A judge yesterday ordered a Big Island teenager accused of killing her infant son to remain in custody at a Honolulu hospital pending a mental evaluation.

Family Court Judge Aley Auna Jr. ordered the 16-year-old girl to remain in the care of the state at The Queen's Medical Center.

The teen, who has not been publicly identified, was arrested and charged with second-degree murder following the Oct. 12 death of her 4-month-old son. Police responded to a call of an accidental stabbing and found the infant in a bedroom, nearly decapitated.

Auna said at yesterday's hearing that a mental evaluation of the teenager is expected to be complete by week's end, with a report likely finished by the end of next week. That report will determine the next step in the case.

Prosecutors have indicated they will seek to try the teen as an adult. A second-degree murder conviction carries a possible life sentence with the chance of parole.