HILO, Hawai'i — Court officials will summon a new batch of potential jurors next month in an effort to empanel a suitable jury for a trial of a woman accused in high-profile child-abuse case in Puna.

Problems finding impartial jurors for the case of Hyacinth Poouahi, 39, likely will delay opening arguments in the Hilo Circuit Court case until mid-April, said Deputy Prosecutor Rick Damerville.

Poouahi was caregiver to a 10-year-old girl Puna 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 said 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.

About 160 potential jurors have been screened or interviewed, mostly about pretrial publicity they had seen or read, and all but about 65 were excused, Damerville said.

The remaining juror pool is too small because many more likely will be excused after the defense and prosecution question them in more detail about friends or acquaintances on the witness list, or about other factors, Damerville said.

"Many have read stories, many have seen news articles, and many were very candid that they didn't think that they could be fair and impartial. Some said that they could," Damerville said. "It's going to be a more lengthy process than we might have wished."

A new state law offers Hawai'i residents an exemption from jury duty if they would have to drive 70 miles or more to get to court each day of the trial. On the Big Island, that means Kona residents can ask to be excused from Hilo trials.

Keith Shigetomi, Poouahi's lawyer, said he has not asked to move the case to another venue, saying it is "premature" to make such a request.

Seeking out more potential jurors than the original 160 is "unusual, but I think it's also not unexpected," Shigetomi said.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.