N.J. Woman Accused Of Arson, Kidnapping Surrenders

PHILADELPHIA -- A New Jersey woman surrendered to police Tuesday in Philadelphia to face charges that she kidnapped an acquaintance's baby and made it appear the infant died in a 1997 house fire.

Police say Carolyn Correa, 41, kidnapped 10-day-old Delimar Vera and set fire to the house to cover her tracks.

The case came to light in January. Luz Cuevas, the biological mother of Delimar wound up at a birthday party that the now 6-year-old was also attending.

"I looked at her. She walked in front of me. She looked at me. I looked at her. I said to my sister, 'That is my daughter. She got my daughter.' My sister said, 'You have to take it easy. You need proof. We have to find proof,'" Cuevas said.

Cuevas said she pretended the little girl had gum in her hair and removed five hair strands for DNA evidence. DNA tests confirmed her intuition.

The birth mother said she knew from watching television that they would need hair for DNA tests.

Cuevas says Correa was a family acquaintance who initially claimed she was pregnant. However, Cuevas said Correa abruptly ceased contact after the fire.

Meanwhile, Cuevas is eagerly awaiting a reunion with her daughter.

Delimar has been placed in the custody of New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services. It is not clear when she will be reunited with her biological mother, but Cuevas knows how she will greet her daughter.

She said that she will "go and give her a kiss and a hug and say, 'I love you, I love you."'

No Body Was Found In 1997

Delimar was just 10 days old when the fire destroyed her family's home in the Feltonville section of North Philadelphia on Dec. 15, 1997. Although a body was never found, authorities believed the infant had been consumed by the heat and flames of the fast-moving blaze.

But not everything added up, according to state Rep. Angel Cruz. Cruz said a woman had come to the house twice on the day of the fire, and left once with the baby's father, Pedro Vera.

"She bumps into the lady who had come to her house the day of the fire, and she sees the lady with a child, and all of a sudden, her motherly instincts say, 'that's my child.' She left there saying, 'that's my child, that's my baby," Rep. Cruz said.

Birth Mother Talks To WCAU-TV

Philadelphia TV station WCAU-TV talked exclusively to Cuevas about her relief at finally finding her daughter.

"I screamed (when I was told the test results). I felt so happy. I don't know what to say. Cry? You know, because I was in shock when they say, 'It's your daughter,'" Cuevas said happily.

Cuevas said she knew she had just met her daughter because she recognized the moles on the girl's cheek. She also said the girl looked like her sons, who never gave up hope they would be reunited with their sister.

"Every Christmas, my sons say, 'Mommy, we have to find (her).' I said, 'Don't worry, we'll find her.' I knew she was alive," Cuevas said.

Cuevas is thrilled, but she also has bitter questions for the woman accused of kidnapping her child.

"Why did she do that to me? Kidnapping my daughter? You know? She do a fire to my house to take my daughter," Cuevas said.

Correa's husband told WCAU that he is devastated to find out the girl he thought was his daughter belonged to someone else.

Girl's Birth Father Says He's Stunned

Pedro Vera said was stunned and excited that his daughter was alive and revisited the address where he last saw her. He told WCAU-TV that he couldn't wait to see his daughter.

Vera went to the same birthday party where Cuevas first laid eyes on Delimar. Correa is his cousin and introduced the girl to him as her own daughter, named Aaliyah.

"I got the feeling that was my daughter because she looked like me," Vera said.

Vera also had the feeling that the girl looked just like his son.

"A lot of years, I think she's dead. And now, when I looked at her and I said, 'Oh my God, that's my daughter. She's not dead,'" Vera told WCAU.