Despite Pedro being present at Delimar's birth & being the person to cut the umbilical cord, he did not sign the baby's birth certificate. new york city marathon start time } "Mary Lou, I've got some film in the car. "The early indication from everybody who had any contact with these people is that she took great care of this kid," Zucker said. The fire was under control within 14 minutes. In court, Carolyn Correa (search) publicly accused birth father Pedro Vera of helping her commit the crime, a charge he denied after the hearing. . The police reported that Delimar was killed in the fire. At 42, Carolyn was charged with kidnapping, arson, and concealing the whereabouts of a child. She raced up the steps and discovered a fire in the corner of the front bedroom and attempted to fight through flames to find the infant. Cuevas and Vera split up in December 2002. That affidavit, however, was accidentally destroyed, he said. But with nothing more than a gut instinct, she did not feel she could go to the police. Yet they did not go to Correa's house in Willingboro, N.J., or seek help from police or even Vera's own sister, Evelyn, who was close to Correa. Then, she raised the child as her own for six years. Cuevas had spotted the girl. Teresa Santiago, who rented an apartment to Vera and Cuevas about five years ago, said the couple often talked about the daughter they believed hadn't died. "There must be a reason there's so many holes in the story.". Entering a plea of nolo contendere, she was accused and found guilty of kidnapping, arson, and attempted murder, and was sentenced to nine to thirty years in prison in 2005. The fire was believed to have been caused by a homemade extension cord attached to a space heater near Delimar's crib. TV coverage from that night shows Correa at the scene, standing near the ambulance with Cuevas. Pedro Vera visits as much as he wants, though he said he has to call first. "I think it was a coincidence. Cuevas then went to Rep. Cruz, who contacted an assistant district attorney, who in turn persuaded the police Special Victim's Unit to investigate. Cuevas witnessed something amazing six years after the fire incident. Philadelphia area rep Angel Cruz said Cuevas was thrilled to meet the child. Carrying two bags of toys and wearing a smile, it was Pedro Vera's turn Tuesday to spend time with the 6-year-old girl a DNA test has proved is his daughter. I think something must have happened to make her do this," she said. Delimar is all grown up now, and from her Instagram page, she lives a happy life surrounded by friends and loved ones. Right after Correa left the house that night, the baby's room erupted into flames. "She said, "Carol, take this, and you'll feel better.' david pollock Cuevas and Vera split up in December 2002. The police reported that Delimar was killed in the fire. anna karina "An unusual and tragic situation like this shakes the very core of a child's sense of stability and predictability of the world around them," said Dr. David Fassler, a University of Vermont professor of psychiatry and a child psychiatrist. The girl was Cuevas' only daughter, Delimar Vera -- the girl everyone else believed had perished in a house fire when she was only 10 days old. Because the firemen found no remains, they concluded that the tiny baby burned up in the fire. In 2001, Correa had a baby with her current husband, Bryan Busardo. But she has a blemished history. "I hear everyone saying that both had suspicions all along about who took their baby, and my question is: Why didn't they do anything?" "She told me, "Where's my baby, Mary Lou? How did the child come to be at the friend's party. Before the results of the DNA tests were in, officials placed the child in New Jersey state custody. Correa. Vera said he tried to contact authorities. Pence won't commit to supporting Trump if he's the nominee She was charged with kidnapping, arson, assault, concealing the whereabouts of a child and interfering with the custody of a child. Correa's best friend, Mary Lou Puchales, said Correa had been hysterical when she discovered that the DNA showed Aaliyah was not hers. (Guess he hasnt seen the game tapes), US Supreme Court refuses to block Florida execution of Donald Dillbeck, Red-hot USF women close out home schedule with explosive offensive showing. "The girl looked at me and gave me a smile" and waved, he said. Farson, 29, said he grabbed a garden hose, crawled across porch roofs, smashed the closed bedroom windows and tried to put out the fire. display: block; Except she wasnt Aaliyah. Mr. Moore said he learned that the girl was not his child in 1999, when he requested a paternity test. December 2, 2000Gail Fisher / Date of death. In Hard-Boiled Murder (1997), the writer created a sequel in which Julie Adams, Pernell Roberts, Beverly Garland, and of course Mike Connors all reprised their characters. "She kept crying, "My baby, my baby,' " said Latasha Thomas, a neighbor who said she remembers that night like it was yesterday. "Luz