A New Hampshire mother who beat and starved her 5-year-old son to death cries as she was sentenced to more than 50 years in prison.

A New Hampshire woman was sentenced Friday to 53 years to life in prison. death of her 5 year old son, who was beaten, starved and drugged before his 19-pound body was found buried in a Massachusetts park in 2021.

“I’m so sorry, Elijah, that I failed you as your mother,” Danielle told Dauphine in court as she read a letter that chronicled her life as an abandoned and abused child. She broke down and cried, and one of her lawyers finished reading it.

Dauphinais, 38, stood trial in Nashua but pleaded guilty last month to second-degree murder and other charges. death of her son Elijah Lewis by agreement with the prosecutor’s office.

Prosecutors asked to sentence him to 55 years in prison. The defense asked for 35 years – the minimum term. Dauphine also received an additional three to seven years for lesser offenses.

Elijah’s autopsy revealed he suffered facial and skull injuries, acute fentanyl intoxication, malnutrition and bedsores.

Prosecutors said Elijah was tortured and neglected.

He was kept in the bathroom for long periods of time, often naked, and monitored via video.

Eventually, they said, he broke down and showed photographs of him gradually losing weight over a 16-month period. In the last photo he had one eye closed.

Dauphine divorced Elijah’s father, who was caring for the boy in Arizona. He brought Elijah to her in New Hampshire in May 2020.

Her lawyers said the child had “serious psychiatric problems” and neither parent had him assessed.

But Judge Charles Temple said that, overcome by invective, the hateful messages she sent her boyfriend about her son and her actions were damning.

“You knew exactly what you were doing to Elijah. You killed him, hour after hour, day after day, month after month,” he said.

Dauphine’s boyfriend, Josef Stapf, pleaded guilty in 2022 to manslaughter, second-degree assault, tampering with physical evidence and witness tampering in connection with the boy’s death.

He was sentenced to imprisonment for a term of 22 to 45 years.

Prosecutors read a series of messages between Stapf and Dauphine that expressed hostility toward Elijah and frustration if he did not behave the way they wanted.

“He said he wanted food and wanted me to stop starving him because it wasn’t good,” one said. Another message said: “I will kill him and I mean it,” while another said: “I hit him with a shower rod and that’s all I did.”

Stapf wrote a message to the Dauphine asking her to give Elijah more food to “fatten him up.”

Defense lawyer Benjamin Faulkner said the messages were sent to Dauphine in desperation because Elijah was exhibiting aggressive behavior that she could not cope with while caring for another child.

She was also pregnant and abusing fentanyl and heroin.

Dauphine said her ex-husband did not provide her with his insurance information so she could seek help.

Prosecutors said she shifted blame and responsibility to her father and others.

“She did nothing to help Elijah,” prosecutor Bethany Durand said.

Elijah lived with Dauphinais, Stapf and the two-year-old daughter she had with Stapf in the basement of the house where Stapf’s mother also lived.

That fall, Elijah’s father, Timothy Lewis, became concerned that Elijah was not receiving adequate medical care and contacted the state Department of Children, Youth and Families.

Elijah had developmental disabilities and complex behavior patterns that worsened in New Hampshire, Lewis said in a wrongful death lawsuit filed earlier this year against Dauphinais, Stapf, Stapf’s mother and the child welfare agency.

Faulkner said Lewis told the children’s agency he couldn’t take Elijah back because he was concerned about the safety of the other children living in his home. The pressure was put on Dauphine, “who didn’t have the ability to handle it,” Faulkner said.

On Friday, a separate judge allowed the state agency to dismiss the case in part.

An attorney for Stapf’s mother denied the allegations in a court document. The lawsuit does not list attorneys for Stapf or Dauphine.

Elijah weighed 32 pounds and had bruises on his face, eyes and arms during a doctor’s visit in November 2020, prosecutors said.

Dauphine later told the agency that her son was sent to California to live with Dauphine’s sister. The father agreed to that custody agreement, but Dauphine did not follow through, prosecutors said.

By October 2021, Dauphine gave birth to a boy at home, prosecutors said. Stapf brought the baby to the hospital with the intention of leaving him there.

The hospital found evidence of drugs in the child’s possession and contacted the child services agency, which began an investigation.

The agency was unable to find any trace of Elijah.

Dauphine said her son was with her sister and then with a man she called her brother but turned out to be a friend.

Both the sister and friend told investigators that Dauphine contacted them and asked them to lie about Elijah’s whereabouts.

Prosecutors believe Elijah died in September 2021 and the couple placed his body in a container and drove it back. to Massachusetts Park, where Stapf dug a hole and buried him, prosecutors said.

While Elijah was still missing, Stapf and The Dauphinés were arrested. in New York. A few days after his arrest, Elijah’s remains were found.

Prosecutors said that when Elijah was found, he was 3 feet tall and weighed 19 pounds, while the average 5-year-old boy was about 3.6 feet tall and weighed about 40 pounds.

Lewis addressed the court by telephone Friday, saying he could never forgive Dauphine for her actions and wanted her to be haunted by the death of their son. Faulkner said yes.