By NEAL WAGNER / Managing Editor

COLUMBIANA – A 23-year-old Maylene woman who has been charged with allegedly causing the death of her infant son in a 2014 vehicle fire is set to appear in court in March after her defense attorney cited a scheduling conflict with a previously set February court hearing.

Sommer Nicole Wilford, who lists an address on Carriage Circle in Maylene, originally was scheduled to appear in the Shelby County Courthouse for a preliminary hearing at 8:30 a.m. on Feb. 23, but her hearing is now set for the same time on March 23.

The new court date came after Wilford’s attorney, L. Kenneth Moore, notified the court he was scheduled to attend a hearing in Jefferson County Circuit Court at the same time as Wilford’s Feb. 23 hearing.

On Feb. 10, Shelby County Circuit Court Judge Dan Reeves granted Moore’s request to continue Wilford’s hearing until March 23.

The Alabaster Police Department arrested Sommer Nicole Wilford, who lists an address in the 100 block of Carriage Circle in Maylene, and charged her with one count of reckless murder on Feb. 28, 2014, after responding to a report of a one-vehicle accident near the intersection of Alabama 119 and Kent Dairy Road.

According to Alabaster Police, when officers arrived on the scene of the Feb. 28 crash, they found Wilford “standing outside the vehicle that was engulfed in flames.” After Alabaster firefighters extinguished the fire, they discovered the body of 19-month-old Jayden Allen inside the vehicle.

Wilford was released from the Shelby County Jail on March 20 after multiple individuals put their properties up as collateral on her $300,000 bond.

In September 2014, a court-ordered drug test revealed Wilford was pregnant. Following his standard procedure for those who arrive late to their court hearings, Reeves ordered Wilford to be transported to the Shelby County Jail to take a drug test. The test results were negative for drugs, but revealed Wilford is pregnant.

Reckless murder is a Class A felony. If convicted, Wilford could face between 10 years and life in prison.