Christine Agpaoa Robles, 22, was scheduled to go on trial on a charge of second-degree murder yesterday, but was allowed to plead to the lesser charge as part of a plea agreement.

Judge Clifford Nakea found her guilty of manslaughter. She will be sentenced Aug. 1.

Under Hawai'i law, second-degree murder carries a mandatory life term with parole. Manslaughter is punishable by up to 20 years in prison.

Robles' attorney, Alfred Castillo, said his client has no memory of the events that led to the child's death within hours of his birth.

"It was a very hard decision for us to make" to accept conviction for manslaughter, he said.

The defense would have attempted to prove that she was substantially emotionally or mentally impaired at the time, Castillo said. The results of psychological examinations were not made public.

Deputy Prosecutor Craig DeCosta recited the basic facts of the case to Judge Nakea in 5th Circuit Court yesterday morning. He said that on April 30, 2001, Robles gave birth to the child, cut the umbilical cord, put the newborn into a paper rice bag and put the bag into a trash container.

Forensic pathologist Anthony Manoukian found the child had been born alive and apparently healthy, and died of asphyxiation.

The grand jury indictment in the case suggested two avenues of prosecution: that Robles intentionally caused the death of the child, or that she caused the death by failing to meet her legal duty to protect the child.

Neighbors found Robles bleeding severely April 30 and called for an ambulance.

It was not immediately clear that she had given birth, but hospital officials concluded she had. They sent police and an ambulance crew back to the Robles family home in Koloa to search for an infant.

They found the newborn's body in an outdoor trash container. The child was posthumously named Benny Robles.