HONOLULU -- A young mother tried to explain Tuesday how she allowed her daughter to waste away and nearly die of starvation in their Makiki apartment.

Denise Wright is on trial for attempted murder along with her ex-husband.

Wright said her husband created an environment of isolation, neglect, fear and shame from which she said she couldn't build up the courage to rescue her 12-year-old daughter.

"There wasn't enough food to feed her," said Wright.

She said she was jobless and dependent on her husband Melvin, but he brought less and less food to their Makiki apartment after welfare was cut off and, as he spent more time with another woman, it affected Indigo's appetite.

"She started getting picky and less hungry when her father wasn't coming around any more," Wright said.

After that, Wright said the thinner she saw Indigo get, she was afraid for her daughter but more afraid of what people would think.

"Afraid of being ridiculed or judged because she was losing the weight," Wright said. "[I was] ashamed of people seeing my daughter the way she was."

She said Melvin told her there wasn't money or insurance for a doctor.

"He told me he was doing the best that he could that he was trying," Wright said.

She also said she didn't realize how weak her daughter was, even on January 2007 when she seemed barely conscious.

"She said, 'Hi,' but it was like a whisper," Wright said.

Wright said she called Melvin instead of 911.

Indigo barely survived and now lives with her grandparents. Although her parental rights are terminated, Wright said she has spoken to her daughter by telephone, but has not seen her since she went into the hospital.

Melvin Wright is not expected to testify. Both parents face life in prison if convicted.