Vigil held for baby set on fire allegedly by mother

Hyphernkemberly Dorvilier's mother and two sisters sat in the front row of Browns Mills United Methodist Church, embracing a line of people they did not know as if they were family.

Many walked away wiping tears from their eyes, some crying aloud as they sat down.

More than 100 gathered inside the Burlington County church Wednesday evening to honor Dorvilier's newborn daughter, Angelica, who died last week after, authorities said, Dorvilier set her on fire.

"I believe there was a tear in the eye of God that evening," the Rev. Richard Esher told the grieving crowd. But now, he said, the baby is "freed from all pain and all discomfort."

Born in the bathroom of a Pemberton Township home Friday, just hours before her death, Angelica had no birth certificate. No photo. And, until recently, not even a first name.

At the church Wednesday, where a candlelight vigil was later held in the snow, people tried to give her life.

"I just hope that there's healing," said Tina LeCompte, 44, of Browns Mills, who, like many others in attendance, did not know the family. "And maybe from this tragedy, some other tragedy can be averted."

The ceremony began with remarks from Esher, who encouraged people to pray not just for Angelica, but also for her mother.

"There is a heart that has been broken as well," he said of Dorvilier.

Those who attended lined up to write notes to the family in a book. "Fly high Angelica," one person wrote. "You were named after my daughter Angelica," another said. The book sat next to a table with fliers, one of which said, "Don't abandon your baby."

"Tonight we come together in grief, but also in mercy," Dorvilier's family said in a joint statement with church officials. "I call our community to see this tragedy through eyes of mercy and to look for ways to heal what damage we can, to use our voices and influence for goodness, and to work together to bring light into a very dark time."

Dorvilier's family came up with the name Angelica in the days after her death. Esher, who has spoken to the family, said she was likely named after a neighbor who has helped them recently, and the word angel.

"They consider her an angel," he said of Angelica.

Clues as to why Dorvilier may have killed her daughter remained sparse Wednesday.

"You just never would have expected it," said Esher, who has also spoken to several of Dorvilier's school friends. "Just very strange. Nothing extraordinary about her."

Authorities said Dorvilier hid the pregnancy from her mother and younger sister, with whom she shared a split-level home in the 200 block of Rutgers Avenue. She gave birth alone in the ground-level bathroom, where police later found a bloody toilet and rag.

After giving birth, Dorvilier drove a mile and a half to Simontown Road. Then, authorities said, she set Angelica - whose umbilical cord was still attached - ablaze, using a can of WD-40 lubricating spray and a lighter.

When a neighbor tackled Dorvilier after hearing Angelica's cries, Dorvilier told him, "It's not my baby," authorities said.

Angelica sustained third-degree burns on two-thirds of her body. She died early Saturday after being flown to St. Christopher's Hospital for Children in Philadelphia.

Her father's identity is unknown. Why Dorvilier chose Simontown Road, where police found the baby around 11 p.m. Friday, is also unclear. Dorvilier allegedly told a resident she was burning dog feces.

Dorvilier, who had a brief court hearing Tuesday, remains jailed after not posting $500,000 bail. She and her sisters, one of whom is in college, were born in Canada and moved to New Jersey. Their mother, Juana Sully, is from Haiti.

A memorial service for Angelica is scheduled for 11 a.m. Monday at Browns Mills United Methodist Church, 2 Pemberton-Browns Mills Rd. It will be open to the public.