Background: Danielle Dauphinais during an interrogation (Attorney General of New Hampshire). Inset: Elijah Lewis (Attorney General of New Hampshire).
A mother from New Hampshire vehemently denied any involvement in harming her missing 5-year-old son when questioned by investigators. She expressed her frustration by stating, “We did not hurt that little boy and I do not appreciate you suggesting otherwise.”
The events unfolded on October 18, 2021, a day after law enforcement apprehended Danielle Dauphinais, 38, and her partner, Joseph Stapf, 34, at a subway station in the Bronx, New York. This occurred several days before Elijah Lewis, 5, was tragically discovered deceased in a park in Abington, Massachusetts.
Despite Dauphinais’ claims of innocence regarding any harm to Elijah, she ultimately pleaded guilty to a lesser charge of second-degree murder, along with two counts of tampering with a witness. She received a sentence of 53 1/2 years to life. Stapf also admitted to his involvement, pleading guilty to manslaughter and receiving a prison term of up to 45 years.
In a text to a friend, Dauphinais previously voiced frustration with the young child’s behavior, comparing him to serial killers Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer. But loved ones in court described him in glowing terms, and the judge acknowledged the 5-year-old had an obvious “zest for life.”
Relatives of 5-y-o Elijah Lewis in front row with #ElijahLewisStrong signs, as boyfriend of Merrimack, NH boy whose body was discovered in Abington, MA last year, is now pleading guilty to manslaughter & other charges. “We want to be Elijah’s voice.”#wbz pic.twitter.com/aZDCZtcPC3
— Christina Hager (@ChristinaHagerD) September 29, 2022
In the interrogation footage from 2021, Dauphinais was emphatic that she was innocent of hurting the child, and maintained she had no clue about what happened to him. She agreed when an investigator suggested Elijah was likely dead, however.
But prosecutors produced text messages showing that she and Stapf discussed abusing Elijah and not feeding him, though it was Stapf who pleaded with Dauphinais that they had to feed him and let him sleep so he would look better and they could take him out. Finally he found the child naked and bleeding from the head in a bathtub, and Elijah died some time between Sept. 21 and 24, authorities said.
Dauphinais recruited Stapf to help get rid of the body. They drove a pickup truck to Abington, where they buried Elijah in a shallow grave, prosecutors said.
“We didn’t do anything,” she said in Oct. 18, 2021. “There’s no body!”
