Accused Center City Rapist-murderer Troy Graves yesterday waived his preliminary hearing. He is expected to plead guilty tomorrow.

Graves' 10-minute appearance, the first in-person courtroom visit Graves has made since arriving in the city late last week from Colorado, was plain and simple.

The accused killer of Wharton student Shannon Schieber politely answered a series of questions put to him by Municipal Court President Judge Louis Presenza.

"Yes, your honor," was his standard reply.

The admitted Colorado serial rapist wore a royal blue polo shirt and brown pants. His undershirt was hanging out in the back. His hair, which appeared to have been shaved during his Colorado court appearances, has grown back in.

By waiving his right to a preliminary hearing, Graves, 30, allowed Presenza automatically to hold him for trial in Schieber's rape and murder and the rapes of five other Philadelphia women. Presenza set tomorrow for Graves' formal arraignment, a date much quicker than usual.

After the hearing, neither the prosecutor nor defense attorney would comment on reports that the Philadelphia district attorney's office is hammering out a plea agreement with Graves.

Graves' public defender, Dan Stevenson, said that although word of the guilty plea is a "threadbare secret," legal ethics prohibited him from commenting on the status of the case.

"It's moving right along," is all Stevenson would say about Graves' criminal process.

Graves has pleaded guilty to a series of rapes in Fort Collins, Colo., and was sentenced to life in prison under a deal that allows him to serve the sentence in Colorado.

He is being held without bail at the Curran-Fromhold Correctional Facility.