Say What Now? 340-Pound Woman Sentenced After Death of Foster Son She Sat on as Punishment

Jennifer Wilson was allegedly recorded on video sitting on a 10-year-old boy for seven minutes after he ran to a neighbor’s house, asking to be adopted and claiming he was hit in the face at home, while she called his caseworker.

A foster mother will spend years behind bars after the shocking and tragic death of a 10-year-old in her care after she allegedly sat on him in Porter County, Indiana.

Jennifer Wilson, 48, who reportedly weighed 340 pounds at the time of foster son Dakota Levi Stevens’ death, was sentenced to five years in prison with one year suspended on Friday, as reported by Chicago’s WGN.

Initially, Wilson had pleaded not guilty to the charge of reckless homicide after the boy’s death on April 27, 2024. WGN previously reported she was arrested July 14 and bonded out on July 17 after that initial plea, according to court documents.

On October 29, Wilson changed her plea to guilty, according to the Porter County Prosecutor’s Office. A jury trial had been scheduled for March 2025. Instead, Wilson was sentenced on Friday.

According to security footage captured from neighbors and seen by investigators, Dakota’s last moments occurred on the lawn of Wilson’s house as she called the 10-year-old’s case worker on April 25, 2024.

Porter County Sheriff’s Office deputies responded to a 911 call to Wilson’s address, where they found the young boy suffering from severe trauma. He was immediately airlifted to a hospital in Porter, Indiana, and then airlifted again to South Bend. Two days later, he was taken off of life support.

Stevens’ cause of death is listed as mechanical asphyxia and was ruled a homicide by the coroner’s office, as noted by True Crime News.

According to court documents, approximately 30 minutes before the 911 call, Stevens had run to a neighbor’s house and asked her to adopt him. He reportedly told this neighbor he was hit in the face and not allowed to call his case manager by his foster mom.

Wilson reportedly went to the neighbor’s house to bring the boy back. The neighbor told police she did not see any signs of injury on the boy.

After this incident, Wilson told police Stevens continued “acting up” and threw himself on the ground saying he was leaving, per CBS News, and so she proceeded to sit on the boy right there on the lawn as she reached out to his case worker.

She said that when she asked him if he was ready to get up, he did not respond. She then asked him, “Are you faking?” and rolled him over, where she saw that his eyelids were pale. At this point, Wilson began CPR and called 911.

According to court documents, surveillance footage shows that the 340-pound woman stayed on top of the 90-pound boy for approximately seven minutes.

One video seen by investigators allegedly saw Wilson already sitting on the “neck/head area” of the boy. Another longer video, 6:48 in duration, saw Wilson laying near the boy’s buttocks. He did not move through the entirety of this video, according to authorities.

Dakota Stevens and his sister had previously lived with their aunt for approximately a year. Ana Parrish-Parker spoke with WGN after his death, explaining that the children had come to her because his mother struggled with addiction and his father had died from a blood infection due to his drug use.

“His eyes popped open in the morning and he was ‘go, go, go,'” she said of the boy. “His passions were digging for bugs and playing outside with his sister.”

According to Parrish-Parker, it was the decision of DCS (Department of Child Services) to place both siblings into foster care because the organization wanted them to undergo additional therapy.

Their aunt pushed back against this, saying that therapy in addition to two additional visitation nights per week with their parents and school was too much.

“They didn’t have time to be children,” she argued. “The judge ruled a removal from care (on behalf of DCS) and I never had the chance to speak to the judge to tell them I didn’t want (the kids) to have more therapy.”

The news outlet also spoke with a previous foster parent of Stevens, Hayden Hetzel, who took care of the boy from 2019 to 2021. “He never didn’t call me dad,” Hezel recalled. “He was always like, ‘Dad this, Dad that. Let’s go on a walk.”

Hetzel told NBC affiliate WMAQ that he had tried to adopt Dakota multiple times, and even tattooed his initials on his right leg. “He was always loved, and not for a second did we not want him,” he said. “We wanted him to be safe, healthy, and loved.”

He paid tribute to the boy in a heartbreaking Facebook post, where Hetzel wrote, “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.”

“Thank you for the laughs, the cries, the sleepless nights, the endless memories.. your excitement & passion for anything that you did & put your mind too AMAZED me,” he also wrote.

Heltzel shared that Stevens was a Katy Perry fan and had asipirations to be a firefighter or police officer when he grew up.

via: TooFab

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