, Mich. (WOOD) — A man was found competent to stand trial in the case accusing him of stabbing and killing his ex-girlfriend in Kalamazoo.

Jeffrey Kucharski of Lawton was referred for a competency evaluation during a probable cause conference in June. During an August hearing, it was determined that Kucharski could understand the charges against him and participate in his own defense. Thursday, he waived his preliminary examination in district court, sending it to Kalamazoo County Circuit Court.

The open murder charge against him stems from May 20, when 28-year-old Taylor Dragicevich of Galesburg was stabbed several times in Kalamazoo. She later died in the hospital.

According to a probable cause document, investigators connected a SUV seen just a mile away around that time to Kucharski, and cell phone data also connected him to the area at that time. Police found blood stains and rubber gloves in the SUV when they searched it.

The two had a history of domestic violence, court documents say, and Dragicevich had been granted a personal protection order against Kucharski just two months before. She had filed for the personal protection order shortly after they broke up.