Elijah Lewis' Mother Charged With His Murder

A grand jury has indicted the mother of Elijah Lewis with first degree murder for causing the death of her son.

Lewis went missing in April 2021 but was not reported to police until October.

Danielle Denise Dauphinais, 35, and boyfriend Joseph Stapf, 30 were located in the Bronx and extradited to New Hampshire. Police searched a pond in the back of Stapf's mother's house before moving the search to Massachusetts. Lewis' body was found at Ames Norwell State Park in Abington, Massachusetts on Oct. 23. A New Hampshire cadaver dog made the discovery of the body.

Dauphinais was charged on Monday 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 Lewis recklessly with extreme indifference to the value of human life, and three counts of tampering with witnesses

The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner in Massachusetts has determined that the cause of Elijah’s death was violence and neglect, including facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment, and pressure ulcers. The manner of death was homicide.

Contact reporter Dan Alexander at Dan.Alexander@townsquaremedia.com or via Twitter @DanAlexanderNH