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NH mother who beat, starved her 5-year-old son to death faces over 50 years in prison – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News

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NH mother who beat, starved her 5-year-old son to death faces over 50 years in prison – Boston News, Weather, Sports | WHDH 7News


CONCORD, N.H. (AP) — A New Hampshire woman faces a sentence of over 50 years to life in prison in the death of her 5-year-old son, who was beaten, starved and exposed to drugs, weighing just 19 pounds when his body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.

Danielle Dauphinais, 38, is scheduled to appear in court Friday. She was facing a trial but pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and other charges in the death of Elijah Lewis in an agreement reached with prosecutors.

Dauphinais’ boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, pleaded guilty to manslaughter, second-degree assault, falsifying physical evidence and witness tampering in 2022 in connection with the boy’s death. He was sentenced to 22 to 45 years in prison.

Elijah’s autopsy showed he suffered facial and scalp injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnourishment and pressure ulcers. Prosecutors read a series of texts between Stapf and Dauphinais that expressed hostility toward Elijah and frustration if he didn’t behave according to their wishes.

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“He said he wants food and he wants me to stop starving him because it’s not nice,” one said. Another message read, “I’m gonna kill him and I mean it,” and another said, “I hit him with the shower rod that’s all I did.”

Some of the texts from Stapf to Dauphinais told her to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”

Elijah was born in Arizona in 2016 and his parents divorced a year later. Dauphinais moved to New Hampshire. In May 2020, his father Timothy Lewis brought Elijah to live with Dauphinais, Stapf, and the 2-year-old daughter she had with Stapf. They stayed in the basement of a home where Stapf’s mother also lived.

However, by that fall, Lewis became concerned that Elijah wasn’t getting proper medical care and contacted the state Division for Children, Youth and Families. In a wrongful death lawsuit filed this past May against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother, and the child services agency, Lewis described Elijah as having developmental challenges and a difficult behavior pattern that had worsened in New Hampshire.

A lawyer for the division has asked for the lawsuit to be dismissed, saying the state agency did not have custody of Elijah. A message seeking comment was sent to a lawyer representing Stapf’s mother. No attorneys are listed for Stapf and Dauphinais in the lawsuit.

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A visit to the doctor in November 2020 showed that Elijah weighed 32 pounds (14.5 kilograms) and had bruises on his face, eye and arm, prosecutors said. Dauphinais later told the agency that her son was sent to California to live with Dauphinais’ sister, a custody arrangement the father had agreed to, but Dauphinais didn’t follow through, prosecutors said.

By October 2021, Dauphinais had given birth to a boy at home, prosecutors said. Stapf brought the infant to a hospital with the intent to leave him there. The hospital found evidence of drugs in the baby and contacted the child services agency, which opened an investigation. The agency could find no signs of Elijah.

Dauphinais said her son was with her sister, and then her brother. Both relatives told investigators that Dauphinais had contacted them and asked them to lie about Elijah’s whereabouts.

Prosecutors believe Elijah died in September 2021 and the couple put his body in a container and brought him to the Massachusetts park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him, prosecutors said.

When Elijah was still missing, Stapf and Dauphinais were arrested in New York. Days after their arrest, Elijah’s remains were found.

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Prosecutors said that when Elijah was found, he was 3 feet (91 centimeters) tall and weighed 19 pounds (8.6 kilograms), while an average 5-year-old boy would be about 3.6 feet (1.1 meter) tall and closer to 40 pounds (18 kilograms).

(Copyright (c) 2024 The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.)

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New Hampshire

N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe

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N.H. lawmakers to vote on increasing tolls, civil rights, and k-12 education – The Boston Globe


One proposal (Senate Bill 627) would generate more than $53 million per year in estimated revenue for turnpike projects by essentially doubling what certain cars pay on the state’s toll roads.

The cash fare for Hampton’s main toll booth on Interstate 95, for example, would jump from $2 to $4 for cars and pickup trucks. The toll wouldn’t increase at all for motorists who use New Hampshire’s E-ZPass transponders.

“Surrounding states already have the same in-state discount structure in place,” Democratic Representative Martin Jack of Nashua wrote on behalf of a House committee that unanimously recommended the bill.

A potential hitch: Governor Kelly Ayotte. She’s expressed opposition to the whole toll-hiking idea, and proven she’s not afraid to use her veto pen.

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Modifying civil rights standard

Another proposal (Senate Bill 464) would add a few words to the state’s Civil Rights Act. Instead of addressing conduct that is merely “motivated by” a legally protected characteristic, the proposed revision would address conduct that is “substantially motivated by hostility towards the victim’s” protected characteristic (such as their race, color, religion, national origin, ancestry, sexual orientation, sex, gender identity, or disability).

The prime sponsor, Republican Senator Daryl Abbas, an attorney, testified the change was small and aligned with the law’s intent. But the attorney who oversees the Civil Rights Unit at the New Hampshire Department of Justice, Sean Locke, testified in opposition, saying the proposal could reduce protections, especially since the meaning of “substantially” is somewhat vague.

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The House is also weighing a proposed amendment that would add a few more words than Abbas’s version, potentially narrowing the Civil Rights Act’s applicability a bit further.

