NH ELIJAH LEWIS: Missing from Merrimack, NH - Last seen May 2021 - Age 5 *Found Deceased**GUILTY PLEA*

elijah.jpg


The Merrimack Police Department aided with the help of state police and the New Hampshire Department of Justice immediately began an investigation where it was discovered Elijah was never reported missing to authorities prior to that time.

Police were at a waterfront property on Sunset Drive in Merrimack Friday and Saturday. It's the last known location and home of Elijah.

The New Hampshire State Police Marine Patrol launched a boat and was searching a lake behind the property on Saturday.


MEDIA - ELIJAH LEWIS: Missing from Merrimack, NH - Last seen May 2021 - Age 5
 
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Updated: 10:26 PM EDT Sep 28, 2022
Marissa Tansino

MANCHESTER, N.H. —
News 9 is learning new details about the allegations surrounding the death of a 5-year-old New Hampshire boy.

Elijah Lewis was found buried in a Massachusetts state park last year.

News 9 Investigates learned earlier this month Joseph Stapf, the boyfriend of the boy’s mother, intends to plead guilty to charges in connection with Elijah’s death.

Court documents revealed allegations against the boyfriend of Elijah’s mother and prosecutors said Stapf knowingly hurt Elijah.

Court documents allege Stapf threw Elijah onto his bed, causing a head injury.


<snip>
Stapf is expected in court for this plea and sentencing hearing Thursday at 1:30 p.m.
 

By KATHY McCORMACK, Associated Press
September 29, 2022 | 4:34 PM

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — The boyfriend of a slain 5-year-old boy’s mother was sentenced in New Hampshire on Thursday to 22 to 45 years in prison for manslaughter and other charges that he pleaded guilty to, nearly a year after the child’s body was found in a Massachusetts park.

Joseph Stapf, 31, had filed an intent to plead guilty earlier this month. He also admitted to second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering in connection with Elijah Lewis’ death.

The child was discovered missing and found dead last October. An autopsy showed he suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers.

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

He added, “I loved that boy. I’m so sorry for everybody who has to deal with this.”

Elijah’s father, who lives in Arizona, brought Elijah to live with Stapf and the child’s mother, Danielle Dauphinais, in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in May 2020.

Prosecutors said Elijah was starved, neglected and physically abused. They 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.

Some of the texts from Stapf to Dauphinais told her to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”
 

By KATHY McCORMACK, Associated Press
September 29, 2022 | 4:34 PM

NASHUA, N.H. (AP) — The boyfriend of a slain 5-year-old boy’s mother was sentenced in New Hampshire on Thursday to 22 to 45 years in prison for manslaughter and other charges that he pleaded guilty to, nearly a year after the child’s body was found in a Massachusetts park.

Joseph Stapf, 31, had filed an intent to plead guilty earlier this month. He also admitted to second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering in connection with Elijah Lewis’ death.

The child was discovered missing and found dead last October. An autopsy showed he suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers.

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

He added, “I loved that boy. I’m so sorry for everybody who has to deal with this.”

Elijah’s father, who lives in Arizona, brought Elijah to live with Stapf and the child’s mother, Danielle Dauphinais, in Merrimack, New Hampshire, in May 2020.

Prosecutors said Elijah was starved, neglected and physically abused. They 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.

Some of the texts from Stapf to Dauphinais told her to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”
When he says he “didn’t mean for this to happen”, that sounds like something that would be a one time Incident . But this went on and on and on. He’s a liar through and through. He “didn’t mean” to go to prison is what he’s talking about here.
 
I hate deals for murderers and yet this sentence is longer than some get who don't take deals so just goes to show ya how backwards and messed up things in our system have become... Imo.
 

by Ariana St Pierre, WGME
Wednesday, October 26th 2022

NASHUA, NH (WGME) -- A New Hampshire woman charged with murdering her 5-year-old son will be in court Wednesday for a motions hearing.

Danielle Dauphinais faces charges of first- and second-degree murder in the death of Elijah Lewis in 2021.
 

KC Downey
Updated: 11:36 AM EDT Oct 26, 2022

NASHUA, N.H. —
A woman accused of killing her 5-year-old son in 2021 was scheduled to appear in court in Nashua on Wednesday morning, but she refused to be transported to the courthouse.

The judge expressed his disappointment with the absence of Danielle Dauphinais, who is accused of killing her son Elijah Lewis, but after speaking with prosecutors and defense attorneys, he ruled that Dauphinais would be allowed to waive her appearance and the hearing would be held as scheduled.

The hearing, which is on motions in the case, was allowed to begin before 9:30 a.m. It involved a motion over DNA evidence and expert testimony. The judge ruled at the conclusion of the hearing that he would take the matter under advisement.
 

