Hearing set in Modesto baby-sitting death

MODESTO -- A judge has scheduled a preliminary hearing March 18 for a Modesto woman accused of murder in connection with the February death of an 18-month-old girl she was baby-sitting.

Along with the murder charge, Maria Elena Torres has been charged with willful cruelty to a child in the death of Alexandra Medina-Cisneros, the toddler the defendant was baby-sitting.

Stanislaus County Superior Court Judge Scott Steffen on Thursday also scheduled Torres to return to court March 4 for another pretrial hearing.

Torres remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail; her bail has been set at $1 million.