Warrant issued for woman accused of killing foster son by lying on top of him in Indiana
VALPARAISO, Ind. (CBS) -- An arrest warrant has been issued in Northwest Indiana for a woman accused of killing her 10-year-old foster son by lying on top of him.
A probable cause affidavit for a warrant against Jennifer Lee Wilson was issued this past Monday in Porter County Superior Court.
In the affidavit, Porter County Sheriff's Detective Dan Alonzo reported that on the afternoon of April 25, officers were called to a residence in Valparaiso for a 10-year-old boy who was not breathing and who turned out to have no pulse. An officer found that the boy had bruising on his lower neck and chest, the affidavit said.
Police tried to resuscitate the boy, and he was taken to Northwest Health Porter for further treatment, the affidavit said. On the scene, Wilson told police the boy, Dakota Levi Stevens, was her son, and he had just run away from the house, the affidavit said.
Wilson told police her son had just run away from the house—and she had found him at a next-door neighbor's house and brought him back home, the affidavit said. Wilson told police her son was still "acting up" and threw himself on the ground saying he was leaving—at which point she lay on his midsection and called his caseworker, the affidavit said.
Wilson said the boy eventually stopped moving and she thought he was faking, the affidavit said. She told police she lay on her son for about five minutes, the affidavit said.
Officers also talked to the neighbor, who said Dakota ran to her house about half an hour before emergency vehicles came, the affidavit said. The neighbor said the boy asked her to adopt him because his parents hit him in the face and did not call his caseworker, the affidavit said.
The neighbor said Wilson then came to take her son back, the affidavit said. The neighbor told police she did not see any signs of injury on the boy at the time.
Meanwhile, Dakota was airlifted to a children's hospital in South Bend after a CT scan revealed severe brain swelling that would result from oxygen deprivation for an extended time, the affidavit said.
Police talked to Wilson the same day. She said Dakota had been placed in her and her husband's care earlier that month through Lake County, Indiana Child Protective Services—and there were three other children in the house who had also been foster children but whom Wilson and her husband had since adopted, the affidavit said.
Wilson said she and her husband originally declined to take in Dakota, but agreed since they had provided respite care for him two years ago, the affidavit said.
Wilson told police Dakota had verbal and physical aggression issues but had not run away before. She said that day, Dakota had woken up agitated—and had been told not to run in the house while playing Nerf guns with one of the other children, the affidavit said.
Wilson said she then told Dakota and the other children they could go out and play after doing their chores, but Dakota refused to do his chores, the affidavit said. Wilson said she told the boy that meant he could not go out and play later, and at that point, he walked out the door, the affidavit said.
Wilson told police that at first, she had planned to give Dakota time to cool off—but then saw he was not in her backyard, the affidavit said. She said she then got in her car to find him, and saw him down the street talking to the neighbor, the affidavit said.
The neighbor told Wilson the boy had asked her to call the police—but Wilson told police she told the woman to mind her own business, the affidavit said. Wilson said Dakota eventually go got in the car, but refused to get out when they got home—and screamed at her and told her he was leaving, the affidavit said.
Wilson said when she attempted to stop the boy from leaving, she did not know if she tackled him or if they fell to the ground, but she intended to restrain him in their front yard, the affidavit said.
Wilson said she was lying across the boy's body, and said she called his caseworker on Facetime, the affidavit said. She said the caseworker tried to calm Dakota down over the phone, but he kept flailing and moving around, the affidavit said.
She said she eventually got out of breath due to her weight, the affidavit said.
The affidavit said Wilson told police the caseworker asked her to call back when they got inside. She also called her husband via Ring and said Dakota was having "one of his days."
Wilson said she then asked Dakota if he was ready to get up and asked him, "Are you faking?" the affidavit said. She then rolled him over and saw that his eyelids were pale, began CPR, and called 911, the affidavit said. A neighbor also came to help, the affidavit said.
Detective Alonzo wrote that he reviewed several Ring doorbell camera videos of the incident, two of which showed Wilson lying across Dakota's body near his neck and head while he screamed the whole time. In two later clips, which lasted nearly seven minutes, Wilson was still on top of Dakota—but he was not moving, the affidavit said.
In a fifth and final video, Wilson is seen on one knee facing Dakota and screaming his name several times. When he did not answer, Wilson was heard saying, "I was laying on him, and he was acting bad," the affidavit said.
On April 27, South Bend Memorial Hospital reported to sheriff's police that Dakota had died. An autopsy determined he had suffered organ and soft tissue damage, liver and lung hemorrhaging, and other injuries, the affidavit said.
The cause of death for Dakota was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, and the manner a homicide, the affidavit said.
Dakota stood 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds, while Wilson stood 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighed 340 pounds, the affidavit said.
The affidavit called for an arrest warrant against Wilson on charges of reckless homicide.
The Porter County Sheriff's office said Wilson was not in custody as of Friday, but the case has been assigned to a judge.