A New Hampshire woman has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison for the death of her five-year-old son, who was beaten, starved, exposed to drugs and weighed just 19 pounds when his body was buried in a New Hampshire park. 2021.
Danielle Dauphinais, 38, wept in the courtroom, her bottom lip quivering as she tried to read through a prepared statement before she was jailed Friday, likely for the rest of her life.
She was set for trial, but after reaching an agreement with prosecutors last month, she pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of Elijah Lewis, who was buried in a Massachusetts park .
Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph 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 22 to 45 years in prison.
Danielle Dauphinais, who last month pleaded guilty to manslaughter in the 2021 death of her five-year-old son Elijah Lewis, has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison
Danielle Dauphinais, 38, shook and sobbed in the courtroom as she was jailed on Friday
Elijah Lewis, 5, death was ruled a homicide after autopsy found he suffered from ‘violence and neglect’ and had fentanyl in his system
Elijah’s autopsy revealed that he had facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl poisoning, malnutrition and pressure ulcers.
Dauphinais addressed the court at Friday’s hearing as she tried to explain her behavior, telling the judge she had also been abused as a child, saying it had a serious impact on her life.
“Yet Elijah never deserved the abuse. Parents are expected to take care of their child. I wish I could have gone back, done better and taken it all back. I didn’t know how to make better decisions at the time,” Dauphinais said.
Towards the end of the statement, Dauphinais became overwhelmed and was unable to leave her attorney to read her prepared statement.
Prosecutors described the torture Elijah endured over the course of many months.
They described how Dauphinais repeatedly attacked Elijah, sequestering him in a room and depriving him of food, clothing and basic care.
Prosecutors also read a series of texts between Stapf and Dauphinais expressing hostility toward Elijah and frustration when he did not behave according to their wishes.
“He said he wants food and for me to stop starving him because it’s not fun,” one person said.
Dauphinais faced a trial, but after reaching an agreement with prosecutors last month, he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in connection with the death of Elijah Lewis
Dauphinais, seen in court Friday, lied to investigators about her son’s whereabouts
Supreme Court Justice Charles Temple holds a photo of Elijah Lewis as he explains his sentence during the hearing for Danielle Dauphinais at Hillsborough County Superior Court South in Nashua, New Hampshire on Friday
Elijah Lewis was reported missing. Police later found his body buried in a park
Another message read: ‘I’m going to kill him and I mean it,’ while another said: ‘I hit him with the shower rod that’s all I did.’
Some of Stapf’s text messages to Dauphinais told her to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”
The judge also referred to another text message in the case, including one that referred to Elia as a “maggot.”
‘This isn’t a maggot. He is a beautiful little boy,” Judge Temple said. “The words I have seen in this case are damning.”
In handing down the sentence, the judge said Dauphinais “deserves significant and severe incarceration.”
“We need to remove you from society and show society that justice will be done,” Temple said. “I need to send a very clear message to you and the community.”
Elijah was born in Arizona in 2016 and his parents divorced a year later. Dauphinais moved to New Hampshire.
In May 2020, his father Timothy Lewis brought Elijah to Dauphinais, Stapf, and the two-year-old daughter she had at Stapf.
They stayed in the basement of a house where Stapf’s mother also lived.
Authorities say Danielle Denise Dauphinais (pictured) and her boyfriend Joseph Staf instructed others to lie about the whereabouts of Elijah Lewis
A visit to the doctor in November 2020 revealed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruises on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said
Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph 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 22 to 45 years in prison
By that fall, however, Lewis became concerned that Elijah was not receiving proper medical care and contacted the state Department of Children, Youth and Families.
In a wrongful death lawsuit filed last May against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother and the child care agency, Lewis described Elijah as having developmental problems and a difficult behavior pattern that had worsened in New Hampshire.
An attorney for the division has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying the state agency had no custody of Elijah.
A visit to the doctor in November 2020 revealed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruises on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said.
Dauphinais later told the agency that her son had been sent to California to live with Dauphinais’ sister, a custody arrangement the father had agreed to, but Dauphinais did not follow through, prosecutors said.
In October 2021, Dauphinais had given birth to a boy at home, prosecutors said. Staf took the child to a hospital with the intention of leaving him there.
The hospital found traces of drugs in the baby and contacted child protection, who opened an investigation. The agency could find no signs of Elijah.
Dauphinais said her son was with her sister, then with her brother.
Both family members told investigators that Dauphinais had 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 dumpster and took him to the Massachusetts park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him, prosecutors said.
While Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York.
While Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York
Days after their arrest, Elijah’s remains were found at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts
Days after their arrest, Elijah’s remains were found at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts.
A doctor reportedly testified during the trial that Elia was the victim of “torture, repeated physical attacks, persistent psychological abuse, including emotional rejection, belittlement, isolation and denial of care,” prosecutor Bethany Durand said.
Prosecutors said that when Elijah was found, he was 3 feet tall and weighed 19 pounds, while an average five-year-old boy would be about 4 feet tall and weigh closer to 40 pounds.
Dauphinais was indicted in 2022 on one count of first-degree murder, alleging she intentionally caused her son’s death, one count of second-degree murder, alleging she acted recklessly in causing his death, and three counts of witness tampering.