A hearing for a man accused of murdering a local transgender woman was postponed this week. Charles Sargent, 43, was scheduled to face a preliminary hearing Aug. 7 at the Criminal Justice Center. He is charged with murder, possession of an instrument of crime and abuse of corpse in connection to last month’s stabbing and dismemberment of Diamond Williams. In court Wednesday, Sargent’s attorney, J. Michael Farrell, requested a continuance for the preliminary hearing. Sargent, who is being held at Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility, was not present. Municipal Court Judge Teresa Carr Deni agreed to postpone the proceeding to Oct. 15. The hearing will take place at 9 a.m. in Room 306 of the Criminal Justice Center, 1301 Filbert St. Farrell did not respond to a request for comment. Sargent allegedly stabbed Williams, 31, in his Strawberry Mansion home after an argument. Williams was a sex worker, and Sargent reportedly brought her to his home for a sexual encounter. In 2007, Carr Deni was criticized over a ruling in which she reduced charges against a man accused of raping a sex worker at gunpoint and forcing her to have sex with a group of other men. Carr Deni dismissed the rape and sexual-assault charges against the suspect but let stand “theft of services” charges. She was subsequently rebuked by the Philadelphia Bar Association for an “unforgivable miscarriage of justice.” Sargent is also charged with making terroristic threats for allegedly threatening to kill his girlfriend.