Competency test OK'd for Ill. teen jailed in death

PARIS, Ill. — An eastern Illinois teenager charged with murder in his mother's stabbing death will be examined to see if he is mentally fit to stand trial.

The (Mattoon) Journal-Gazette reports that Edgar County Circuit Court Judge Steven Garst on Tuesday granted a public defender's request to have 16-year-old Terry Payton examined. State's Attorney Mark Isaf didn't object.

Payton has been charged as an adult in the June 23 stabbing death of his mother, 53-year-old Kathie Payton. She was found dead in their apartment in Paris, about 50 miles southeast of Champaign.

Terry Payton hasn't yet entered a plea. A preliminary hearing is scheduled for him on July 18. He is being held on at the Vermilion County Juvenile Detention Center in Danville.