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.
The New Hampshire Union Leader previously reported Dauphinais' intent to plead guilty.
Child welfare officials notified police that the boy was missing Oct. 14, 2021. After a state police dog found his body in the woods on Oct. 23, 2021, in Abington, Massachusetts, an autopsy showed he died of “violence and neglect.”
The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts determined the boy suffered “facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers.”
Dauphinais was accused of killing her son sometime between Sept. 27, 2020, and Sept. 24, 2021. She also is accused of telling two people to lie and say the boy was with them in October and telling a third not to talk to investigators.
Dauphinais was later arrested in New York.
Elijah's stepfather, Joseph Stapf, was sentenced to 20-40 years at New Hampshire State Prison two years ago after he pleaded guilty to charges of manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering
Elijah's father, Timothy Lewis, gave a victim impact statement at Stapf's sentencing, calling his actions "unforgivable" and questioning how someone could harm a 5-year-old boy. Lewis' grandparents and aunt also gave impact statements via victim advocates.
The Elijah Lewis case and another involving a missing New Hampshire child, 5-year-old Harmony Montgomery, have brought criticism on the New Hampshire Division for Children, Youth and Families.
Harmony's mother, Crystal Sorey, begged for help finding the girl, whose disappearance wasn't investigated for about two years, in emails with the subject line, “my daughter is missing/in danger and dcyf wont help,” that were sent to the Manchester mayor’s office previously obtained by NBC10 Boston.
“Please im begging for help in finding my daughter before she Ends up like that little boy that just passed away due to neglect through the department!” Sorey wrote, apparently referring to the Elijah Lewis case.
