Psychiatric Tests Ordered For Suspect

The Illinois man charged in the slaying this month of an Idaho State University student has been ordered to undergo psychiatric evaluation.

The preliminary hearing for George Tsebelis, 27, of Champaign was postponed on Monday by Bannock County Magistrate Dan McDougall pending the report on that evaluation.

Tsebelis has been charged with first-degree murder in the death of Emily Hays, 26. Her boyfriend, Luis Martinez, discovered the body Nov. 8 in her Pocatello home. Deputy Prosecutor Deb Lantermo said she died from a stab wound to the neck.

Police said Tsebelis called them from a convenience store shortly after the body was found. He was subsequently arrested.

Tsebelis, who had been a house guest of Hays for several days before her death, was described as a friend of the victim from her high school years in Champaign, family members said. Her mother, Michelle Hays Agusti, said she did not think Hays had been in contact with Tsebelis for several years.

Tsebelis is being held in the Bannock County Jail without bail.