Foster Mom Learns Fate After Killing 10-Year-Old Boy by Lying on Top of Him

A woman was sentenced to six years in prison — with one year suspended to be served on probation — for killing her 10-year-old foster son by lying on top of him, according to court records viewed by PEOPLE.

Jennifer Lee Wilson, 48, was charged with reckless homicide in the death of Dakota Levi Stevens, who died on April 25, 2024, after Wilson, who weighed 340 pounds, lay on him as a punishment for him “acting bad.” 

Wilson, of Liberty Township, Ind., was arrested on July 13 in Berrien County, Mich., the county’s sheriff’s office said in a previous news release.

Dakota had bruising on his neck and chest at the time of his death, WGN, NBC Chicago and CBS Chicago previously reported, citing a probable cause affidavit.

WGN reported that Wilson admitted to lying on top of Dakota for about five minutes before the child stopped moving, per the affidavit. He weighed 91 pounds at the time.

Police also reviewed the home’s Ring camera footage, CBS reported. In it, Wilson could be heard saying, “I was laying on him and he was acting bad” while she was seen lying atop the boy’s head and neck area as he screamed.

About 30 minutes before emergency vehicles arrived at Wilson’s home, Dakota ran to a neighbor’s house and asked her to adopt him. CBS reported that the boy asked the neighbor to adopt him because his parents would hit him in the face, according to the affidavit.

Wilson went over to the neighbor’s house to bring Dakota home, but said he was still “acting bad” when she brought him back, and he threatened to leave again. Wilson reportedly told police that as she was attempting to stop him from leaving again, “…she does not know if she tackled Dakota or they fell to the ground, however her intention was to hold him,” per Fox5Atlanta.

After lying on him for a period of minutes, Wilson asked Dakota if he was ready to get up, per CBS. He wasn’t moving, and when she rolled him over, she noticed his eyelids were pale, so she began to administer CPR and then called 911.

Emergency personnel could not resuscitate the child, and Dakota died at a local hospital two days after the incident.

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Dakota’s cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, while the manner of death was ruled a homicide. Wilson pleaded guilty in October, per CBS.

According to The Indianapolis Star, the Department of Child Services had just placed Dakota with Wilson about one month before he died. Wilson reportedly had other foster children in her home at the time of Dakota’s death. They were subsequently removed.

In his obituary, Dakota was remembered as a child who “loved the outdoors” and “marched to the beat of his own drum.”

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.