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 only 19 pounds when his body was buried in a park in 2021.
Danielle Dauphinais, 38, sobbed in the courtroom as her lower lip trembled as she tried to read a prepared statement before she was jailed Friday, likely for the rest of her life.
He had been facing trial, but after reaching a deal with prosecutors last month he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Elijah Lewis, who was buried in a Massachusetts park.
Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy’s death. He was sentenced to between 22 and 45 years in prison.
Danielle Dauphinais, who pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder 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 Friday.
The death of 5-year-old Elijah Lewis was ruled a homicide after an autopsy found he suffered “violence and neglect” and had fentanyl in his system.
Elijah’s autopsy showed he suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl poisoning, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers.
Dauphinais addressed the court during Friday’s hearing as she attempted to explain her behavior by telling the judge that she had also been abused as a child, saying it severely affected her life.
‘Still, Elijah never deserved any of the abuse. Parents are supposed to take care of their children. I wish I could have gone back, done better and gotten it all back. “I didn’t know how to make better decisions at the time,” Dauphinais said.
Toward the end of the deposition, Dauphinais felt overwhelmed and could no longer let her attorney read the prepared statement.
Prosecutors described the torture Elijah was forced to endure for many months.
They described how Dauphinais repeatedly assaulted Elijah, leaving him isolated in a room and depriving him of food, clothing and basic care.
Prosecutors also read a series of texts between Stapf and Dauphinais that expressed hostility toward Elijah and frustration if he did not behave according to their wishes.
“He said he wants food and wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice,” one said.
Dauphinais was facing trial, but after reaching a deal with prosecutors last month he pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Elijah Lewis.
Dauphinais, seen in court Friday, lied to investigators about her son’s whereabouts
Superior Court Judge Charles Temple holds a photograph of Elijah Lewis as he explains his sentence at the hearing for Danielle Dauphinais in 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 him to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”
The judge also referenced another text message in the case, including one that referred to Elijah as a “worm.”
‘This is not a worm. “He is a beautiful boy,” Judge Temple said. “Your words that I have seen are damning in this case.”
In handing down the sentence, the judge said Dauphinais “deserves significant and severe incarceration.”
“We have to take them out of society and show them that justice will be done,” Temple said. “I have to send you and the community a very clear message.”
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 took Elijah to live with Dauphinais, Stapf, and the two-year-old daughter he had with Stapf.
They stayed in the basement of a house where Stapf’s mother also lived.
Authorities said Danielle Denise Dauphinais (pictured) and her boyfriend Joseph Stapf ordered others to lie about the whereabouts of Elijah Lewis.
A doctor’s visit in November 2020 showed Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruising on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said.
Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy’s death. He was sentenced to between 22 and 45 years in prison.
However, that fall, Lewis was concerned that Elijah was not receiving adequate medical care and contacted the state Division 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 described Elijah as having developmental problems and a difficult pattern of behavior that had worsened in New Hampshire.
An attorney for the division asked that the lawsuit be dismissed, saying the state agency did not have custody of Elijah.
A doctor’s visit in November 2020 showed Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruising 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, a custody agreement the father had agreed to, but Dauphinais did not follow through, prosecutors said.
In October 2021, Dauphinais had given birth to a child at home, prosecutors said. Stapf took the baby to a hospital with the intention of leaving him there.
The hospital found evidence of drugs on the baby and contacted the child services agency, which opened an investigation. The agency could find no sign of Elijah.
Dauphinais said her son was with his sister and then his 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 container and took it 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 his arrest, Elijah’s remains were found at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts.
Days after his arrest, Elijah’s remains were found at Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts.
A doctor reportedly testified at trial that Elijah suffered “torture, repeated physical assaults, ongoing psychological abuse, including emotional rejection, denigration, 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 child would be about 3.6 feet tall and about 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.