Probation Department to Suggest Trial Status for Skylor Atilano

A juvenile court judge today ordered the Riverside County probation department to prepare a report recommending whether the juvenile half brother of Terry Smith Jr. should be tried for murder as a juvenile or an adult.

Judge Timothy Freer will have the final say after reviewing the probation department's report regarding Skylor Atilano, who was 16 when he was arrested last July and charged with the murder of 11-year-old Terry Smith Jr. in Menifee. Atilano (shown at left in a previous court appearance) remains in custody at the Southwest Justice Center in French Valley.

The judge set a court date of June 12 to receive the probation department's report.


Atilano is accused of killing Terry Smith Jr. (right), whose body was found buried in a shallow grave in the family backyard following a three-day search by thousands of residents throughout the valley.