Mother Who Said She Wanted 5-Year-Old ‘Gone’ Will Plead Guilty To Murdering Him

New Hampshire: Danielle D. Dauphinais, a 38-year-old New Hampshire mother charged with the abuse and death of her 5-year-old son, Elijah Lewis, is set to plead guilty to second-degree murder.

Guilty Plea to Lesser Charges

The charge is a lesser offense than the initial first-degree murder charge. In addition to the homicide charge, Dauphinais will admit to two counts of tampering with a witness. She faces a sentence of 55 years to life in prison for the murder, alongside an additional three-and-a-half to seven years for witness tampering.

The plea hearing is scheduled for Thursday. A spokesperson for the New Hampshire Department of Justice confirmed the hearing but declined to comment on the details of the potential plea. Dauphinais’ case stems from the death of her son, Elijah, whose body was found in a Massachusetts state park after a 10-day search in October 2021. Investigators determined that Elijah had been dead for approximately a month before being found.

A History of Abuse and Neglect

Prosecutors revealed chilling text messages between Dauphinais and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, discussing the abuse and neglect of Elijah. The messages show both adults expressing disdain for the child and debating whether to feed him. At one point, Stapf suggested feeding Elijah and allowing him to sleep so they could take him out in public without arousing suspicion. Dauphinais refused, according to evidence presented in court.

In another incident, Stapf reportedly threw Elijah onto a bed, causing him to hit his head. Despite his pleas for Dauphinais to stop what he called “torture,” she refused. Eventually, Stapf discovered the child naked and bleeding from the head in a bathtub but failed to seek medical attention. Elijah’s death occurred sometime between September 21 and 24, 2021. After the boy’s death, Dauphinais and Stapf transported his body to a remote area in Abington, Massachusetts, where they buried him in a shallow grave.

Elijah’s Death Linked to Violence and Fentanyl

According to the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Elijah’s death was caused by a combination of violence, neglect, malnourishment, and acute fentanyl intoxication. The official cause of death included facial and scalp injuries, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers, further highlighting the extent of abuse he endured before his death. Joseph Stapf pleaded guilty in September 2022 to manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying evidence, and tampering with a witness. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison for his involvement in the case. Elijah’s father, Timothy Lewis, expressed his heartbreak during Stapf’s sentencing, saying, “You are less than human. You could have stepped up to stop this at any point if you had been man enough.”

Disturbing Messages Surface

Months before Elijah’s death, Dauphinais sent disturbing text messages to a friend, comparing her son to infamous serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. In these messages, she expressed her desire for Elijah to be “gone,” stating she could no longer handle him. Dauphinais claimed she had no connection with her son, blaming his behavior on being taken away by his father at the age of one and returning only in May 2020.

Her friend, Erika Wolfe, recalled these unsettling messages after Elijah’s disappearance made headlines. Wolfe admitted she initially believed Dauphinais was venting and assumed child protection services were monitoring the situation. When Elijah’s body was found, Wolfe reflected on the messages with regret, saying, “I remembered those messages, and I was like, ‘Oh no.’”