Separate trials habve been set for a man and woman accused of child endangerment at hearings Wednesday.

Jorge Perez and Mireya Baldaras are charged with beating 20-month-old son Marcus Balderas to death in April. They were previously scheduled to be tried together, but a motion to separate their trials was accepted, according to online court document.

Balderas is charged with one count of child endangerment resulting in death. Perez faces two counts of child endangerment resulting in death and one count of child endangerment/abuse after reportedly leaving the child home alone in April. According to police reports, Perez admitted to hitting, stepping on, tossing, and dropping Marcus, along with holding a pillow over his face when he wouldn’t sleep.

Each face Class-B felony charges and a possible 50 years in prison.

Balderas’s trial is scheduled to start July 9 and scheduled to last five days; her pretrial conference is set for 3 p.m. June 28 in the Johnson County Jail.

Perez’s trial is set for Sept. 10, with a pretrial conference set for 3 p.m. Aug. 30.

— by Stacey Murray