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Burlco mother pleads guilty to setting newborn afire

The Pemberton Township mother who set her newborn on fire hours after giving birth pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated manslaughter.

The Pemberton Township mother who set her newborn on fire hours after giving birth pleaded guilty Monday to aggravated manslaughter.

Prosecutors will recommend that Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier, 23, face 30 years in prison for the crime. Her original charge of murder was amended to aggravated manslaughter as part of a plea deal offered by prosecutors.

Dorvilier's mother, Juana Sully, looked down and wiped away tears as Judge Terrence Cook read the terms of the deal. Dorvilier answered basic questions from Cook with, "Yes, your honor," or "No, your honor."

When public defended Karen Thek asked if Dorvilier set the fire and realized "there was a probability that death would result from those actions," Dorvilier said, "Yes."

At the end of the hearing in Superior Court in Burlington County, Dorvilier embraced Thek, before being led away in an orange jail jump suit and shackles.

Dorvilier's sentencing is scheduled for April 22.

Prosecutors on Feb. 16 received a psychological report on Dorvilier, done by a private psychologist at the defense's request.

Authorities said Dorvilier took a can of WD-40 lubricating spray and a lighter, and set her newborn daughter ablaze on a street in Pemberton Township on the evening of Jan. 16, 2015.

Dorvilier drove to Simontown Road, where she lit the fire, several hours after giving birth alone in the bathroom of her home a mile and a half away, authorities said.

The baby, whom family members later named Angelica, still had her umbilical cord attached at the time of the fire, prosecutors said. Neighbors who called 911 said they could hear the infant crying. She had third-degree burns on two-thirds of her body, authorities said.

Angelica was flown to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia, but died less than two hours later.

Authorities said Dorvilier, 22 at the time, hid her pregnancy from her mother and younger sister, with whom she lived.