According to court documents obtained by numerous news sites, an Indiana foster mother is accused of killing a 10-year-old kid by lying on top of him.
A news announcement from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Office that PEOPLE was able to get states that on July 13, Jennifer Lee Wilson, a wanted homicide suspect, was taken into custody in Berrien County, Michigan, after her vehicle was recognized by a license plate camera.
A little more than two months after the 10-year-old passed away during a medical emergency on April 25, Wilson, 48, was the subject of an arrest warrant for reckless homicide, according to a news statement from the Porter County Sheriff’s Office that PEOPLE was able to get.
That afternoon, police were called to a residence in Liberty Township, Indiana, and they took the young man to a nearby hospital, where they declared him dead, according to the release.
Dakota Levi Stevens was the boy’s name, according to court records that NBC5, WGN-TV, and The Indianapolis Star were able to get. Levi was put with Wilson by the Department of Child Services around one month before he passed away, according to The Indianapolis Star.
Wilson is accused of lying on the boy for around five minutes before the boy stopped moving, according to the records, WGN-TV reported.
Authorities claim in the court documents obtained by NBC5 that 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, but her intention was to hold him.”
Authorities looked over Ring’s home video footage as well. The Indianapolis Star claims that Wilson is seen lying on the boy’s head and neck while he screams. She is purportedly heard adding, “I was laying on him and he was acting bad,” in another video.
Documents that NBC 5 was able to get state that Wilson then dialed 911 and started performing CPR. The outlet also quoted an autopsy that revealed Dakota’s cause of death was homicide and mechanical asphyxia. According to the publication, Wilson weighed 340 pounds at the time of his death, when he weighed 91 pounds.
The Indianapolis Star reported that CPS stated Wilson had additional foster children, who have since been taken out of the home. Her license is on hold while it is being revoked, an agency representative informed the publication.
Wilson may have pleaded guilty or hired a representative to speak on her behalf, but it is uncertain.
An obituary for Dakota noted that he “loved the outdoors” and “marched to the beat of his own drum.”
