Preliminary hearing is set for arson suspect

OGDEN — A judge will decide if there's enough evidence for a woman to stand trial for a series of suspicious fires.

During an appearance in 2nd District Court on Monday, a judge scheduled a Feb. 2 preliminary hearing for Marianne Mancuso. She is charged with four counts of arson, a third-degree felony, in a series of fires in a blighted neighborhood.

Mancuso, 47, previously has been found mentally competent to face trial. Ogden police have claimed she confessed to the fires, saying she wanted to jump-start a multimillion-dollar redevelopment project planned for the area.

Authorities still are investigating other fires in the neighborhood.

— Ben Winslow