A New Hampshire mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death faces more than 50 years in prison.

Crime

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

Katie McCormack, Associated Press

October 25, 2024 | 8:59 am

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

Danielle Dauphine, 38, is due in court on Friday. She was facing trial, but pleaded guilty last month second degree murder and other charges death of Elijah Lewis according to an agreement reached with prosecutors.

Dauphine’s boyfriend, Josef Stapf, pleaded guilty in 2022 to manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in connection with the boy’s death. He was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 22 to 45 years.

Elijah’s autopsy revealed he suffered facial and skull injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnutrition and bedsores. Prosecutors read a series of messages between Stapf and Dauphine that expressed hostility toward Elijah and frustration if he did not behave the way they wanted.

“He said he wanted food and wanted me to stop starving him because it wasn’t good,” one said. Another message said: “I will kill him and I mean it,” while another said: “I hit him with a shower rod that’s all I did.”

Some messages from Stapf to the Dauphine suggested that she give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”

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

However, that fall, Lewis became concerned that Elijah was not receiving adequate medical care and contacted the state Department of Children, Youth and Families. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed in May of this year against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother and the children’s agency, Lewis described Elijah as having developmental problems and challenging behavior that worsened in New Hampshire.

The department’s attorney asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying the state agency did not have custody of Elijah. A message seeking comment was left with the attorney representing Stapf’s mother. The lawsuit does not list attorneys for Stapf or Dauphine.

A doctor’s visit in November 2020 revealed Elijah weighed 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms) and had bruises on his face, eyes and arms, prosecutors said. Dauphine later told the agency that her son was sent to California to live with Dauphine’s sister. The father agreed to that custody agreement, but Dauphine did not follow through, prosecutors said.

By October 2021, Dauphine gave birth to a boy at home, prosecutors said. Stapf brought the baby to the hospital with the intention of leaving him there. The hospital found evidence of drugs in the child’s possession and contacted the child services agency, which began an investigation. The agency was unable to find any trace of Elijah.

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

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

While Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphine were arrested in New York. A few days after his arrest, Elijah’s remains were found.

Prosecutors said that when Elijah was found, he was 3 feet (91 centimeters) tall and weighed 19 pounds (8.6 kilograms), while the average five-year-old boy was about 3.6 feet (1.1 meters) tall and weighed about 40 pounds. (18 kilograms).