An emotional day for a Niles family, as a 14-year-old boy takes his first steps into a courtroom, accused of murdering his own grandfather.

Dakotah Eliason's preliminary examination was scheduled for Friday.

The charging documents detail the events early Sunday morning, in which Eliason told police he shot his grandfather.

While he hasn't made a formal plea yet, Eliason told police he had a lot of "pent up emotions" when he shot Jesse Mills in the head, as the 69-year-old laid in his bed.

But there's still no answer as to why this happened, and the court’s process may bring that information to light in the coming weeks.

Eliason's first physical appearance in court was mostly procedural. The attorneys agreed to allow extra time to prepare for the case and Eliason waived his right to a preliminary examination with 14 days of being charged.

“I was just hired by Dakotah's father Steve yesterday, and just today I got all the discovery materials the prosecutor has. To hold a preliminary exam on Tuesday, just four days form now, would not be practical,” said Lanny Fisher, Eliason’s defense attorney.

After all, it's only been five days since police were called to Dakotah's grandparents' home at 3:00 a.m. Sunday morning.

Eliason told police he argued with himself about shooting his grandfather before he ultimately shot Jesse Mills. Court documents say Eliason then put the gun on the ground, and told his grandmother he ‘just shot Papa.”

Dakotah was stoic as he sat in court Friday, a sharp contrast from his family, who couldn't hold back tears.

“I can only imagine Dakota's father Steve, at court at 8:30 this morning for his son, and the funeral's at 10:30 and he has to bury his father. I can’t imagine a more painful day in someone’s life,” Fisher said.

Being tried as an adult, Dakotah could face life in prison.

“That's a decision the prosecutor made, quite frankly, on the seriousness of the crime. At the age of 14 the law allows him to be waived into adult court, and he made that decision,” Fisher said.

Right now; who, what, when, and where seem to be clear cut. ‘Why’ is resounding.

“Right now there's a whole lot more questions than there are answers, and we're hoping those answers come to light,” Fisher said.

Fisher says there really were not any warning signs that Dakotah was capable of this.

By all accounts he was a normal teenager at home and at school, didn't have a history of killing animals or anything like that; just no indication anything like this would happen.

Fisher says both sides agree Eliason should undergo a psychological evaluation, although that is ultimately up to the judge whether that has an impact on the case.

With no motive identified yet, it might help find some answers and identify whether he'd be a threat to others in the future.

The prosecution and defense plan to meet on March 22nd to prepare for March 23rd, when the prosecution will lay out its case against Eliason.