MIDDLETOWN — Devoni Miller, the Cromwell woman accused of drowning her 2-year-old daughter in September, wanted to be a registered nurse and was considered a devoted mother, according to her attorney Jake Donovan.

"All I can say is that the allegations are bizarre in nature and would indicate a psychiatric problem," Donovan said on the courthouse steps after Miller was arraigned at Superior Court in Middletown Friday.

Miller, 24, stood silently next to Donovan as Supervisory Assistant State's Attorney Jason Germain called the evidence laid out in an arrest warrant filed against Miller "disturbing."

Donovan said that, according to everyone with whom he had spoken, the behavior outlined in the warrant was a "disturbing pattern of behavior."

"She was completely devoted to her daughter," Donovan said. "These allegations are completely out of character."

He then asked that his client be evaluated to determine whether she is competent to take part in her own defense.

The arrest warrant charging Miller with the death of 2-year-old Deroyal Miller outlines Miller's at times erratic behavior in the weeks before the drowning Sept. 11.

Miller crashed her vehicle twice that day — first in Cromwell near Main Street and Shadow Lane, and later on nearby Route 9 — state police said. Cromwell police also have charged Miller with evading the first crash.

State police charged Miller Thursday with murder, first-degree reckless endangerment, interfering with an emergency call, reckless driving, evading responsibility in operation to other vehicles and risk of injury to a child, according to an arrest warrant.

Judge Elizabeth Leaming ordered Miller to be held in lieu of $1 million bail and asked that she be put on suicide watch while in custody. Leaming also agreed to the competency evaluation, which will determine whether Miller understands the charges and is competent to participate in her own defense.

Miller's vehicle was found unoccupied on Route 9 after the second crash, police said. State police previously said Miller and her daughter got out of the vehicle and walked down an embankment to the Connecticut River. About two hours later, after police were called to the second crash, Miller was found walking alone along Route 9, police said.

The discovery touched off a frantic water search for her 2-year-old daughter that included marine units from nearby towns and thermal imaging cameras, Cromwell police and firefighters said.

The child was found in a rocky section of the Connecticut River, police said. She was pronounced dead at 9:23 p.m. that day at an area hospital. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner ruled the child's death a homicide by drowning.

The warrant for Miller's arrest accuses her of bringing the 2-year-old child to the bank of the river near the Route 9 crash and drowning the child. At one point during the investigation a witness said Miller told them the day after the incident that she and the child went into the water and the current separated them. Miller told police however that she went "swimming" and the child was "floating," the warrant said.

Miller had been acting strangely for weeks, family told investigators, according to the warrant. But Donovan said that she was a longtime Cromwell resident who was living with her mother and who had studied to obtain a license as a certified nursing assistant and licensed practical nurse. She wanted to become a registered nurse, Donovan said.

Miller is due back in court Feb. 20, when her case likely will be transferred to the felony court.

Staff writer Liz Hardaway contributed to this story.