Open enrollment for K-12 schools

A third proposal up for a vote on Thursday (Senate Bill 101) would make every K-12 public school in New Hampshire an “open enrollment” school. That way, students could freely choose to transfer to a district other than the one where they live.

The proposed policy is controversial, partly because of how schools are funded. Districts rely mostly on local property taxes to cover their costs, as the state government chips in relatively little, and property tax rates vary widely from one community to the next. That generates concern about who will foot the bill when a student transfers.

In light of those concerns, Republicans are offering a compromise amendment to SB 101 that would require the state to provide more money per pupil that a district receives via open enrollment, as the New Hampshire Bulletin reported. Democrats are offering their own amendment to establish a study commission on this topic, rather than adopt the proposed policy now.

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Lawmakers have until May 14 to take action on the bills that came from the other chamber, though they have until June 4 to iron out any discrepancies.

Amanda Gokee of the Globe staff contributed to this report.


This story appears in Globe NH | Morning Report, a free email newsletter focused on New Hampshire, including great coverage from the Boston Globe and links to interesting articles elsewhere. Sign up here.


Steven Porter can be reached at steven.porter@globe.com. Follow him @reporterporter.





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Boston MedFlight expands into NH

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Boston MedFlight expands into NH


Boston MedFlight often touches down at the scene of some of the worst tragedies in New England – where minutes can mean life or death for a victim. The critical care transport operation is now expanding with a new base in New Hampshire.

The organization is hosting an open house at the new Manchester location on Thursday.

Boston MedFlight flies a critical care transport paramedic and nurse on every flight. Jaik Hanley-McCarthy says their helicopters and ground vehicles are equipped to handle just about any emergency medical procedure.

“Anything that can be done in the ICU,” explained Hanley-McCarthy. “We have a mobile lab so we can draw blood and run labs in real time.”

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Boston MedFlight now has five bases across the region.

“Having a base in Manchester just expands this Boston-level care even further north to the more remote areas of the state,” said Hanley-McCarthy.

Boston MedFlight operates as a network of bases and some of the locations are staffed 24 hours.

Chief Executive Officer Maura Hughes says the nonprofit operation survives on public and private donations.

“We provide about $7 million in free care every year to patients,” said Hughes. “Not every hospital can be everything to every patient. We’re really the glue that keeps the health care system together.”

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Heather Young says her daughter, Teighan, is still alive because she was flown for a critical assessment and procedure after falling off a truck and hitting her head.

“She should not be driving and walking and talking and all the things she’s doing as quickly as she is,” said Young.

Teighan just turned 18 and plans to go to college to study the medical field.

“I want to be a nurse and help other people,” she said.

It’s stories like this that keep the men and women who work Boston MedFlight focused on their mission.

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“I think we just go call by call and try to do the best we can,” said Hanley-McCarthy. “I think when we stop and truly think about it, I think that weight is pretty heavy.”

Boston MedFlight also has a yearly reunion where patients and the team get together here in Bedford to meet and check in on their progress. It really shows you how connected they are to the people they help.



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Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains

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Hiker who set out in warm spring weather found dead after snowstorm in New Hampshire mountains


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A Massachusetts hiker who set out in warm spring weather was found dead deep in New Hampshire’s White Mountains after a snowstorm dumped several inches of snow in the area, authorities said.

Kent Wood, 61, of West Roxbury, was discovered Tuesday evening on a remote section of the Kinsman Pond Trail in Franconia Notch, about 5.5 miles from his vehicle, according to New Hampshire Fish and Game.

Wood had driven to Franconia Notch on April 17 for a weekend camping and hiking trip, and set out on a hike the next morning in warm, clear weather, officials said. Family and friends last heard from him Saturday afternoon.

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When he failed to return or make contact for two days, officials said relatives reported him missing Tuesday morning, prompting a large-scale search.

HIKER IDENTIFIED, POPULAR TRAIL CLOSED AFTER DEADLY FALL A UTAH’S ZION NATIONAL PARK

An aerial view of Franconia Notch State Park in New Hampshire, where a hiker was found dead on Tuesday. (Joseph Sohm/Universal Images Group, File)

Rescuers quickly learned Wood had packed for mild conditions, not the three to five inches of snow that fell in the area between Sunday and Monday.

Fog hovers over a narrow road through Franconia Notch in the White Mountain National Forest in New Hampshire on Dec. 27, 2021. (Andrew Lichtenstein/Corbis)

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Search teams from Fish and Game, PEMI Valley Search and Rescue, and the Army National Guard launched a coordinated effort, focusing on the Lonesome Lake and Kinsman Pond areas.

FAMILY’S SPRING BREAK HIKE TURNS INTO LIFE-OR-DEATH RESCUE AFTER PARENT FALLS 70 FEET OFF UTAH CLIFF

Conservation officers located Wood’s body around 7:41 p.m. Tuesday. Crews carried him out overnight, reaching the trailhead shortly after 1 a.m. Wednesday.

Franconia Notch and the Appalachian Trail are seen in New Hampshire on Sept. 21. (Carol M. Highsmith/Buyenlarge/Getty Images)

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Since Friday, six hikers from Massachusetts have been rescued in the White Mountains, Fish and Game said.

Officials are reminding hikers that winter conditions still grip the mountains, with snow, freezing temperatures and rapidly changing weather.



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