PORTER COUNTY, IN – A foster mother, Jennifer Wilson, currently faces charges for the death of 10-year-old Dakota Levi Stevens. Following a distressing incident on April 25, the Porter County Sheriff’s Office issued a warrant for Wilson’s arrest after she allegedly caused fatal injuries to the young boy by laying on him.
The distress began when police were called to Wilson’s residence on Falcon Way. According to court documents, Wilson found Stevens at a neighbor’s home earlier that day. Stevens reportedly threw himself on the ground upon their return, prompting Wilson to lay on his midsection while calling his caseworker. Wilson believed Stevens was pretending when he stopped moving after she laid on him for about five minutes.
Harrowingly, Ring camera footage from Wilson’s home captured her lying near Stevens’s neck and head before shifting down near his buttocks, with Stevens remaining motionless throughout the videos. One video recorded Wilson acknowledging she was laying on him because he was behaving badly.
Tragically, Stevens was airlifted to a hospital in South Bend, where he succumbed to severe trauma two days later on April 27. An autopsy concluded that Stevens died from mechanical asphyxia, and his death was ruled a homicide.
Authorities and the community are grappling with the implications of this incident. Neighbors recounted Stevens asking for adoption shortly before his death, and his birth aunt, Ana Parrish-Parker, expressed concerns over the excessive demands placed on Stevens and his sister by the Department of Child Services (DCS).
Wilson, who is charged with reckless homicide, is not in custody but is expected to surrender in the coming days. This case has drawn significant attention, with Porter County Prosecutor Gary Germann acknowledging the public’s effort to achieve accountability.