Walter Smith Jr. charged in murder of sister and injury of niece.

The preliminary hearing of a Spotsylvania teen accused of killing his sister went as expected on Tuesday.

Commonwealth's Attorney Bill Neely says the case of Walter Smith Jr. continues next month. He waived the right to a preliminary hearing bearing that he can continue to get mental evaluation in juvenile detention.

Neely says Smith faces the charges for the murder and rape of his older sister, Betsy Mary Smith and the injury of his niece Andrea Costello. Smith is accused of beating his sister to death with a sledgehammer. The niece was apparently hit with the same weapon. The original charge for that crime was aggravated malicious wounding since the child's skull was fractured. The original prognosis was that the injuries would be permanent, leading to that charge. Since the September injuries, Costello just has some bruising left, that led to the lesser charge of malicious wounding.

The waiver of the hearing caused his charges to be certified by a grand jury and also leads the way for the teen to be tried as an adult. The next step, an indictment on December 17th. Neely says the judge will then set a trial date. Once that happens, if Smith is found guilty, the judge may sentence Smith as a juvenile or as an adult.

Listen to Deirdre Blake's story

Date published: 11/27/2007