Many people go into fostering children with the goal of helping kids during a difficult time in their lives. Not all families, however, are fit for the often challenging task. And recently, a foster mom was sentenced for killing a 10-year-old boy in her care.
Jennifer Lee Wilson, of Valparaiso, Indiana, previously pleaded guilty to reckless homicide. The charge was in connection to the April 2024 death of her foster son, Dakota Levi Stevens. Now, her fate has finally been decided.
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The Indiana foster mom was sentenced in January 2025.
On January 17, Wilson was sentenced. A judge handed down six years in prison, with one year suspended to be served on probation, CBS News reported. Wilson pleaded guilty to reckless homicide in October 2024.
In April 2024, the 10-year-old reportedly ran away to a neighbor's house.
On April 25, 2024, Dakota reportedly ran to a neighbor’s house and asked them to adopt him, CBS News reported. The neighbor said Wilson soon arrived and took her foster son home. At the time, the neighbor told police she didn’t see signs of injury on the boy.
Police responded to a call about an unresponsive child 30 minutes later.
Police responded to a call at around 3:30 p.m. for an “unresponsive” child at Wilson’s home, Law & Crime reported. After Porter County sheriff’s detectives failed to revive Dakota, he was transported to a nearby hospital. He died two days later.
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Ultimately, Wilson confessed to lying on top of the boy.
According to court documents, Wilson admitted to lying on her foster son’s midsection for several minutes. NBC Chicago reported.
“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 read.
Allegedly, Wilson had one hand holding her phone and the other bracing herself. She later asked Dakota, “Are you faking?” before rolling him over and discovering his eyelids were pale.
Dakota's cause of death was mechanical asphyxia.
Later, Dakota’s cause of death was determined to be mechanical asphyxia, NCB Chicago reported. The manner was ruled a homicide. Court filings noted that Dakota was 4 feet, 10 inches tall and weighed 90 pounds. Meanwhile, Wilson is 4 feet, 11 inches tall and weighs 340 pounds.
