Trial scheduled in 2-year-old's death

The News & Observer

A March trial date has been set for Peggy Sue Hilt, 33, a Wake Forest woman accused of beating her 2-year-old daughter who died in a Virginia hospital, a prosecutor said Thursday.

Hilt is charged with murder in the death of Nina Hilt, 2, who was adopted from a Siberian orphanage by Hilt and her husband, Christopher. Peggy Sue Hilt's trial is scheduled to begin March 1, said Paul Ebert, commonwealth attorney for Prince William County, Va. A mental evaluation found that Hilt was able to stand trial, he said.

Virginia authorities say they think Peggy Sue Hilt beat Nina in the family's Wake Forest home and the next day took her to the Manassas, Va., area to celebrate the Fourth of July weekend.

Nina lost consciousness and died at a Virginia hospital. Officials said they think she had been struck several times in the abdomen.