Elijah Lewis’s mother, accused of killing him, plans to plead guilty

The New Hampshire mother of 5-year-old Elijah Lewis plans to plead guilty to multiple charges related to her son’s death on Thursday, multiple outlets are reporting.

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, will plead guilty to a second-degree murder charge and two charges of tampering with a witness, The Boston Globe reported. The plea agreement stipulates that she’ll serve 55 years to life in prison before serving between three and half and seven years for the tampering charges.

Elijah, of Merrimack, New Hampshire, was first reported missing in October of 2021 after officials said “independent individuals” had last seen the boy about six months earlier. At the time, Dauphinais and her boyfriend Joseph Staph were named as people of interest.

The couple were then both arrested in New York City and charged with witness tampering and child endangerment. Investigators found Elijah’s body buried in the woods in Abington, Mass. nine days after he was reported missing.

Autopsy results for Elijah ruled his death a homicide caused by “violence and neglect.” He suffered “facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment, and pressure ulcers,” the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts found.

Stapf pleaded guilty to manslaughter and other charges connected to Elijah’s death in September of 2022 and was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison.  

“I never wanted any of this to happen to Elijah,” Stapf said in court at the time, as he broke into tears. “I wish I could go back and change everything.”

Also in 2022, Dauphinais was charged with multiple charges related to Elijah’s death, including first-degree and second-degree murder. Dauphinais allegedly complained about Elijah to friends, comparing him to serial killers.

“I call him the next Ted Bundy and [Jeffrey] Dahmer… It’s so sad but I have no connection with this child,” Dauphinais wrote, according to the Globe. “He’s been getting worse and worse.”