After confessing to killing her 10-year-old foster son by sitting on his stomach for several minutes after he had asked a neighbor to call 911 because he was being abused, a 49-year-old woman in Indiana faces years in prison.
According to documents examined Jennifer Lee Wilson entered a guilty plea on Tuesday to one count of reckless homicide in connection with the death of young Dakota Stevens.
A person found guilty of reckless homicide in Indiana faces a maximum fine of $10,000 and up to six years in a state prison.
At approximately 3:37 p.m. on April 25, 2024, deputies from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office responded to a call about a 10-year-old who was not responding at a residence in the 200 block of Falcon Way in Valparaiso, Indiana, which is roughly 150 miles northwest of Indianapolis, as previously reported by Law&Crime.
When first responders arrived, they discovered the boy, who was later identified as Dakota, lying on the ground close to the driveway of the house.
The boy, according to deputies, was “not conscious, not breathing, and had no pulse,” but someone was giving him CPR. Additionally, the victim’s chest and lower neck were visibly bruised, according to first responders.
Before emergency medical personnel arrived and transported Dakota to a hospital, where he passed away two days later, deputies took over CPR.
His cause of death was determined by an autopsy to be a homicide, with severe brain swelling and being “deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time” as the cause of death. In addition, he experienced liver and lung hemorrhage and organ damage.
Wilson was contacted by police at the scene and was described as “visibly distraught.”
According to a probable cause affidavit, Wilson clarified that Dakota had been misbehaving throughout the day and had once left the house and refused to do his chores.
A few blocks away, Wilson claimed to have discovered him conversing with another woman. Wilson was informed by the other woman that Dakota had just asked her to call the police.
According to the affidavit, Wilson was able to get Dakota back in the car and drive home after telling the other woman to “mind her own business.”
But Dakota reportedly got out of the car and screamed that he was going after first refusing to do so.
“She does not know if she tackled Dakota or they fell to the ground, but her intention was to hold him,” Wilson said in the court filing when she tried to stop him from leaving.
According to police, Wilson was “laid on (Dakota’s) midsection” close to his head and neck in video captured by a Ring doorbell camera.
Two clips, which span roughly seven minutes, police said, show Wilson sitting atop a motionless Dakota, although the original footage showed the boy struggling and flailing to escape.
Wilson can be heard yelling Dakota’s name and then stating, “I was laying on him and he was acting bad,” after realizing that she had lost consciousness, according to the police.
Wilson weighed 340 pounds and stood 4 feet 11 inches tall, while Dakota was only 90 pounds, according to the authorities.
As of right now, Wilson’s sentencing hearing is set for January 17, 2025.
