Crime & Safety
Accused Murder Danielle Dauphinais To Plead Guilty To Killing Her Son
Elijah "Eli" Lewis, 5, found buried in a grave in Abington, Mass. in 2021, died from violence and neglect, according to a medical examiner.
NASHUA, NH — A Merrimack woman accused of murdering her 5-year-old child is planning to enter a guilty plea for second-degree murder and avoid a trial, according to court documents filed Tuesday.
Danielle Dauphinais was charged with murdering her son, Elijah “Eli" Lewis. The remains of Lewis were discovered buried in a state park in Abington, Massachusetts, after an exhaustive search in October 2021 that spanned multiple states. The medical examiner ruled the boy died from violence and neglect.
Court documents filed Tuesday show that Dauphinais agreed to plead guilty to one count of second-degree murder and two counts of witness tampering in exchange for a state prison term of 55 years to life.
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The witness tampering charges each carry a prison term of 3 1/2 to 7 years and will be served concurrently with the murder sentence.
The trial had been set to begin in two weeks, with a pool of nearly 500 jurors expected.
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Dauphinais is scheduled to appear in Hillsborough County Superior Court South at 9 a.m. Thursday to formally enter the plea agreement.
Dauphinais has been held at Hillsborough County House of Corrections since her arrest in New York City shortly after the child’s body was found in a park in Abington, Massachusetts.
Joseph Stapf, Dauphinais boyfriend, pleaded guilty to several charges, including manslaughter. He is serving a 22 to 45-year sentence in the New Hampshire prison for men in Berlin.
