May 12, 2015
File Art /Burlington County Police Department
Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 22, of Rutgers Avenue in Pemberton, was charged with murder for setting her baby daughter on fire Jan. 16, 2015, police say.
A Pemberton Township mother who is charged with setting her baby girl on fire in January pleaded not guilty Monday, the Burlington County Times reports.
Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 22, faces charges of first-degree murder and second-degree endangering the welfare of a child after witnesses say she set her newborn baby on fire. The baby's umbilical cord was still attached. The incident occurred in the middle of Simontown Road.
Public Defender Karen Thek said she intended to send notice later Monday to Burlington County Assistant Prosecutor James Ronca that she would amend the plea to either not guilty by reason of insanity or by diminished capacity.
Police found the baby girl severely burned, though still alive, around 11 p.m on Jan. 16. Neighbors claim that Dorvilier, who was initially taken to Deborah Heart and Lung Center in Browns Mills, calmly set the infant on fire in the middle of the roadway. The child was airlifted to St. Christopher's Hospital in Philadelphia and died about two hours later. An autopsy revealed that the baby died of smoke inhalation and burns.
Dorvilier remains jailed on $500,000 bail and is scheduled to appear in court on June 8 for a conference.
Read more from the Burlington County Times.
