HILO, Hawai'i — An 11-year-old Puna girl who suffered what has been described as severe child abuse is improving daily from injuries that left her in a coma for weeks, according to the Big Island prosecutor handling the case.

The girl was sent to a California hospital for treatment of burns and is now in foster care in Hawai'i.

A woman who had been housing the child pleaded not guilty yesterday to attempted murder by omission and four other felony charges in Hilo Circuit Court. Judge Glenn Hara set a trial date of May 15 for Hyacinth L. Poouahi, 38, who was being held at the Hawai'i Community Correctional Center in lieu of $25,000 bail.

The girl was removed from Poouahi's 'Ainaloa subdivision home on Feb. 7, suffering from burns, broken bones and festering wounds. The injuries were so severe that the girl, who was 10 at the time, was near death for weeks. A doctor who treated the child told police she was malnourished and dehydrated, had been burned by cigarettes, and suffered other injuries that suggested she had been bound, according to court records.

Poouahi has said the girl's injuries were largely self-inflicted.

The woman is charged with kidnapping, terroristic threatening, assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. The charge of attempted murder by omission alleges Poouahi witnessed assaults and injuries to the child, and had a duty to seek help for her.

The 11-year-old girl and her immediate family are not being identified by The Advertiser to protect the child's privacy. The girl had been living with Poouahi's family for about three months, but is not related to the woman. Friends of the family have said the girl's 28-year-old mother regularly left her daughter for weeks or months at a time with family members or acquaintances.

On hand for yesterday's arraignment was the child's father, who asked Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville outside the courtroom why the girl's mother is not being prosecuted.

"She contributed to this, too," the man told Damerville, who would not answer the question with reporters present. The prosecutor suggested the father contact him later.

The father, who has been estranged from the girl's mother, would not talk with reporters, saying he was ordered by a Family Court judge not to speak publicly about the matter.

Damerville said charges against other people involved in the case are possible.

"At this time, there is one defendant," he said. "We're going to take it one step at a time."

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.