Police have announced on Friday that a foster parent from Northern Indiana is facing charges of reckless homicide in connection with the death of 10-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens.
As of Friday afternoon, Jennifer Wilson, a 48-year-old resident of Valparaiso, has yet to be taken into custody despite a warrant for her arrest issued by the Porter County Sheriff’s Office.
On April 25, Dakota found himself in the hospital following an argument with Wilson, who had been placed with him by the Department of Child Services a month prior. According to Wilson’s account to the police, Dakota had run away earlier that day and was found by Wilson at a neighbor’s house. Upon returning home, Dakota’s behavior became disruptive, and he threw himself to the ground outside of Wilson’s house, as stated in the probable cause affidavit.
Dakota was 91 pounds while Wilson weighed a staggering 340 pounds.
According to the affidavit, Wilson appeared to be extremely upset when the police arrived at her residence on Falcon Way in Valparaiso. The young boy, who had been in and out of foster homes for the past five years, was found unresponsive and without a pulse.
Two days after being airlifted from Porter Memorial Hospital to South Bend, Dakota was taken off life support. According to doctors, the boy’s brain had swollen, which is a sign of prolonged oxygen deprivation. Sadly, he was pronounced dead soon after.
After conducting an investigation, the St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office determined that the death of the boy was a homicide. The cause of death was mechanical asphyxia, a type of asphyxiation where an object or force prevents an individual from breathing.
The coroner has confirmed that Dakota Levi Stevens, a 10-year-old boy under the care of the Department of Child Services, died of homicide. This tragic incident has once again ignited concerns about the safety and well-being of children in foster care.
In the fifth video, Wilson can be seen kneeling down while facing Dakota, who is lying face down on the ground.
Wilson repeatedly shouted “Dakota!” at the top of his lungs.
Afterward, she requested one of her other children to dial 911.
“I was on top of him and he was misbehaving,” Wilson can be heard saying.
In Wilson’s household, there were three other children, all of whom were adopted. Brian Heinemann, who acts as a spokesperson for DCS, stated last month that Wilson’s license is currently on hold and pending revocation. Currently, there are no other children residing in her home.
In April, Dakota became at least the second child associated with DCS to pass away. Governor Eric Holcomb had declared April as Child Abuse Prevention Month, which makes his death even more unsettling. His family members, who have been trying for several years to gain custody of the child, are left with unanswered questions. They wish they could have removed him from the foster care system sooner. The case highlights the concern about DCS’s ability to adequately safeguard children who are either in their care or are enduring abusive family situations.
According to family members, Dakota and his younger sister were taken away from their parents in 2018 because the Department of Child Services (DCS) determined that their parents were unable to provide proper care for them.
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