After a nearly two-hour hearing, Orange Circuit Court Judge Bob Wattles set her bail at a total of $277,000. An Orange County Jail official said she was released on $279,000 bail about 8:45 p.m.
Brumfield is charged with first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse and aggravated manslaughter of a child in the death of Olivia Garcia, a 1-year-old girl she was baby-sitting.
Police say Brumfield, a mother of two, said the girl was injured when she fell out of a playpen.
Investigators say otherwise. That's why Wattles wanted to hear from medical examiner, Dr. Jan Garavaglia.
She testified that Olivia suffered several small cuts and a large fracture at the base of her skull. The skull fracture is not an injury that she could have received from a short fall from a playpen.
It's a type of fracture that "we would see in a car accident," Garavaglia said.
She and one of Brumfield's attorneys got into a heated exchange about what led to the baby's death.
Attorney Sean Dore pointed to a picture of brick fireplace in the home and asked if she considered whether that caused the injury. He said Brumfield later told investigators that she didn't know exactly how the baby landed.
Garavaglia said she had no information from the investigators or Brumfield that the fireplace was involved. It's her opinion that girl died from a homicide, not an accident.
"It's up to you to try (the case)," she said.
Her job, she said, was to determine how the child died, not who did it.
Wattles set a trial date in December. He said everyone involved -- both Brumfield and Olivia's mother -- needs to have closure.
As Brumfield was being escorted out of the courtroom, she turned to her husband and mouthed "I'm coming home." He smiled and gave her thumbs up.
He did not want to comment afterwards.
Olivia's mother, Heather Murphy, who was once friends with the Brumfields and watched their children, didn't want to comment either.
