A 10-year-old foster boy in Indiana died days after an extremely obese woman he was temporarily living with allegedly sat on him until he lost his pulse, authorities said. Said Just 30 minutes before emergency services arrived on the scene, the boy pleaded with neighbours to take him in.
The heartbreaking story begins more than five years ago, when Dakota Levi Stevens and his sister were placed into the foster care system because of their parents’ drug addiction. Dakota appears to have bounced around in foster care as a child, and also struggled with mental health and anxiety disorders, a doctor said. Foster father The person who cared for Dakota from 2019-2021.
Wilson saw her son’s eyelids were blue and instructed one of her three adopted children from foster care to call 911.
In 2022, Dakota was adopted by Jennifer Lee Wilson but later left. Dakota was briefly returned to Wilson’s home after he had behavioral issues in his foster home earlier this year. Respite Care.
On April 25, Dakota, then 10, ran away from the home Wilson shared with her husband and three children in Valparaiso, Indiana. Reportedly Because he was being abused by his foster parents, he ran to a neighbor’s house and begged the woman there to adopt him.
When Wilson realized the boy was missing, she drove around in her car searching for him. She found the boy talking to a neighbor. Initially, Dakota refused to get into Wilson’s car and asked the neighbor to call the police, the neighbor claimed, adding that if the boy had any injuries, she didn’t see them.
Wilson eventually got Dakota in her car and encouraged the neighbor to take care of himself, but as soon as she and Dakota pulled into the driveway, Dakota’s behavior changed and he insisted on running away again.
What allegedly happened next resulted in Dakota’s loss of life.
Wilson later told police he didn’t remember if the two fell to the ground together or if he tackled the boy, but at some point he held the boy down in full view of the Ring camera on his front porch.
Wilson reportedly first lay on the boy’s neck and head, then grabbed him by his arms and held him down. Finally, Wilson, who is less than 5 feet tall and weighs 340 pounds, sat on the boy’s buttocks and held there for six minutes and 48 seconds, the Ring video showed.
During this time, Wilson called Dakota’s caseworker with Child Protective Services, at one point she allegedly stated, “I was lying on top of him and he was behaving badly.”
Dakota’s screams eventually stopped, and after sitting on the boy for nearly seven minutes, Wilson noticed that Dakota was apparently no longer breathing.
“Are you lying?” she asked. Court Documents.
Wilson saw her son’s eyelids were blue and instructed one of her three foster children to call 911 and also attempted CPR.
Unable to find a pulse, paramedics rushed Dakota to South Bend Memorial Hospital, where he died two days later. An autopsy revealed that he Mechanical AsphyxiationThe coroner ruled his death a homicide.
On Friday, the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office announced that Wilson, 48, has been charged with manslaughter. Level 5 Felony The offense carries a maximum penalty of six years in prison and a fine of up to $10,000.
Wilson was quickly arrested and placed on $20,000 bail, but jail records show she is not currently in custody.
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