did not go to that party. ", Trending News A mother was left shattered after she was informed that her ten-day-old did not survive a house fire. Puchales talked to the friend, who confirmed the story and plans to tell Zucker, Puchales said. 2004 CBS Interactive Inc. All Rights Reserved. "She told me that Luzaida gave her a pill because Carol had pain," Puchales said. Defense lawyers argued that Correa suffered from a psychotic condition in which women believe they are pregnant (search), and came to believe the baby was hers. mad men "I think you're going to find this was not an arson," Zucker said. Why is carbon dioxide so good at absorbing infrared light? He called Correa's charges against him "crazy things that she's talking about.". Can you ask Aaliyah to take the last pictures to keep for memories?" Delimar had been sleeping. That's something I need to ask Pedro and her. Cuevas said she didn't see Correa until the birthday party two months ago, but relatives and friends say that the two women and the girl, still called Aaliyah, attended some of the same social gatherings. Correa returned December 15, saying she had left her purse upstairs, he said. When he heard a commotion, Farson went outside to find an orange glow in an upstairs bedroom of Cuevas' house. jack lemmon My daughter!' Why? ", ------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------------. When Puchales, 36, visited Correa in prison recently, Correa told her that she had taken her baby to Luzaida Cuevas' house a few hours before the fire. The police turned her away, telling her that they did not do such tests at the station. "She didn't believe her baby was dead," Thomas said. Delimar Vera, who police believe was kidnapped when she was only a few days old, was reunited with her mother, Luz Cuevas, on Monday. return to sender The friend has since moved and could not be reached. Dexter Season 4 Episode 6 / Watch Dexter If I Had a Hammer Vera was not home at the time. Please enter valid email address to continue. fln Tagged: delimar vera cuevas Toggle Comment Threads | Keyboard Shortcuts. Delimar was thought to have perished in the fire, despite Cuevas and her other children making it out alive. The judge found the sentiment far short of any acceptance of the magnitude of her crime. Prosecutors said she willfully deprived Vera and the girl's mother, Luzaida Cuevas, of their child's milestones from crawling to talking to starting school for six years. Amid the turmoil, family friend and state Rep. Angel Cruz said Delimar and her mother were doing well. On Tuesday, Harold Hairston, commissioner of the Philadelphia Fire Department, said his department would review that finding. pacific time They ended up at a cousin's house when Correa told him that she had forgotten her purse at his house, and she left to retrieve it. But six years later, Luzaida spotted a little girl at a birthday party she knew in her heart was Delimar. PHILADELPHIA A woman convicted of kidnapping an infant during a fire, then raising the girl as her own for years, was sentenced Friday to nine to 30 years in prison. Vera pulled up after the Fire Department arrived with a shocked, grief-stricken look on his face, Farson said. She wanted to begin an investigation, but the cost of paying lawyers stopped her from taking action. #inline-recirc-item--id-9300466e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d, #right-rail-recirc-item--id-9300466e-8c88-11e2-b06b-024c619f5c3d { if ( host.indexOf("europe.cnn.com") != -1 ) { In 1997, the child, Delimar Vera, was thought to have died in a house fire when she was only ten days old. carlton banks Aaliyah had bubblegum stuck in her hair, and Luz offered to fix it, remembering a crime show shed watched where hair had been collected as a DNA sample. The girl, who had a heart defect, died a few hours after birth, Zucker said. They knew how to find Carolyn. After a few hearings, the pair were granted custody of Delimar. Vera worked as a car mechanic and as a stock boy for about two years at a Dollar Tree. Vera admits seeing the girl at a baby shower for his niece four years ago. "From that moment, that's when I got the feeling.". chipotle halloween 2009 She really cared for this child.". A relative - who is cousin to both Pedro Vera and Carolyn Correa - told the Courier-Post that Pedro thought the child was his daughter, but nothing was ever done to follow up on that suspicion. "This is a happily-ever-after story," Cruz said. In 1998 she was sentenced to five years' probation for setting a fire in a Hamilton, N.J., medical office where she had worked as a billing clerk. . Zucker is unclear about which legal strategy he will use for Correa, although he's considering an insanity defense. "To me she's the perfect mother," Puchales said. Some circumstances that might explain what happened. But, how? Cuevas said she asked Vera for $500 so she could hire a private investigator to find Delimar. "We're happy now. 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