HILO, Hawai'i — A Big Island judge has ruled that a woman accused of attempted murder in a severe 2005 child abuse case involving a 10-year-old girl is fit to stand trial.

Jury selection in the trial for Hyacinth Poouahi, 40, was interrupted last year to allow her to undergo a mental evaluation by a panel of experts, but Hilo Circuit Court Judge Glenn Hara yesterday ruled that Poouahi is mentally competent.

Poouahi was a caregiver for the girl and called an ambulance to her 'Ainaloa home on Feb. 7, 2005, when the girl could not be roused.

Court records say the ambulance crew found the girl lying on a lanai of the home with a cut on her head that was "decomposing and containing maggots."

A doctor at Kapi'olani Medical Center for Women & Children who treated the girl told police the girl was malnourished and dehydrated, had a festering wound on her face, had cigarette burns and broken bones in her left hand and left foot, and had other injuries that suggested she had been bound, court records say.

Poouahi has said the girl's injuries were largely self-inflicted, and that the girl's condition suddenly deteriorated on Feb. 6, prompting her to call an ambulance the following day.

Poouahi was indicted on five felony charges, including kidnapping, terroristic threatening, first-degree assault and endangering the welfare of a minor. The attempted murder by omission count alleges Poouahi witnessed assaults and injuries to the child, and had a duty to seek help for the girl.

Hara scheduled Poouahi's trial for June 16.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.