OLATHE, Kan. -- An Overland Park teenager was charged Monday with killing her mother last week.

Esmie Tseng, 16, appeared via videotape before a juvenile court judge Monday and was charged with first-degree murder. Prosecutors also filed a motion to try Tseng as an adult.

Investigators said the teen's 55-year-old mother, Shu Yi Zhang, was fatally stabbed after a lengthy argument between the two Friday afternoon. Police said the knife attack happened in several rooms of the family's home on West 125th Street in Overland Park.

Zhang called her husband after the attack and asked him to come home, but she was dead by the time emergency workers arrived, officials said. Tseng, meanwhile, was taken to a local hospital where she was treated for a wound to her hand.

"This defendant knew what she was doing, she had her wits about her at the time she committed this crime," said Johnson County District Attorney Paul Morrison.

KMBC's Peggy Breit reported that two officers appeared to carry Tseng into the detention center Monday, and one of the officers was holding up the girl's head when she appeared before the judge.

Tseng's father did not attend Monday's hearing, Breit reported.

The girl will remain in a detention center until her next court appearance on Sept. 13.

Recent Family Problems

Prosecutors said Tseng's alleged violent behavior is out of character for her.

"(There was) really no history of a lot of aberrant behavior or criminal conduct, but it looks like there had been some recent problems. Among other things, problems associated with some cultural differences within the family -- a lot of it just teenage growing-up kinds of acting-out behaviors, which led to this struggle Friday and this horrible crime," Morrison said.

Classmates said Tseng, a junior at Blue Valley North High School, had been using drugs and that last week, the school sent her home early for some strange behavior.

Morrison said even if that proves true, it won't change the charges.

"It's very, very difficult to escape criminal responsibility because of what we refer to as voluntary intoxication. In other words, if you take dope or get really drunk, you are still responsible for your actions," Morrison said.

Breit reported that Tseng often wrote about her feelings on a Web site. One posting said, "I've had a huge problem with reality lately." She also wrote about problems with her parents and being an angry person.

School officials have not spoken publicly about Tseng's behavior last week, but said they will help with the investigation.

"We want to be fully cooperative with the police as they try to get answers. We are all interested in finding out the answers as to how this happened," said Dr. Al Hanna, with the Blue Valley School District.

School officials said they are helping Tseng's classmates to cope with the incident.