DENVER -- A Denver woman accused of trying to drown her children in a bathtub has pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity.

Brenda Hernandez, 24, entered the plea Monday in a Denver court hearing.

A district judge ordered Hernandez to stand trial on three counts of attempted first-degree murder, but also ordered her to undergo a mental evaluation at the state hospital in the meantime.

A Denver detective testified that Hernandez held her 2-, 2-, and 7-year-old children under water in the bathtub of their apartment as they struggled to get away.

Police said the mother also tried to get the 7-year-old boy to help her drown his younger sisters.

Hernandez allegedly told officers her children needed to die because she was Christ, and they were the anti-Christ. She was naked when she answered the door, police said.

Her husband was out of town at the time.