KALAMAZOO, Mich. — The man accused of stabbing his ex-girlfriend in what law enforcement calls a "brutal death" will undergo a mental health competency exam, the judge has ordered.
Jeffrey Kucharski, 27, of Lawton is charged with murder in Taylor Dragicevich's killing.
In Kalamazoo District Court Thursday during a probable cause hearing, the judge wants to see if Kucharski is competent to stand trial, so a mental health assessment was ordered.
Kalamazoo detectives linked a GPS tracker with a matching fingerprint, a large bloody knife and cellphone location data to the ex-boyfriend.
Authorities said he violated a personal protection order she had filed against him before the brutal attack.
Court documents detail that Dragicevich was found in the parking lot of 2254 E. Cork Street in Kalamazoo suffering from multiple stab wounds to her face, head and hands.
She died from those sharp force injuries, and the coroner ruled her death a homicide.
In the aftermath of her killing, police used a license plate reading technology to trace a GMC Terrain in the area of East Cork Street and Old East Cork around the time of the murder.
Police ran the plate and discovered the vehicle belonged to Kucharski's sister. That led them to an address on 66th Avenue, where The Van Buren County Sheriff's Department surveilled the night of May 20.
The GMC was seen leaving the address and authorities pulled it over. Kucharski's sister was driving, and law enforcement impounded the SUV.
In the early morning hours of May 21, detectives secured a warrant to search the 66th Avenue home.
That's where they found Kucharski in an attic of the garage.
It took several hours to negotiate with Kucharski, while he continued to threaten to harm himself. He was ultimately arrested for violation of the personal protection order Dragicevich had against him.
Following his arrest, investigators found a large knife, which lab results confirmed the presence of human blood. Kucharski's shirt and pants also showed the presence of blood.
An investigation of Kucahrski's cell phone data showed he was in the area of 2254 East Cork Street at the time of the murder, and his fingerprints were found on a GPS tracker under Dragicevich's, detectives claim in court documents.
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