An arrest warrant was issued for a northwest Indiana woman accused of felony reckless homicide in connection with the death of her 10-year-old son after allegedly asphyxiating the child, according to court documents.
Jennifer Lee Wilson was sought in connection with the death of Dakota Levi Stevens, who died after experiencing a medical emergency on April 25.
According to a probable cause affidavit filed on July 8, officers with the Porter County Sheriff's Department responded to the 200 block of Falcon Way in Valparaiso for a report of an unconscious 10-year-old who was not breathing. Officers arrived to a person performing CPR on the child and observed the boy, Dakota Stevens, had bruises
on his lower neck and chest area.
Dakota was rushed to a nearby hospital, where a CT scan showed he had severe swelling in his brain, which could "be consistent with being deprived of oxygen for an extended period of time," documents revealed.
Officers made contact with Jennifer Wilson, who was visibly distraught, according to the affidavit. Jennifer told police she and her husband adopted Dakota and two other children, who were initially in foster care. The couple was ready to stop fostering, they explained, but decided to take in the children because they provided respite care for Dakota about two years earlier.
Wilson stated Dakota had verbal and physical aggression issues, and he woke up agitated that day. The 10-year-old indicated he wasn't going to do his chores, which Wilson said he must or he couldn't go outside. Dakota then said he was leaving and walked out the door.
Wilson planned on giving Dakota five minutes to "cool off" because "he had not done this before," documents stated.
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Once Wilson realized Dakota wasn't in the backyard, she got into the car to look for him and found him down the street, talking to a woman. Wilson asked Dakota to get inside the vehicle, but he refused.
The other woman told Wilson that Dakota wanted her to call the police, to which she replied the woman didn't know what was going on and that she needed to mind her own business, the affidavit revealed. Dakota eventually got inside the vehicle and drove home with Wilson.
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Once outside the residence, he refused to exit the vehicle, at which point Wilson opened the back door. Dakota then began screaming and told Wilson he was leaving. Wilson stated that she laid on Dakota's midsection and called his caseworker, documents revealed.
"Wilson stated that when she attempted to stop him from leaving, she does not know if she tackled Dakota or they fell to the ground however her intention was to hold him," the court filing stated.
As she held Dakota down, Wilson stated she had one hand holding her phone and the other bracing her, authorities said. Wilson later asked Dakota "Are you faking?" rolled him over and it appeared his eyelids were pale, court documents stated.
Wilson then began CPR and called 911.
Officers made contact with a neighbor who stated that Dakota ran to her house approximately 30 minutes before emergency vehicles arrived. The neighbor stated Dakota asked her to adopt him because his parents hit him in the face and didn’t let him call his caseworker, officials said. The neighbor said she didn't observe any signs Dakota was injured.
Wilson was asked about footage from the Ring camera outside the home, which she sent to police.
The videos begin with Wilson already laying across Dakota, near his neck and head area, according to documents. Dakota is screaming during the entire 20-second video.
Another video shows Wilson on top of Dakota, with the boy's arms above his head. The 10-year-old doesn't move for the entirety of the 6-minute and 48-second video, the affidavit revealed. Dakota also doesn't move during the fourth video. An additional video showed Wilson with one knee facing the boy and states “Dakota!” several times. When he doesn't answer, she begins screaming "Dakota" and asked one of her other children to call 911, documents stated.
An autopsy revealed the cause of death as mechanical asphyxia and the manner of death as homicide. Dakota was 4 feet 10 inches tall and weighed 91 pounds, filings revealed. Wilson is 4 feet 11 inches tall and weighs 340 pounds, according to driver license records.