KC Downey
Updated: 11:36 AM EDT Oct 26, 2022

NASHUA, N.H. —
A woman accused of killing her 5-year-old son in 2021 was scheduled to appear in court in Nashua on Wednesday morning, but she refused to be transported to the courthouse.

The judge expressed his disappointment with the absence of Danielle Dauphinais, who is accused of killing her son Elijah Lewis, but after speaking with prosecutors and defense attorneys, he ruled that Dauphinais would be allowed to waive her appearance and the hearing would be held as scheduled.

The hearing, which is on motions in the case, was allowed to begin before 9:30 a.m. It involved a motion over DNA evidence and expert testimony. The judge ruled at the conclusion of the hearing that he would take the matter under advisement.
Refused to appear or be transported?! I'm getting really disgusted with the new wave of this kind of thing we are seeing. Just WHO controls the system? The jailed likely offenders?!! You want a trial and a fair one? Then you APPEAR. My Lord are they going to continue to allow an already imperfect system to disintegrate entirely?
 

Updated: 2:14 PM EST Nov 9, 2022
https://www.wmur.com/news-team/c03e9bb1-f1f8-4b25-bcf1-bf1bae5110a0
Ray Brewer

MANCHESTER, N.H. —
The defense attorney for a New Hampshire woman accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old son asked a judge for sanctions against the prosecution regarding jailhouse interviews connected to a separate case.

Danielle Dauphinais, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Elijah Lewis, was interviewed while being held at the Valley Street Jail in April and May in connection with an upcoming firearms trial for Adam Montgomery, who is accused in a separate case of killing his daughter Harmony.

The defense objected to those interviews, saying that Dauphinais had legal representation, and they asked for sanctions for, in part, "questioning her in violation of her constitutional rights.”

In response, officials with the attorney general’s office said of the April interview, "The defendant was not asked to relate any details about her case and was not questioned about Elijah Lewis.”
 

Updated: 2:14 PM EST Nov 9, 2022
News Team - WMUR News 9
Ray Brewer

MANCHESTER, N.H. —
The defense attorney for a New Hampshire woman accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old son asked a judge for sanctions against the prosecution regarding jailhouse interviews connected to a separate case.

Danielle Dauphinais, who is charged with first-degree murder in the death of Elijah Lewis, was interviewed while being held at the Valley Street Jail in April and May in connection with an upcoming firearms trial for Adam Montgomery, who is accused in a separate case of killing his daughter Harmony.

The defense objected to those interviews, saying that Dauphinais had legal representation, and they asked for sanctions for, in part, "questioning her in violation of her constitutional rights.”

In response, officials with the attorney general’s office said of the April interview, "The defendant was not asked to relate any details about her case and was not questioned about Elijah Lewis.”
What are the odds... Wow. This is unlike anything we've seen before isn't it? Two cases and child perps collide and both cases we were following...
 

Updated: 6:15 PM EDT May 5, 2023
Tim Callery

MANCHESTER, N.H. —
A Manchester man accused in his daughter's death is preparing for a separate trial on weapons charges, and among the witnesses prosecutors plan to call is his estranged wife and a woman who's awaiting her own trial in connection to her son's death.

Adam Montgomery has been charged with second-degree murder in the death of his 5-year-old daughter, Harmony. He was also indicted in March on weapons charges including being a felon in possession of a firearm and being an armed career criminal.

Jury selection is scheduled for the end of this month in the weapons case, with the trial starting soon after.

According to court documents, prosecutors plan to call 46 witnesses, including Adam Montgomery's estranged wife, Kayla Montgomery, who is serving time on perjury charges not connected to Harmony's death.

Also on the state's list is Danielle Dauphinais, who is awaiting her own trial after being charged with first-degree murder in the death of her son, Elijah Lewis.
 
I hadn't hit watch on this thread. This is so evil. HE WASN'T! I've never heard the defense EXCUSE "He would be the next Bundy or Dahmer". She had no connection with him. That was YOU! So sickening. So what did he do to make you think that?. Yeah. That's what I thought.
 

Updated: 12:37 PM EDT Jun 6, 2023
Ray Brewer
News Reporter

NASHUA, N.H. —
The trial of a mother accused of killing her 5-year-old son could be delayed because her lead defense attorney is taking a new job.

Danielle Dauphinais is scheduled to go to trial in January on murder charges in the 2021 death of her son, Elijah Lewis, of Merrimack.

In a hearing, Tuesday, her lead lawyer, Jaye Rancourt, said she was no longer going to be able to represent Dauphinais.

