A Virginia woman accused of gunning down her 6-year-old daughter told police she was trying to send the girl to heaven to protect her from aliens, the Richmond Times-Dispatch reports.

Darla Elizabeth Hise, 27, faces a charge of first-degree murder in connection with the shotgun killing of her daughter, Abigail Grace Hise, in their home in Hot Springs, Virginia, on Feb. 4.

Hise told authorities at a psychiatric hospital that she had “aliens in her body and wanted them removed from her stomach,” her lawyer, Tony Anderson, wrote in a court filing.

Anderson is seeking to suppress that statement from being introduced at Hise’s trial next month. He argues that the woman’s mental condition and habitual drug use rendered her unable to wave her right to remain silent before talking with a detective.

The day after she allegedly killed her daughter, Hise spoke with the detective while in a hospital emergency room where she was admitted after complaining of abdominal pain and anxiety.

Police had arrested Hise the night before after she called 9-1-1 multiple times saying, “I think my daughter has been shot,” according to the Daily Mail.

Hise would not give her address or name on the phone, but police were able to trace the call and found Hise in a car. She later led officers to her house, where they found the girl’s lifeless body.

Hise was speaking incoherently when she was brought to the hospital, where she was diagnosed with possible drug-induced psychosis or psychosis triggered by post-traumatic stress disorder. Hise had been using methamphetamine, amphetamines and marijuana — drugs she had been taking for several weeks prior to the killing.

During her interview with the detective, Hise claimed that her daughter and son “were in danger from aliens and that she thought she was going to save her daughter by sending her to heaven,” Anderson wrote in the court filing.

Police also found a 3-year-old boy in the home; a family member is caring for him.

Aside from the murder charge, Hise is charged with attempted murder, two counts of use of a firearm, having a firearm while in possession of drugs and possession of methamphetamine.

Hise was taken to a psychiatric hospital days after the shooting; she made statements there about aliens being inside her body and was “observed to be paranoid and suspicious,” Anderson wrote.

Hise is now in jail without bond.

She was evaluated for her mental competency to stand trial, but the results of the evaluation have not been made public, according to the newspaper.

Anderson has asked a judge to move Hise’s Aug. 23 trial outside of the county citing press coverage of the case, which he said has “evoked great passion and prejudice in the community.”

Feature photo: Bath County Sheriff’s Office