The New Hampshire Attorney General’s Office announced Monday that Danielle Dauphinais, 35, was indicted on murder charges in the death of her 5-year-old son Elijah Lewis.
Six months after the body of Elijah Lewis was found in the woods in Abington, Massachusetts, his mother is now charged with his murder.
Danielle Dauphinais is accused of killing her 5-year-old son.
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The family lived in Merrimack, New Hampshire at the time and the child was reported missing in October.
Dauphinais was arrested but she was not charged with his death until now.
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"He was a blessing that should have been given a better life," said Gail Williamson-Dauphinais in a statement to NBC10. "We hope she pleads guilty, except you never know what she is thinking anymore."
Williamson-Dauphinais is Danielle’s step-mother.
“Truly the only thoughts we have right now is the same as it always has been. Why???,” she wrote.
More coverage of the Elijah Lewis case
Why the child was killed and how he ended up in Abington and buried in a shallow grave is still unknown but investigators say he died from violence and neglect, facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and bed sores.
Court documents released this week reveal some new details about the case.
According to the indictment, the child was killed sometime between September 2020 and September 2021.
New Hampshire prosecutors said Dauphinais purposely caused the death of her son with "...extreme indifference to the value of human life…" and "...exceptional cruelty or depravity in inflicting death…"
New details about the witness tampering charges Dauphinais was already facing are also being revealed.
Court records indicate she told three people to either tell child protective services that Elijah was with them or not to speak with child protective services at all.
"My client maintains her innocence regarding these allegations," Dauphinais’ attorney Jaye Rancourt told NBC10 Boston in a statement.
Dauphinais is expected to be arraigned in the coming days.
