City of Philadelphia - File #: 040195

• File #: 040195
• Version: 0
• Type: Resolution
• Status: ADOPTED
• File created: 3/4/2004
• In control: Committee on Public Safety
• Title: Authorizing Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to investigate how the City conducted its investigation into the December 15, 1997 fire at the house of Luz Aida Cuevas and the presumed death in that fire of Delimar Vera, recently discovered to be living as Aliyah Hernandez, now six years old, who was in fact kidnapped from her home before the fire was set.
• Sponsors: Councilmember Ramos, Councilmember Mariano, Councilmember DiCicco, Councilmember Miller, Councilmember Goode, Councilmember Reynolds Brown, Councilmember O'Neill, Councilmember Krajewski, Councilmember Clarke, Councilmember Tasco, Councilmember Blackwell, Councilmember Kelly, Councilmember Rizzo

Date	Ver.	Action By	Action	Result	Tally
3/29/2004	0	Committee on Public Safety	HEARING NOTICES SENT
3/29/2004	0	Committee on Public Safety	HEARING HELD
3/29/2004	0	Committee on Public Safety	RECESSED
3/4/2004	0	CITY COUNCIL	READ
3/4/2004	0	CITY COUNCIL	Introduced	Pass
3/4/2004	0	CITY COUNCIL	ADOPTED & REFERRED

Title
Authorizing Council's Committee on Public Safety to hold public hearings to investigate how the City conducted its investigation into the December 15, 1997 fire at the house of Luz Aida Cuevas and the presumed death in that fire of Delimar Vera, recently discovered to be living as Aliyah Hernandez, now six years old, who was in fact kidnapped from her home before the fire was set.
Body
WHEREAS, On December 15, 1997, a fire broke out in the home of Luz Aida Cuevas in Philadelphia. Mrs. Cuevas was forced out of the house before she could find her ten day old daughter, Delimar Vera; and

WHEREAS, Firefighters believed they had found the remains of Delimar Vera in the house, but when it was determined that they had found building materials and not human remains, fire officials presumed that the remains of Delimar Vera had been wholly consumed by the fire. Fire officials ruled the fire to have been an accident; and

WHEREAS, The past January, Mrs. Cuevas attended a party and saw a six year old girl, Aliyah Hernandez, who Mrs. Cuevas instinctively knew was her daughter, Delimar Vera. With the assistance of State Representative Angel Cruz, an investigation was undertaken, and it was determined through DNA testing that the girl is in fact Delimar Vera. Investigators have charged a woman with kidnapping the girl and setting the fire in Mrs. Cuevas' house to conceal the crime; and

WHEREAS, While this story brings joy at the discovery of a little girl long since thought perished in a fire, and hopes for the successful reuniting of a family, the story also raised troubling questions concerning the City's investigation into the December 15, 1997 fire. Most troubling is the fact that investigators did not continue to investigate after they determined that what they first thought were human remains were in fact building materials; now therefore

RESOLVED, BY THE COUNCIL OF THE CITY OF PHILADELPHIA, That the Committ...