HONOLULU -- A judge on Thursday sentenced a couple to life in prison with the possibility of parole for starving their daughter.

A jury in September found Denise and Melvin Wright guilty of attempted murder.

A 12-year-old Indigo Wright was barely more than a skeleton at 29 pounds when she lay near death in Kapiolani Medical Center for Women and Children.

Indigo Wright barely survived and now lives with her grandparents. Indigo Wright recovered physically, but mentally the 15-year-old performs at the third-grade level, prosecutors said.

She had wasted away in a Makiki apartment with her mother while her father lived with a girlfriend.

"That's the tragedy of this case, in that Indigo Wright was just a pawn of these two feuding parents," Deputy Prosecutor Maurice Arrisgado said.

Judge Rhonda Nishimura said the couple made a "breach of parental trust."

The sentence for attempted murder is automatically life with a chance for parole. Both plan to appeal the verdict.

The prosecutors said they plan to ask for a 50-year minimum before parole would be offered. The Hawaii Paroling Authority will make the final decision. During the trial, Melvin Wright claimed he did the best he could to support his family.

Denise Wright claimed a troubled childhood and mental illness made her too weak to get help for her weakening daughter. Her lawyer, Debra Loy, read her statement.

"So I kept it hidden. I tried to cover up just thinking I was protecting my daughter when in fact I caused her more harm than good," Loy read. "I am truly blessed today for my daughter's love and forgiveness. I am truly blessed to hear her say, 'Mommy, I love you.'"

The prosecutor said Indigo Wright is brain-damaged with serious behavior problems. Arrisgado said he doubts she understands what her parents did to her.

"I just wonder I question whether or not she has the capacity to understand that type of relationship," he said.