A 64-year-old woman is facing criminal charges after a 38-year-old man’s skeletal remains were found in a trash pile in east Birmingham earlier this year.

A Jefferson County judge on Monday set a preliminary hearing date for Paula Poe Garner. She is charged with corpse abuse, a felony, after Jeramy Dean Hallmon’s remains were discovered in late January on a roadside.

Court records show Garner was arrested March 9, and bonded out of jail the same day.

Judge Katrina Ross set an Aug. 28 hearing date, at which time prosecutors will present the evidence against Garner to determine if the case will be sent to a grand jury for indictment consideration.

Hallmon’s remains were discovered by a passerby on Sunday, Jan. 29, in the 8400 block of Seventh Avenue South.

Hallmon had been missing since November and lived in a house near where he was found.

The remains – decomposed and skeletonized – were recovered from a large pile of household rubbish. Because of the condition of his body, authorities have not been able to determine a cause and manner of death.

Hallmon’s brother, Hank Hallmon, had been searching for his brother since November, he told AL.com in a previous interview.

“It was not like him to not communicate with us,’’ Hank Hallmon said.

Jeramy Hallmon was on disability for a number of medical issues including epilepsy, diabetes and a blood disorder. His brother said they were able to identify his remains through a serial number on his port.

Hank Hallmon believes his brother is the victim of a crime. “It’s obvious from the way the found him,’’ he said.

“They picked a man that was disabled to do that too,’’ he said. “They were preying on the weak.”

Jeramy Hallmon’s remains were found not far from his house. His brother had been to the house looking for him and detected the odor of decomposition but didn’t know where it was coming from.

“The whole time my brother was right beside his own house,’’ he said. “He didn’t deserve that,’’ he said.

Jeramy Hallmon was loving and caring, his brother said.

“Ultimately that’s what got him killed, having a big heart and helping people he shouldn’t have been helping,’’ he said.