"I am leaving my law firm, and my last day at this firm will be next Wednesday," Rancourt said. "And I'm leaving to go to the federal public defender, so I can't take cases or assignments with me."

That means a co-counsel will have to be found, and it might take some time for them to sort through the materials.
 

Updated: 12:29 PM EDT Jun 13, 2023
Ray Brewer
News Reporter

MANCHESTER, N.H. —
The request to delay the trial of a Merrimack woman accused of killing her son has drawn an objection from the state.

Defense attorneys for Danielle Dauphinais are asking to push back the trial four months because her lead counsel is leaving, but prosecutors are calling the motion arbitrary and premature.

In their objection, prosecutors said the trial is still seven months away, which they said is plenty of time for a new lawyer to get up to speed.

Dauphinais is charged with murdering her 5-year-old son, Elijah Lewis, in Merrimack. Prosecutors said she allegedly killed the boy in or around September 2021.
 

Investigators first learned New Hampshire boy was missing after half-brother was born with drug-dependency, affidavit shows​

A criminal affidavit in connection with the initial missing person's case involving a Merrimack boy later found dead detailed the lengths his mother and her boyfriend allegedly went to conceal his disappearance and how investigators initially realized the boy had vanished.

The court documents were released Wednesday after a motion to unseal the affidavit filed by News 9 Investigates was granted. The affidavit had been sealed since the arrests of Danielle Dauphinais, now 37, and Joseph Stapf, now 32, on Oct. 19, 2021, in New York.


According to the affidavit, employees with the New Hampshire Division of Youth, Children and Families and members of the Merrimack Police Department first learned of Elijah’s disappearance after Dauphinais gave birth to a baby boy, Elijah's half-brother, at a home in Merrimack in October 2021 and Stapf dropped the boy off at Catholic Medical Center so hospital staff could care for and take custody of the child through the state’s Safe Haven Law.

During intake at the hospital, Stapf did not provide any identifying information, police wrote in the affidavit. Hospital staff later filed a report with DCYF, which led DYCF to seek to serve child abuse/neglect orders against Dauphinais and Stapf because the boy was born drug-dependent, according to court paperwork.

Dauphinais and Stapf allegedly told police they had recently relapsed and dropped the baby off to get the care he needed and because they did not want to get DCYF involved out of fear they could lose custody of their 2-year-old daughter.

When a DCYF employee followed up, they realized Dauphinais did not list Elijah as being in her care. Dauphinais initially told investigators Elijah was living with her sister in California and then claimed he was with her brother in Texas.

Dauphinais and Stapf lived with Stapf’s mother, who allegedly told investigators conflicting stories about when she last saw Elijah and where she thought he was. She initially said the boy had been taken to a hospital for treatment of behavioral issues but later said she thought he was in Texas. She added that it had been weeks since she last saw him at the home, police said.

According to the court paperwork, both Dauphinais and Stapf told his mother not to tell anybody about Elijah.

In the initial search of the home, investigators had discovered an unsigned affidavit from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services for temporary guardianship of Elijah to be granted to Dauphinais’ sister, who had expressed interest in caring for the boy in the past, according to the court documents.

Investigators said there were no photos of Elijah in the home, and a trash bag of boys’ toddler clothing was found. Police believed there was evidence Elijah no longer lived at the home and had been harmed, which sparked the manhunt for Duaphinais and Stapf.

It is believed Elijah died between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24, 2021. An autopsy revealed he died of violence and neglect and that his death was a homicide. Officials said Elijah suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers.

During Stapf’s 2022 sentencing hearing, it was learned Elijah endured systemic abuse while living with his mother and Stapf. A series of disturbing text messages between Dauphinais and Stapf in which they talked about abusing Elijah and not feeding him were read at the hearing.

At one point, Stapf texted Dauphinais that they needed to feed Elijah and let him sleep so he would look better so they could go out and do things, but Dauphinais responded that she didn't want to do that, according to prosecutors.

"He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it's not nice," Assistant Attorney General Bethany Durand said, reading one of the texts at the hearing.

Prosecutors said at the hearing that as the abuse went on, Stapf at one point began urging Dauphinais to stop what he referred to as "torture," but she refused.

A court date is scheduled for September as both sides in Dauphinais’ trial work to firm when it could begin. The trial could be delayed because a new attorney recently joined the defense team.
 

Investigators first learned New Hampshire boy was missing after half-brother was born with drug-dependency, affidavit shows​

A criminal affidavit in connection with the initial missing person's case involving a Merrimack boy later found dead detailed the lengths his mother and her boyfriend allegedly went to conceal his disappearance and how investigators initially realized the boy had vanished.

