A children's book author was killed in an electrical fire in her New Jersey home, and investigators believe she was trying to rescue her 8-year-old son from the blaze. The young boy did not survive.
Fire officials in Orange, NJ found the body of 37-year-old Tanji Dewberry, a vice president at the WL Ross investment firm in Manhattan, and son Evan Soler, at around 11:30 p.m. on Sunday night. A neighbor had noticed flames and called 911. Investigators believe an electrical problem in the boy's room, where both Dewberry's and Evan's bodies were found, may have sparked the blaze, though the cause of the fire is still under investigation.
Dewberry was a children's book author whose first published work, 2013's Oh Fiddlesticks!, was inspired by Evan's ADHD diagnosis. "When we got the diagnosis in 2011, we learned strategies to help him deal with anger and frustration, because those were two of the main emotions displayed during his more impulsive moments," Dewberry told the Examiner in an interview last year. "The book was my thing outside the world of being Evan’s mom and an Investor Relations professional. As long as I can nurture who I am as a person, I think that makes me a better mother for Evan."
Evan's father, Virgilio Soler, told reporters he was in shock over news of his son's death. "I'd drop him off at school and he'd ask me for a kiss. As I'm walking away he'd ask me for another one," he said. "I don't know if it’s something that I'll ever be able to overcome."
Dewberry, who was active in communities for mothers of special needs children, reportedly planned to turn her book into a series.
