A mother and her now-6-year-old daughter, who was kidnapped as a newborn and raised by another woman, hugged and kissed during their reunion, a Pennsylvania lawmaker said.
Luz Aida Cuevas and Pedro Vera, the biological parents of Delimar Vera met with the girl at an undisclosed location in New Jersey on Thursday within hours of a judge approving a plan to grant the parents legal custody of the girl.
Philadelphia-area Rep. Angel Cruz told NBC 10 News that when Cuevas entered the room it appeared to be empty, but then Delimar jumped out from under the table and yelled, "Surprise."
"The meeting went well," New Jersey Division of Youth and Family Services spokesman Andy Williams told the Courier-Post of Cherry Hill for Friday's editions. "We'll keep moving toward reunification."
Cruz, who represents the largely Hispanic neighborhood where Cuevas lives, accompanied her to the reunion and said she was "thrilled" to finally see her daughter face-to-face.
Cruz said that Cuevas told her that Delimar called her Mommy and told her that she accepts her.
Thursday, a judge approved a gradual reunion between Cuevas and her daughter, who was allegedly kidnapped when she was just 10 days old.
The judge decided that Cuevas would receive full custody of Delimar. Her biological father was granted supervised visits.
After speaking with counselors, Cuevas said she would initially call the girl by the name she has used over the last six years, Aaliyah. But she will gradually change over to the girl's birth name -- Delimar.
Cuevas told reporters that she intends on moving so she can raise her daughter in privacy. She is concerned over the language barrier because she speaks little English and Delimar does not speak Spanish. She intends on teaching her daughter her language and will take her to Puerto Rico.
Delimar has been living with Carolyn Correa, her alleged kidnapper. Correa is in jail on $1 million bail. The girl has been in New Jersey state custody since the DNA results came back proving her birth mother is Cuevas.
Fire Department Investigating 1997 Blaze
Police said they believe that in 1997, Correa set fire to Cuevas' home and in the confusion took the girl. The fire department could not find any trace of the girl in the charred wreckage and it was determined that the girl had died in the fire and that she had burned up completely.
The finger-pointing has already begun in the case. The fire department has already launched its investigation into the handling of the fire, and the Philadelphia City Council will hold public hearings to find out exactly what happened that night six years ago.
Cuevas says she thinks a language barrier may have contributed to the confusion leading to authorities declaring her daughter dead. She said she thinks firefighters did not understand her when she said her child was still alive and not in her crib.
"I say, 'The baby is not in the room,'" Cuevas said.
NBC 10 News has learned that part of the fire department's investigation is focused on former Fire Marshal Vince Heaney, who failed to rule that the fire was an arson.
NBC 10 has also learned that Heaney was told that investigators are also looking into tax cases over the years, because he has handled some controversial cases where he may not have ruled those particular fires as arsons.
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