OHIO: A woman in America has been accused of killing her month-old daughter by microwaving her in an oven.

China Arnold, 26, told police she was drunk but could not recall doing anything that caused the burns, a court heard.

Arnold, of Ohio, has pleaded not guilty to the aggravated murder of her daughter Paris Talley in August 2005.

At a pretrial hearing, detective Michael Galbraith said Arnold told him during questioning: "If I hadn't gotten so drunk, I guess my baby wouldn't have died."

But when questioned by defence attorney Jon Paul Rion, Galbraith said Arnold told him she did not know how the baby suffered the burns, and had nothing to do with it that she could recall.

Galbraith said Arnold told him she arrived home in the early hours after drinking, fell asleep and was woken at 2.30am by the baby's crying.

She said she warmed a bottle in the microwave oven, tried to give it to the baby, changed the child's nappy then fell asleep on the sofa with the baby on her chest, Galbraith said.

Arnold said she and her three children - aged seven, six and three - were the only ones in the apartment until her boyfriend arrived later and noticed something was wrong with the baby, Galbraith said.

The coroner concluded the injuries could only have been caused by the child being cooked in a microwave oven, according to prosecutor Mathias Heck Jr, who is seeking the death penalty.