Joe Yates
A 10-year-old boy has died after his morbidly obese adoptive mom laid on him following an argument.
After two months on the run, 48-year-old Jennifer Lee Wilson - who was wanted following the death of young Dakota Levi Stevens - was arrested by the police on Saturday (13 July).
The Northern Indiana woman is accused of causing the death of her adoptive son through reckless homicide on 25 April, which is a level five felony and is punishable by six years in prison.
Officials have stated that roughly half-an-hour before the emergency services arrived at their home in Valparaiso, Dakota is believed to have ran to his neighbor's house asking for them to adopt him.
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It came after he was allegedly hit in the face and told he was not allowed to call his caseworker, but the neighbor did not see any visible signs of injury.
Speaking to police, Wilson - who was arrested in neighboring state Michigan - told police that she brought her foster-turned-adopted child home after finding him at a neighbor's house.
She said he threw himself to the ground outside her home, and claimed he was 'acting up'.
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When they went inside, Wilson - who is only 4 foot 11 inches tall but weighs 340 pounds - laid on Dakota's midsection for around five minutes.
The court documents, as seen by NBC Chicago, read: "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."
Several minutes later Wilson climbed off him and is said to have asked him 'are you faking?' before rolling him over and seeing his eyelids were pale.
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It was then that she began CPR and called 911. Dakota was rushed to hospital where doctors pronounced him dead a short time later.
An autopsy into the death of the young boy concluded that the cause of his death was mechanical asphyxia, and that Dakota - who only weighed 91 pounds and was 4 foot 10 inches in stature - died due to homicide.
Taking to Facebook, Dakota's former foster dad Hayden Hetzel wrote in part: "I have & will continue to love you with every part of my being.
"I hope for the time that I had you, I was able to show you what a good man should be & I hope you took & lived each day like it was your last… even if it was cut short. Your memory will live on & I will make damn sure everyone knows you."
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If you’ve been affected by any of these issues and want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.