FAYETTEVILLE, W.Va. -- A preliminary hearing for a Fayetteville man charged with killing three people is on hold while he undergoes a mental examination.

Media outlets report that Fayette County Magistrate Sharon McGraw on Tuesday granted the defense's request to continue the hearing for 83-year-old Howard Junior Curry.

Curry has been at William R. Sharpe Jr. Hospital in Weston since March 21. His attorney, Nancy Fraley, told McGraw that the evaluation has not yet been conducted.

Curry is charged with three counts of murder. Police allege that he fatally shot his wife, 47-year-old Rexanna Curry, her father, 82-year-old Charles Treadway, and her sister, 57-year-old Sheila Fay Miller, on March 17 at his house.