The court documents were released Wednesday after a motion to unseal the affidavit filed by News 9 Investigates was granted. The affidavit had been sealed since the arrests of Danielle Dauphinais, now 37, and Joseph Stapf, now 32, on Oct. 19, 2021, in New York.


According to the affidavit, employees with the New Hampshire Division of Youth, Children and Families and members of the Merrimack Police Department first learned of Elijah’s disappearance after Dauphinais gave birth to a baby boy, Elijah's half-brother, at a home in Merrimack in October 2021 and Stapf dropped the boy off at Catholic Medical Center so hospital staff could care for and take custody of the child through the state’s Safe Haven Law.

During intake at the hospital, Stapf did not provide any identifying information, police wrote in the affidavit. Hospital staff later filed a report with DCYF, which led DYCF to seek to serve child abuse/neglect orders against Dauphinais and Stapf because the boy was born drug-dependent, according to court paperwork.

Dauphinais and Stapf allegedly told police they had recently relapsed and dropped the baby off to get the care he needed and because they did not want to get DCYF involved out of fear they could lose custody of their 2-year-old daughter.

When a DCYF employee followed up, they realized Dauphinais did not list Elijah as being in her care. Dauphinais initially told investigators Elijah was living with her sister in California and then claimed he was with her brother in Texas.

Dauphinais and Stapf lived with Stapf’s mother, who allegedly told investigators conflicting stories about when she last saw Elijah and where she thought he was. She initially said the boy had been taken to a hospital for treatment of behavioral issues but later said she thought he was in Texas. She added that it had been weeks since she last saw him at the home, police said.

According to the court paperwork, both Dauphinais and Stapf told his mother not to tell anybody about Elijah.

In the initial search of the home, investigators had discovered an unsigned affidavit from the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services for temporary guardianship of Elijah to be granted to Dauphinais’ sister, who had expressed interest in caring for the boy in the past, according to the court documents.

Investigators said there were no photos of Elijah in the home, and a trash bag of boys’ toddler clothing was found. Police believed there was evidence Elijah no longer lived at the home and had been harmed, which sparked the manhunt for Duaphinais and Stapf.

It is believed Elijah died between Sept. 21 and Sept. 24, 2021. An autopsy revealed he died of violence and neglect and that his death was a homicide. Officials said Elijah suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers.

During Stapf’s 2022 sentencing hearing, it was learned Elijah endured systemic abuse while living with his mother and Stapf. A series of disturbing text messages between Dauphinais and Stapf in which they talked about abusing Elijah and not feeding him were read at the hearing.

At one point, Stapf texted Dauphinais that they needed to feed Elijah and let him sleep so he would look better so they could go out and do things, but Dauphinais responded that she didn't want to do that, according to prosecutors.

"He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it's not nice," Assistant Attorney General Bethany Durand said, reading one of the texts at the hearing.

Prosecutors said at the hearing that as the abuse went on, Stapf at one point began urging Dauphinais to stop what he referred to as "torture," but she refused.

A court date is scheduled for September as both sides in Dauphinais’ trial work to firm when it could begin. The trial could be delayed because a new attorney recently joined the defense team.
Angry Inside Out GIF by Disney Pixar
 

Mother of slain NH boy Elijah Lewis to plead guilty in his death​

The mother of a 5-year-old New Hampshire boy whose body was found in a makeshift grave in Massachusetts in October 2021, days after he was reported missing, is pleading guilty and will face decades in prison.

Danielle Dauphinais had previously pleaded not guilty to charges of first-degree murder, second-degree murder and witness tampering.

She filed a noticed Monday in Hillsborough Superior Court that she agreed to plead guilty to the second-degree murder charge, which will carry a sentence of 55 years to life in prison, as well as two counts of witness tampering, which would carry a sentence of 3.5-7 years in prison consecutive to the murder sentence.

The plea hearing is set for Thursday in Nashua, a court official said.
 
Mother of Elijah Lewis pleads guilty in 5-year-old boy's death
A New Hampshire woman pleaded guilty Thursday to second-degree murder in the 2021 death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and neglected, weighing just 19 pounds when his body was found buried in a Massachusetts park, prosecutors said.

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, faces 58 years to life in prison when she is sentenced next month. Dauphinais had been scheduled for a trial and initially pleaded not guilty before opting to change her plea. She also pleaded guilty to two counts of witness tampering in the death of her son, Elijah Lewis, in an agreement reached with prosecutors.

Judge Lisa English in Nashua accepted Dauphinais' guilty pleas. Her lawyer said that although Dauphinais didn't agree with all the facts presented by the prosecution, she did agree she participated in Elijah's death.
 

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