SCHENECTADY — Jury selection for the highly anticipated murder and manslaughter trial of Persia Nelson, a young mother charged with killing her infant daughter last year, is now set to begin on Sept. 29.
As of Thursday, Nelson did not have any scheduled pretrial hearings prior to that date, which is the next time she is supposed to appear before Schenectady County Court Judge Matthew J. Sypniewski, who is presiding over the high-profile case. The trial was initially set for June, but was pushed back at the request of Nelson’s attorney, Mark Sacco.
Nelson, who turned 26 on Wednesday, has been charged with second-degree murder, first-degree manslaughter and child endangerment following the tragic death of her 11-month-old daughter, Halo R. Branton, whom police found had been left alone in an underground shed on March 10, 2024. Halo died from exposure and hypothermia…