LAWRENCE, Kan. (AP) — The trial of a young woman charged with killing her 52-year-old roommate in Lawrence will not be held in January as scheduled.

Prosecution and defense attorneys agreed on Thursday to delay the first-degree murder trial of 20-year-old Sarah Gonzales McLinn, which was scheduled to start Jan. 5.

McLinn is charged with killing and nearly decapitating 52-year-old Harold M. Sasko in January at his home. Investigators allege she put sleeping pills in Sasko’s beer, bound him and cut his neck with a hunting knife.

The Lawrence Journal-World reports  that McLinn’s attorney has said he is seeking a plea deal because his client has a mental illness and has never denied killing Sasko.

The court will set a new trial date at her next court appearance on Dec. 18.