CONCORD, N.H. — A woman from New Hampshire is facing a potential prison sentence exceeding 50 years to life following the tragic death of her 5-year-old son. Elijah Lewis suffered severe abuse, including starvation and drug exposure, and was only 19 pounds when his body was discovered buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.
Danielle Dauphinais, who is 38 years old, is set to appear in court on Friday. Although she was scheduled for trial, she entered a guilty plea last month for second-degree murder along with other charges as part of a plea deal reached with prosecutors.
Her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, has also pleaded guilty to multiple charges including manslaughter and was sentenced in 2022 to a term ranging from 22 to 45 years in prison. His charges stemmed from the same tragic incident involving Elijah’s death.
The results of Elijah’s autopsy revealed evidence of severe abuse, including facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnutrition, and pressure ulcers. Prosecutors presented several alarming texts exchanged between Stapf and Dauphinais, which conveyed their disdain for Elijah and expressed frustration regarding his behavior.
In one text, someone wrote, “He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice.” Another message ominously stated, “I’m gonna kill him and I mean it.” Further texts discussed physical abuse, with one detailing an instance of hitting Elijah with a shower rod and others instructing her to increase his food intake to “fatten him up.”
Elijah was born in Arizona in 2016, and his parents divorced shortly thereafter. Following the split, Dauphinais relocated to New Hampshire. In May 2020, Elijah’s father, Timothy Lewis, placed him with Dauphinais and Stapf, along with their daughter, in the basement of a house shared with Stapf’s mother.
By the fall of 2020, Lewis grew concerned about Elijah’s well-being and the lack of necessary medical care, prompting him to reach out to the state’s Division for Children, Youth and Families. Last May, a wrongful death lawsuit was filed against Dauphinais, Stapf, and others involved, wherein Lewis described Elijah as having developmental issues and behavioral challenges that had worsened since moving to New Hampshire.
A representative for the state agency has requested the dismissal of the lawsuit, arguing that they did not have custody of Elijah. Attempts to reach the lawyer of Stapf’s mother for a comment were unsuccessful, and there were no attorneys listed for Stapf and Dauphinais regarding the lawsuit.
In November 2020, a doctor’s visit revealed that Elijah weighed only 32 pounds and displayed significant bruises. Later, Dauphinais claimed that Elijah had moved to California to live with her sister, which was supposed to be a custody agreement agreed upon by his father; however, she did not fulfill this promise.
By October 2021, after Dauphinais gave birth to another son, Stapf attempted to leave the newborn at a hospital. There, healthcare professionals discovered drugs in the infant’s system and alerted child services, initiating an investigation. During this time, Elijah was still unaccounted for.
Dauphinais misled authorities by claiming her son was staying with family members, but those relatives later informed investigators that she had instructed them to lie about Elijah’s location.
Prosecutors suspect that Elijah succumbed to abuse in September 2021, after which the couple concealed his body in a container and buried it in a park in Massachusetts, with Stapf taking the lead in the burial process.
Following Elijah’s disappearance, both Stapf and Dauphinais were apprehended in New York. Shortly after their arrest, the remains of Elijah were discovered, revealing a shocking reality: when found, Elijah was only 3 feet tall and weighed 19 pounds, significantly lower than the average weight and height for a child of his age.