MODESTO -- A judge on Monday scheduled a trial to start Oct. 28 for a Turlock mother accused of murder in the death of her 2-year-old daughter last year.
Brandy Lee Rose Devine also has been ordered to stand trial charged with willful cruelty to a child and using methamphetamine in connection with the death of her daughter, Stephanie Torres. Devine, 25, also faces an enhancement to her charges, alleging that she inflicted great bodily injury on the child.
Stephanie was found lifeless in her crib after she had not been fed or given anything to drink for several days before she was discovered, a pathologist testified in a preliminary hearing this month.
The defendant appeared briefly for the arraignment hearing Monday morning in Stanislaus County Superior Court. Marcus Mumford, Devine's defense attorney, entered a not guilty plea and a denial of the enhancement on his client's behalf. The trial is estimated to last about three weeks.
Judge Dawna Reeves scheduled Devine to return to court June 20 for a pretrial hearing. The defendant remains in custody at the Stanislaus County Jail.
Pathologist Eugene Carpenter testified that the girl had been dead a day or two before she was found in the crib about 12:30 p.m. July 16 at the home in the 1100 block of North Denair Avenue in Turlock.
Carpenter said Stephanie died from dehydration and malnourishment. When Devine was arrested, she tested positive for meth use within the past 72 hours.
A detective testified in the preliminary hearing that Devine told him she had put Stephanie in a room the Friday before the Monday when the girl was found dead and had not opened the door the entire weekend. Devine also told him she smoked meth after feeling ill all weekend.
Bee staff writer Rosalio Ahumada can be reached at rahumada@modbee.com or (209) 578-2394.
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