A 26-year-old woman accused of trying to kill her 3-year-old daughter allegedly told her husband she did it because "voices were telling her that they were going to burn and kill the kids," according to a court document.

Elly M. Rivera of Hooper Place near Pearl Harbor was charged today by prosecutors with attempted second-degree murder and is being held in lieu of $150,000 bail at the main police station cellblock pending her initial appearance tomorrow at District Court.

An affadavit from police said Rivera's husband, Jesse Y. Rivera, stated his wife kept repeating that voices told her "they would kill and burn the kids" and that she choked her daughter "because she didn't want them to suffer."

Jesse Rivera said he was at home Sunday with his family at 8:25 p.m. when his son came running down the stairs yelling the baby was "not doing good." When Rivera asked his son what happened, his son told him "mamita" did something to the baby, the document said.

Rivera went upstairs to check and found his wife sobbing in a bedroom bathroom. She asked him to check on the baby and make sure she didn't stop breathing, Rivera said in his statement to police.

Rivera said his daughter's face was very red, her lips were dry and pale, and she was breathing quickly with occasional convulsions, according to the court document. While holding his daughter, Rivera said his son told him that his mother tried to choke the baby.

Emergency Medical Services personnel took the child to Kaiser Moanalua Medical Center in critical condition. Police said yesterday the child's condition had improved to serious.

Mrs. Rivera was arrested Sunday at 8:40 p.m.