"N.J. police accuse woman of setting newborn on fire" Associated Press January 18, 2015
PEMBERTON TOWNSHIP, N.J. — A New Jersey woman who authorities say put her newborn baby in the middle of a residential road and set the child on fire was charged Saturday with murder.
Burlington County prosecutors said Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 22, of Pemberton Township, was jailed in lieu of $500,000 bail. It wasn’t known if she had retained a lawyer.
Not that it really matters, but the name looks foreign.
Police responded Friday night to a call about a fire on a road in the township, about 30 miles east of Philadelphia. Officers found the baby in flames and put out the fire.
The child reportedly was alive and breathing at the time she was flown to a hospital in Philadelphia, Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office, said in an announcement, but died about two hours later. An autopsy will determine the cause of death.
Authorities believe the mother doused her baby with an accelerant and then set her on fire, Bewley said. The woman was taken into custody Friday night.
Prosecutor Robert Bernardi said details of the baby’s birth were still being investigated. The baby’s age has not been disclosed. Bernardi would not comment on whether the mother has a criminal record or whether she has been involved with child welfare officials.
Dave Joseph, 45, of Pemberton Township, told The Burlington County Times that he saw a young woman get out of her car and light something on fire in the middle of Simontown Road. He said the woman told him she was burning dog waste.
Joseph said the woman appeared calm and soon tried to flee the scene, but residents stopped her.
‘‘It was just mind-boggling,’’ he said. ‘‘It was a nightmare even if you have a strong heart.’’
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"Mom accused of setting baby afire held on $500K bail" Associated Press January 21, 2015
MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. — A New Jersey woman accused of dousing her newborn daughter with accelerant, setting her on fire, and leaving her in the middle of a road said little in her first court appearance Tuesday, appearing on video to answer to a murder charge.
Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 22, was read the charge by Superior Court Judge Philip Haines. He maintained her $500,000 bail, which was set after police found the baby in flames Friday night in the middle of a Pemberton Township road and arrested the woman.
Dorvilier was found with a can of WD-40 and a lighter in her jacket pocket. The baby had third-degree burns over about 60 percent of her body, investigators said in court documents.
When the infant was found, she still had the umbilical cord and placenta attached, investigators said. The baby was alive and breathing when she was flown to a hospital in Philadelphia, but died two hours later.
Dave Joseph, who discovered the burning baby and held Dorvilier down, told police the woman said the baby wasn’t hers. Police said they found a trail of blood leading from Dorvilier’s home and she appeared to be bleeding while at the hospital afterward.
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I don't know why the woman snapped, but this is tragic.
