VIDALIA — It could be several months before it is known if the Ferriday teen accused of killing his step-grandfather last August will face trial as an adult, Assistant District Attorney Ann Siddall said.

The suspect’s attorney requested the suspect be psychologically evaluated in May, Siddall said.

“This is basically the juvenile equivalent of a sanity panel,” Siddall said. “It can take several months for it to be completed.”

The suspect’s name was not released because of his age at the time of the killing, 14.

Once the court receives the report, that will be the first step to determining if he should be tried as a juvenile or an adult, Siddall said.

If the case is transferred to adult court, Siddall said it would likely be bound over to a grand jury.

The teen is currently charged with manslaughter, but the grand jury has the ability to upgrade the charges to second-degree murder.

The case began Aug. 17, 2008, when Ferriday police arrived at 320 Iowa St., to find 42-year-old Frank Conner with a single stab wound to the chest.

After he was transported to Riverland Medical Center, Conner was pronounced dead.

At the time, police said Conner had been involved in a verbal altercation with his step-grandson, the suspect.

The suspect and another person were reportedly yelling curse words at each other in the front yard, and Conner told the suspect to come into the house, police said.

When the suspect did not want to come in, he and Conner reportedly became involved in an argument and the teen went into the kitchen and retrieved a knife before allegedly stabbing Conner, police said.

No one else was involved in the incident, police said.