Killer mom sobs and quivers as she’s sentenced for starving son, 5, to death

A New Hampshire woman has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison over the death of her five-year-old son, who was beaten, starved, exposed to drugs, and weighing just 19 pounds when his body was buried in a park in 2021. 

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, sobbed in the courtroom while her lower lip quivered as she tried to read through a prepared statement before she was jailed on Friday, likely for the rest of her life. 

She had been facing a trial but after reaching an agreement with prosecutors last month 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 manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy’s death. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison. 

Danielle Dauphinais, who pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder in the death of her five-year old son Elijah Lewis in 2021, has been sentenced to 50 years to life in prison

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, quivered and sobbed in the courtroom as she was jailed on Friday

Elijah Lewis, 5, death 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 intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers. 

Dauphinais addressed the court during Friday’s hearing as she attempted to explain her behavior by telling the judge she had also been abused as a child, saying it severely impacted her life.

‘Even so, Elijah never deserved any of the abuse. Parents are supposed to take care of their child. I wish that I could have gone back, could have done better and take 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 continue leaving her attorney to read out her prepared statement. 

Prosecutors described the torture that Elijah was forced to endure over the course of many months. 

They described how Dauphinais repeatedly assaulted Elijah, left him isolated him in a room, deprived 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 didn’t behave according to their wishes.

‘He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice,’ one said. 

Dauphinais had been facing a trial but after reaching an agreement with prosecutors last month pleaded guilty to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Elijah Lewis

Dauphinais, seen in court on Friday, lied to investigators over the whereabouts of her son

Superior Court Justice Charles Temple holds a photograph of Elijah Lewis as he explains his sentence at 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 gonna kill him and I mean it,’ while another said, ‘I hit him with the shower rod that’s all I did.’

Some of the texts from Stapf to Dauphinais told her 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 ‘maggot.’

‘This is not a maggot. It’s a beautiful little boy,’ Judge Temple said. ‘Your words that I have seen are damning in this case.’ 

As he passed the sentence, the judge said Dauphinais ‘deserves significant and severe incarceration.’

‘We have to remove you from society and show society 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 brought Elijah to live with Dauphinais, Stapf, and the two-year-old daughter she had with Stapf.

They stayed in the basement of a home where Stapf’s mother also lived.

Authorities said Danielle Denise Dauphinais (pictured) and her boyfriend Joseph Stapf instructed others to lie about Elijah Lewis’s whereabouts

A visit to the doctor in November 2020 showed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruises on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said 

Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy´s death. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison 

However, by that fall, Lewis became concerned that Elijah wasn’t getting proper medical care and contacted the state Division for Children, Youth and Families. 

In a wrongful death lawsuit filed this past May against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother, and the child services agency, Lewis described Elijah as having developmental challenges and a difficult behavior pattern that had worsened in New Hampshire.

A lawyer for the division has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying the state agency did not have custody of Elijah.

A visit to the doctor in November 2020 showed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruises on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said. 

Dauphinais later told the agency that her son was sent to California to live with Dauphinais’ sister, a custody arrangement the father had agreed to, but Dauphinais didn’t follow through, prosecutors said.

By October 2021, Dauphinais had given birth to a boy at home, prosecutors said. Stapf brought the infant to a hospital with the intent to leave him there. 

The hospital found evidence of drugs in the baby and contacted the child services agency, which opened an investigation. The agency could find no signs of Elijah.

Dauphinais said her son was with her sister, and then her brother. 

Both relatives 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 brought him to the Massachusetts park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him, prosecutors said.

When Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York. 

When Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York 

Days after their arrest, Elijah’s remains were found in Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts 

Days after their arrest, Elijah’s remains were found in Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts.

A doctor would have testified at trial that Elijah suffered ‘torture, repeated physical assaults, ongoing psychological maltreatment, 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 boy would be about 3.6 feet tall and closer to 40 pounds.

Dauphinais was indicted in 2022 on one count of first-degree murder alleging that she purposely 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.