7-Year-Old Girl Killed In Pemberton House Fire

A house fire in central New Jersey has claimed the life of a 7-year-old girl.

Burlington County Prosecutor Robert Bernardi says Lamiyah Graves hid in a bedroom closet to escape the fire and could not be rescued due to the heavy smoke and flames that engulfed her Pemberton Township home.

Graves' four siblings, who range in age from 3 to 14, were able to safely escape the fire, which broke out around 11:30 p.m. Wednesday. The oldest child was caring for her siblings at the time because their mother, 34-year-old Shirita Turner, was visiting a relative in Philadelphia.

The cause of the fire remains under investigation, although fire officials say it appears to have been an accident.

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