Mother charged with setting newborn on fire pleads guilty

The mother accused of setting her newborn baby on fire in the middle of a Pemberton street pleaded guilty on Monday.

Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier pleaded guilty in Burlington County Superior Court in Mount Holly to aggravated manslaughter. She had previously pleaded not guilty to a murder charge.

Pemberton Police responded to reports of a fire in the middle of Simontown Road in January, 2015 and found the infant ablaze after being doused with an accelerant. Dorvilier was taken into custody while the baby was flown to Saint Christopher’s Hospital in Philadelphia, alive and breathing at that time. The baby died approximately two hours later.

Under questioning by her lawyer, Dorvilier, now 23, said that she gave birth to her daughter all alone and then wrapped the newborn in a blanket and other flammable materials and lit it on fire according to the Burlington County Times. Dorvilier admitted she knew her action would result in the baby's death.

Prosecutors will recommend that Dorvilier be sentenced to 30 years in prison. She is scheduled to be sentenced April 22.