A woman convicted and later cleared of manslaughter for smoking ice during the last stages of her pregnancy has been indicted on a charge of stealing welfare benefits.

Tayshea Aiwohi was indicted by the O'ahu grand jury Thursday for second-degree theft, a felony.

She allegedly stole "financial and food stamp welfare assistance" worth more than $300 from Dec. 1, 2004, to Feb. 28, 2006, according to the indictment, obtained by the state attorney general's office.

Deputy Attorney General Lawrence Goya confirmed that the woman indicted is the same Tayshea Aiwohi who was at the center of a precedent-setting court case here that ended with a Hawai'i Supreme Court ruling in November 2005 that overturned her conviction on a manslaughter charge.

Aiwohi had been prosecuted for allegedly causing the death of her son Treyson in July 2001 by smoking crystal methamphetamine shortly before the baby was born.

She was found guilty after pleading no contest to the charge, but appealed the case to the state Supreme Court.

The high court overturned the conviction, ruling that a woman cannot be prosecuted for the death of a child caused by detrimental conduct while pregnant.

When the court decision was handed down, Aiwohi held a news conference and said, "I believe (the case) changed me into a better person and I just hope to share that with others."

She said she was "no longer the woman I used to be. I worked really hard to become who I am today."

Those statements were made Nov. 29, 2005 — during the period when the state now alleges Aiwohi was stealing welfare benefits.

Aiwohi could not be reached for comment yesterday.

Goya said she would be arrested and arraigned on the theft charge in the near future.

In March 2005, Aiwohi established the Tayshea Aiwohi Foundation, a nonprofit substance abuse recovery program.

According to state business records, the foundation is not in good standing. It is not registered on the state attorney general's online directory of charitable organizations.