A Porter County woman accused of killing her 10-year-old foster son in April was arrested Saturday night just across the Michigan border, authorities said.
An autopsy conducted by the St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office revealed that Dakota Levi Stevens died a result of mechanical asphyxia, and the bureau ruled his death a homicide in June.
On Friday, the Porter County Sheriff’s Office issued an arrest warrant for 48-year-old Jennifer Wilson, Stevens’ former foster mother, on charges that she used her body to smother the boy as punishment for his bad behavior.
Police obtained footage from a doorbell camera at Wilson’s Liberty Township home of the April 25 incident that allegedly led to the child’s death. The video shows Wilson, who weighed 340 pounds, lying on top of Stevens for several minutes.
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When county police arrived at the scene, they found the child unconscious and performed CPR while waiting for emergency personnel. Stevens was taken to Northwest Health Porter, where a CT scan revealed swelling in his brain. From there, he was flown by helicopter to South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he was later pronounced dead.
In a statement released Sunday, the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office wrote that a deputy arrested a female murder suspect in New Buffalo, Michigan, after her vehicle was captured by an automatic license plate reader.
Benjamin McFalls, spokesman for the Porter County Sheriff’s Office, identified the arrested man as Wilson.
ALPRs, both vehicle-mounted and stationary, have become an increasingly common law enforcement tool in recent years and now have a strong presence in northwest Indiana. Since early 2023, the federal government has provided grants to install or expand the technology in Gary, Whiting, Hammond and Michigan City.
Wilson was accused involuntary manslaughter, a Level 5 felony punishable by a maximum sentence of six years in prison.
