Kidnap girl goes home

A girl of six who was thought to have died in a fire as a newborn but was allegedly kidnapped has been returned to her mother.

Luzaida Cuevas, 31, and the child she named Delimar Vera were officially reunited at social services offices in Burlington County, New Jersey.

Police allege that a relative, Carolyn Correa, snatched the 10-dayold girl from her cot in December 1997, set fire to the house to cover her crime and raised the infant as her own. Correa, 42, a cousin by marriage of the girl's father, is charged with arson, kidnapping and 13 other offences.

Ms Cuevas said she instantly recognised the girl as her daughter at a birthday party on 24 January.

DNA tests established that Ms Cuevas and Pedro Vera were the girl's biological parents, police said. Ms Cuevas and Mr Vera, who are no longer together, were awarded legal custody of their daughter on Friday. The three have met several times to get to know each other and to prepare for the girl's move back to her mother's home in north-east Philadelphia.

Child psychologists believe the change will be traumatic. Her parents will try to alleviate any distress by calling her Aaliyah Hernandez - the name she was given by her alleged kidnapper.