Elijah Lewis’ mother, from New Hampshire, was sentenced to more than 50 years to life in prison after admitting to torturing and starving the 5-year-old boy before burying him in a Massachusetts park.
Danielle Dauphinais was initially scheduled for a stand trial, but this month, she entered a plea of guilty to second-degree murder and other charges related to Elijah Lewis’s murder, following an agreement with the prosecution. She sobbed in court as the judge informed her she knew precisely what she was doing: “killing him hour by hour, day by day, and month by month.”
Joseph Stapf, Dauphinais‘ boyfriend, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, second-degree assault, manipulating physical evidence, and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy’s death. The court sentenced him to 22-45 years in jail.
Hostile text messages
Elijah’s autopsy revealed he had facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnutrition, and pressure sores. Prosecutors read a sequence of letters between Stapf and Dauphinais in which they showed hate toward Elijah and dissatisfaction when he did not perform as they desired.
“He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice,” one said. Another message read, “I’m gonna kill him and I mean it,” and another said, “I hit him with the shower rod that’s all I did.”
Some of Stapf’s letters to Dauphinais instructed her to feed Elijah additional food to “fatten him up.”
Elijah was born in Arizona in 2016, and his parents split one year later. Dauphinais relocated to New Hampshire. In May 2020, his father, Timothy Lewis, took Elijah to live with Dauphinais, Stapf, and their two-year-old daughter. They stayed in the basement of a house where Stapf’s mother also resided.
However, by the fall, Lewis became concerned that Elijah was not receiving adequate medical treatment and contacted the state’s Division for Children, Youth, and Families. Lewis, in a May wrongful death complaint against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother, and the child services agency, detailed Elijah’s developmental issues and challenging behavior pattern that had worsened in New Hampshire.
The division’s lawyer has urged the dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing that Elijah was not under the state agency’s custody. We forwarded a message seeking comment to Stapf’s mother’s lawyer. Stapf and Dauphinais have no counsel mentioned in the case.
Lying about whereabouts
A doctor’s examination in November 2020 revealed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms) and had injuries on his face, eye, and arm, according to prosecutors. Prosecutors claim Dauphinais later informed the agency that the father had agreed to move her son to California to live with her sister, but Dauphinais failed to follow through.
Dauphinais gave birth to a boy at home in October 2021, according to prosecutors. Stapf brought the infant to the hospital with the intention of leaving him there. The hospital discovered traces of narcotics in the newborn and called the child welfare agency, which launched an investigation. The agency could locate no trace of Elijah.
Dauphinais stated that her son was with her sister, then her brother. Both relatives informed detectives that Dauphinais contacted them and instructed them to lie about Elijah’s location.
Body found in Abington
Prosecutors think Elijah died in September 2021, and the pair transported his body to Abington Park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him.
Stapf and Dauphinais apprehended Elijah while he was still missing in New York. Several days after their arrest, authorities discovered Elijah’s remains.
Prosecutors stated that when Elijah was discovered, he was 3 feet tall and weighed 19 pounds, but a normal 5-year-old kid would be 3.6 feet tall and closer to 40 pounds.