A mother has been charged in connection to the death of her 5-year-old son, Elijah Lewis, who she allegedly called “the next Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer.”
According to New Hampshire Attorney General John M. Formella on Monday, Danielle Dauphinais has been indicted on multiple charges related to the child’s death including first-degree murder. He announced in a press release:
“On April 15, 2022, the Hillsborough County Grand Jury – Southern District returned indictments charging Danielle Dauphinais with one count of first degree murder for purposely causing the death of Elijah Lewis; one count of second degree murder for causing the death of Elijah Lewis recklessly with extreme indifference to the value of human life; and three counts of tampering with witnesses.”
The 35-year-old woman is currently being held without bail. An arraignment is set to be scheduled in Hillsborough County Superior Court.
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This devastating situation began when Lewis’ remains were found buried in a shallow grave in a wooded area by Ames Nowell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts last October. An investigation into his disappearance began a week prior when he was reported missing by the New Hampshire State Department of Children, Youth and Families. Fingers quickly pointed to Elijah’s mother because of some shocking texts she sent months before!
Back in June, Dauphinais allegedly discussed her son’s personality while writing a message to her friend Erika Wolfe on Snapchat, in which she called out some allegedly disturbing qualities of the little boy, saying (via the Boston Globe):
“I call him the next Ted Bundy and Jeffrey Dahmer.”
Damn! As true crime junkies know, Ted Bundy was a serial killer known for kidnapping, raping, and murdering women in the ’70s. He ultimately confessed to thirty murders he committed across seven states! Meanwhile, Jeffrey was also a serial killer and sex offender who went after 17 men and boys between the late ’70s to early ’90s. Did this mother REALLY think her child was destined to be such a vile monster?!
According to the Boston Globe, she seemed 100% positive that he was going to amount to no good — and she made her feelings strikingly clear. She allegedly continued in her message to a friend:
“It’s so sad but I have no connection with this child. His father took him at the age of one and never returned him until last May 2020. He’s been getting worse and worse. I want him gone. I can’t handle it anymore.”
Yikes…
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But we should note that having no connection with a kid and feeling like he could be a serial killer are definitely two very different things! While she also described Elijah as “violent,” it’s unclear what he allegedly did to cause this type of fear.
Danielle and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, were initially arrested on October 18 in NYC on warrants of witness tampering and child endangerment. Authorities told local outlet WHDH that the couple had been accused of asking people to lie about the child’s living situation after they discovered child protection service workers were looking for him. He hadn’t been seen for six months before he was reported missing, the outlet noted.
Sadly, an autopsy report released by the New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office in November determined that the 5-year-old’s cause of death was a homicide caused by neglect, malnourishment, fentanyl poisoning, and violence (as noted by facial and scalp injuries). So far, neither Danielle nor her lawyer has addressed the charges.
If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org.
[Image via Merrimack Police Department]
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