Mom accused of setting baby afire, killing her, due in court

Author: Associated Press
Published:
NathanWert/ MGN

MOUNT HOLLY, N.J. (AP) – A woman accused of dousing her newborn daughter with accelerant, setting her on fire and leaving her in the middle of a road is due in court Tuesday to answer to a murder charge.

Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 22, of Pemberton Township, faces an initial court appearance in Mount Holly. She has been held on $500,000 bail after police found the baby in flames Friday night in the middle of a Pemberton road.

Police were responding to a call about a fire on a residential road in the township, about 30 miles east of Philadelphia. Officers found the baby on fire and put out the flames.

The child apparently was alive and breathing when she was flown to a hospital in Philadelphia, said Joel Bewley, a spokesman for the Burlington County Prosecutor’s Office. She died about two hours later.

Authorities believe the mother doused her baby with an accelerant, then set her on fire, Bewley said. They aren’t yet sure about a motive, and it isn’t clear if she has an attorney.

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 tried to flee the scene, but residents stopped her.

“It was just mind-boggling,” Joseph said. “It was a nightmare even if you have a strong heart.”

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