N.H. mom pleads guilty to abusing, killing 5-year-old son who weighed 19 pounds

CONCORD, N.H. (TCN) -- A 38-year-old woman will likely spend the rest of her life in prison for starving and fatally abusing her young son with help from her boyfriend, then burying the boy’s body in a Massachusetts state park.

WMUR-TV reports Danielle Dauphinais pleaded guilty Thursday, Sept. 26, to second-degree murder for the death of 5-year-old Elijah Lewis. She faces 55 years to life in prison as part of the plea deal. Her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty in September 2022 to manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence, and tampering with a witness. He is serving 22 to 45 years in prison.

Dauphinais' plea comes almost exactly three year after the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth, and Families (DCYF) reported Lewis missing to the Merrimack Police Department on Oct. 14, 2021. Lewis, however, had not been seen since April 2021. About two weeks later, his remains were discovered in a park in Abingdon, Massachusetts. The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office said in November 2022 that an autopsy determined Lewis died from "violence and neglect," which included facial and scalp injuries, as well as acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment, and pressure ulcers. His manner of death was ruled a homicide.

Dauphinais was charged in April 2022 with first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and three counts of tampering with witnesses.

According to MassLive.com, prosecutors argued Dauphinais "tortured" and "starved" her young son and did nothing while he was dying. Dauphinais and Stapf reportedly texted each other about Lewis' abuse. One such text message reportedly said, "He wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice."

Dauphinais texted Stapf, "I’m going to kill this kid, Joe."

She referred to her son as a "f--king freak" and said she "couldn’t stand him."

After he died sometime between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24, 2021, Dauphinais told Stapf she "can breathe and be free," adding, "I was a prisoner for so long, baby. It was hell."

Stapf and Dauphinais put the boy’s body in a trash bag, drove to Massachusetts, and buried him. He weighed 19 pounds when he died, which is significantly less than a healthy child his age.

The New Hampshire Union Leader reports Lewis' father, Timothy Lewis, sued the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services, which oversees the DCYF, in May. Timothy Lewis' attorney reportedly said, "In New Hampshire, the Division for Children, Youth, and Families possesses a duty to take necessary action to prevent abuse or neglect of children. We intend to prove that DCYF could and should have prevented this little boy’s agony had it conducted a reasonable assessment for child abuse or neglect."

Elijah Lewis was reportedly living with his father in Arizona but moved to New Hampshire with Dauphinais in 2020. Lewis reportedly had behavior issues, and she tried to send him back to Arizona because he was "unsanitary, threatening, and dangerous to himself and others."

Dauphinais reportedly claimed Elijah Lewis "acts like he’s possessed sometimes" and that he caused "chaos" at home. She allegedly told Timothy Lewis, "He’s absolutely nuts, he’s absolutely crazy."

Timothy Lewis says he could not afford to fly to New Hampshire to get his son, but he contacted DCYF about the situation. At a doctor’s appointment in November 2020, a nurse reportedly noticed signs of abuse on the boy’s body. A DCYF case officer reportedly said he could go home with his mother the next day.

Dauphinais will be sentenced in October.

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