During a pretrial hearing Monday, Mercer County Common Pleas Court Judge Michael J. Wherry postponed trial for Shane R. Sloan with jury selection to begin early next month.

Sloan is charged with the first-degree murder death of his 48-year-old mother, Susan LaRue Fleeger, on Feb. 5, 2001, in their 823 S. Center St. mobile home in Pine Township. State police in Mercer arrested Sloan after a standoff.

The 28-year-old Sloan's defense attorneys are expected to argue that a bipolar disorder was a mental deficiency that prevented Sloan from forming the specific intent to kill his mother.

Mercer County Assistant District Attorney Samuel Zuck said they have not yet received a psychological evaluation report by the prosecutors' expert witness.

Assistant Public Defender Christopher St. John said he and the defense psychological expert also needs to review that evaluation before a trial can begin.