A Mahanoy City woman accused of smothering her toddler granddaughter last year is free on $1 bail because she wasn't brought to trial within six months of her arrest.

Schuylkill County President Judge William E. Baldwin on Friday determined Pietrina C. Hoffman, 53, qualified for the nominal bail under the Pennsylvania Rules of Criminal Procedure.Hoffman had been held in the county jail without bail since Feb. 12, 2016.The rules state that "trial in a court case in which a written complaint is filed against the defendant shall commence within 365 days from the date on which the complaint is filed."Hoffman's trial on third-degree murder and other charges is scheduled for June 27.Hoffman, 53, lived at 519 W. Centre St. when her 15-month-old granddaughter, Nevaeh Doyle, died on Jan. 10, 2016.Charged with third-degree murder, Hoffman faces charges of aggravated assault, persons not to possess or use firearms, endangering the welfare of children and two counts of recklessly endangering another person, prohibited offensive weapons and possession of drug paraphernalia.According to court documents, emergency medical crews found Nevaeh dead at 2:20 p.m. Jan. 10 when they arrived in response to a report of pediatric cardiac arrest.Nevaeh, partially covered with a blanket, was lying on her back on the floor. She appeared to have died hours earlier.Mahanoy City police officer Thomas Rentschler interviewed Hoffman, who told him she woke at about 2 a.m. to use the bathroom, and returned to a sofa where she had been sleeping with a 2-year-old.Nevaeh was asleep on the floor because she wouldn't sleep in her portable crib.Hoffman told Rentschler that when she woke 12 hours later, at 2 p.m., Nevaeh hadn't moved. She called her husband, and then called 911.Hoffman subsequently gave police varying versions of what had happened, at one point saying she had taken a sleep aid and may have stepped on Nevaeh.After police arrived, the 2-year-old was given to Schuylkill County Children and Youth Services. The agency arranged for a medical evaluation of the child, which revealed she was in the early stages of starvation.An autopsy determined that Nevaeh died due to asphyxia by smothering.In addition to the rifle, police searching Hoffman's house found ammunition, a device for ingesting marijuana and other drugs, and several bottles of medications.