NH mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son faces more than 50 years in prison

Crime

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Elijah Lewis under a deal reached with prosecutors last month.

By KATHY McCORMACK, Associated Press

October 25, 2024 | 08:59

CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire woman faces more than 50 years to life in prison Death of 5 year old sonBeaten, starved and drugged, his body weighed just 19 pounds when it was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, is scheduled to appear in court Friday. He was facing a trial but He confessed his crime last month second degree murder and other charges death of Elijah Lewis by agreement with prosecutors.

Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty in 2022 to involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in connection with the child’s death. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison.

Elijah’s autopsy showed that he suffered from facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl poisoning, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers. Prosecutors read a series of texts between Stapf and Dauphinais in which hostility towards Ilyas was expressed and frustration if Ilyas did not act according to his wishes.

“He said he wanted food and wanted me not to leave him hungry because that’s not nice,” one of them said. Another message read: “I’m going to kill him and I mean it” and another said: “I hit him with a shower rod that’s all I did.” he said.

Some texts sent from Stapf to Dauphinais told him to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up”.

Elijah was born in Arizona in 2016, and his parents divorced a year later. The Dauphinais moved to New Hampshire. In May 2020, his father, Timothy Lewis, brought Elijah to live with Dauphinais, Stapf, and his 2-year-old daughter by Stapf. They stayed in the basement of the house where Stapf’s mother also lived.

But that fall, Lewis became concerned that Elijah wasn’t getting needed medical care and contacted the state’s Department of Children, Youth and Families. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed last May against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother and the child services agency, Lewis said Elijah had developmental difficulties and a difficult pattern of behavior that got worse in New Hampshire.

A lawyer of the department asked for the case to be rejected, saying that the state institution did not have custody of İlyas. A message seeking comment was sent to an attorney representing Stapf’s mother. Lawyers for Stapf and Dauphinais are not involved in the lawsuit.

A visit to the doctor in November 2020 showed that Ilyas weighed 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms) and had bruises on his face, eyes and arm, prosecutors said. Dauphinais later told the agency that his son was sent to California to live with Dauphinais’ sister; It was a custody arrangement the father agreed to, but Dauphinais did not comply with it, prosecutors said.

As of October 2021, Dauphinais had given birth to a son at home, prosecutors said. Stapf took the baby to the hospital with the intention of leaving him there. The hospital found evidence of drugs in the baby and contacted children’s services to investigate. The agency found no trace of Elijah.

Dauphinais said her son was first with his sister and then with his brother. Both relatives told investigators that Dauphinais contacted them and asked them to lie about Elijah’s whereabouts.

Prosecutors believe Elijah died in September 2021 and the couple placed his body in a container and brought it to a Massachusetts park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him.

While Elijah was still at large, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York. Days after their arrest, İlyas’ body was found.

Prosecutors said that when Ilyas was found, he was 91 centimeters tall and weighed 8.6 kilograms, while an average 5-year-old child would be 1.1 meters tall and weigh close to 40 kilograms. (18 kilograms).