An 84-year-old man charged with stabbing his wife to death with a butcher knife while she slept waived his right to a preliminary hearing June 23.

William Virgil Proctor was helped from the Shelby County Sheriff’s Office van as he entered the courthouse to appear in front of Judge Dan Reeves.

Proctor made no comment during his appearance in court.

The case will now go to a grand jury, which will decide whether to indict Proctor on the murder charge.

Proctor’s attorney, Tommy Spina, has said he hopes to quickly get the case into the Circuit Court so his client can get a mental evaluation.

Proctor was arrested May 14 after he was discovered in the family home in the 1300 block of Caliston Way in Ballantrae with his deceased wife.

The couple, which was married 38 years, was in the process of a divorce.

Proctor is being held in the Shelby County Jail on a $250,000 bond.