Jennifer Lee Wilson charged in death of Dakota Stevens, 10-year-old boy in Valparaiso, Indiana – NBC Chicago

Note: The video in the player above is from an earlier report on the death of 10-year-old Dakota Stevens.

A warrant has been issued for a northwest Indiana woman on suspicion of involuntary manslaughter in connection with the death of her 10-year-old son after she allegedly suffocated the child, court documents show.

Jennifer Lee Wilson was wanted in connection with the death of Dakota Levi Stevens, who died on April 25 as a result of a medical emergency.

According to a July 8 arrest affidavit, Porter County Sheriff’s Department officers responded to the 200 block of Falcon Way in Valparaiso on a report of an unconscious 10-year-old who was not breathing. Officers encountered a person performing CPR on the child and found the boy, Dakota Stevens, had bruising.
on his lower neck and chest area.

Dakota was taken to a nearby hospital, where a CT scan showed he had severe swelling in his brain that “may be consistent with a lack of oxygen over a prolonged period of time,” documents state.

Officers made contact with Jennifer Wilson, who was visibly distraught, according to the affidavit. Jennifer told police she and her husband had adopted Dakota and two other children who had initially been placed in foster care. The couple had been ready to leave foster care, the couple explained, but decided to take the children in because they had cared for Dakota about two years earlier.

Wilson stated that Dakota had verbal and physical aggression issues and woke up agitated that day. At one point, Wilson told the children they could go outside and play after they finished their chores. Dakota, she said, indicated that he was not going to do his chores, which Wilson said he had to do or he couldn’t go outside. Dakota then said he was going to leave and walked out the door.

Wilson wanted to give Dakota five minutes to “cool down” because “he had never done anything like this before,” the documents say.

When Wilson noticed Dakota wasn’t in the backyard, she got in the car to look for him and found him down the street talking to a woman. Wilson asked Dakota to get in the car, but he refused.

The other woman told Wilson that Dakota wanted her to call the police, to which she replied that the woman did not know what was going on and that she needed to mind her own business, the affidavit states. Dakota eventually got in the car and drove home with Wilson.

When he left the house, he refused to exit the vehicle, so Wilson opened the back door. Dakota began screaming and told Wilson he was leaving. Wilson stated she laid on Dakota’s stomach and called his social worker, documents state.

“Wilson stated that she did not know if she grabbed Dakota or if they fell to the ground as she tried to stop him from leaving, but her intention was to hold him down,” the court filing states.

While she held Dakota, Wilson held her phone in one hand and supported her with the other, authorities said. The mother told authorities she had a brief conversation with her husband over the Ring doorbell camera, telling him Dakota was having “one of his periods,” according to the affidavit. She then asked Dakota, “Are you faking this?” turned him over and it appeared his eyelids were pale, court documents say.

Wilson then began CPR and called 911. Wilson later said she lay on top of him for about five minutes.

Officers contacted a neighbor who said Dakota ran to her home about 30 minutes before emergency vehicles arrived. The neighbor stated Dakota asked her to adopt him because his parents punched him in the face and wouldn’t let him call his social worker, officers said. The neighbor said she didn’t notice any signs that Dakota was injured.

Wilson was questioned about footage from the Ring camera outside the house, which she later obtained from her husband and sent to sheriff’s detectives.

The Ring camera videos begin, according to documents, with Wilson already lying on top of Dakota, in the area of ​​his neck and head. Dakota screams throughout the entire 20-second video. In the second video, Wilson is still on top of Dakota, with her right arm and elbow on the ground and the boy crying and screaming for 20 seconds, according to the court filing.

The third video shows Wilson on top of Dakota, the boy’s arms above his head. The 10-year-old does not move during the entire 6-minute, 48-second video, according to the affidavit. Dakota also does not move during the fourth video. The fifth video shows Wilson with one knee toward the boy and saying “Dakota!” several times. When he does not respond, she begins yelling “Dakota” and asks one of her other children to call 911, the documents say.

Officials were told Dakota was pronounced dead two days later, according to court documents. An autopsy determined the cause of death was mechanical asphyxia and the manner of death was homicide. Dakota was 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds, records show.

According to Indiana driver’s license records, Wilson is 4 feet 6 inches tall and weighs 330 pounds, authorities said.