A New Jersey woman charged with murder after allegedly putting her newborn baby in the middle of the road and setting the infant on fire is set to undergo a mental health evaluation before the case against her continues.
Witnesses tell authorities she claimed “it’s not my baby” after neighbors discovered what was happening. The baby did not survive.
After her arrest, 22-year-old Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier was charged with murder and jailed on Saturday in lieu of $500,000 bail. Now, AP indicates she is undergoing a mental health evaluation:
According to the Burlington County Times ( https://bit.ly/1dsti4Y ), a judge said at a status conference Monday that a report on 22-year-old Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier’s mental state should be submitted before her next court appearance.
Dorvilier’s public defender, Karen Thek, entered a not guilty plea on her client’s behalf and says she’s seeking an insanity defense.
The Pemberton woman remains jailed on $500,000 bail. She’s due in court on July 20.
Neighbor David Joseph found Dorvilier setting fire to the baby. Initially, when he confronted Dorvilier, he thought she was illegally burning trash in the middle of the road. He saw an object wrapped in towels and papers and Dorvilier told him that he dog had pooped in her vehicle and she was burning it.
“When Joseph went to confront the person, identified as Dorvilier, standing near a fire with can of WD-40 in her hand, he asked the 22-year-old to put the fire out. According to the statement, the 22-year-old apologized to Joseph and extinguished the flames with a water bottle,” one news report indicated. “It was at that point that it was discovered that the fire was not what Dorvilier claimed. Once the fire was out the baby began to cry from below the smoldering towels and paper and Dorvilier tried to run.”
Joseph grabbed Dorvilier and held her down as he shouted to his wife to call the police. While she was being held down, Joseph says Dorvilier said “it’s not my baby” and authorities indicate she said nothing further until her arrest.
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Police found the newborn wrapped in the smoldering towels and papers with the umbilical cord and placenta still attached. Further, police said that Dorvilier appeared to have just given birth and an officer transported her to the Lourdes Emergency Room at Deborah Hospital. The statement said that officer remained while Dorvilier was being examined; He reported that Dorvilier appeared to be bleeding or “spotting” on the hospital gurney.
During the investigation, two more officers went to Dorvilier’s Rutgers Avenue home where they found a trail of blood coming from an exterior door of the residence and going toward the driveway where the green Land Rover had been parked. The statement said that one of the officers met with Dorvilier’s mother and her sister and that neither woman was aware of Dorvilier giving birth. The officer observed blood on the floor of the downstairs bathroom area of the split-level home, including on the toilet. Additionally a bloody rag had been located in the bathroom, police said in the statement.
The infant died at St. Christopher’s Hospital after suffering burns over 60 percent her body.
