The Liberty Township woman charged with reckless homicide in the death of her foster son after, according to court documents, she laid on him until he stopped breathing, has been released from Porter County Jail and is scheduled for a July 31 court date.
Jennifer Lee Wilson, 48, of the 200 block of Falcon Way, is charged in the death of Dakota Levi Stevens, 10, who was placed with her as a foster child on April 5. First responders were called to her home on April 25 after, according to court documents, Dakota stopped breathing while Wilson was lying on top of him because she told authorities he had tried to run away.
Dakota died two days later at South Bend Memorial Hospital; the St. Joseph County Coroner’s Office ruled his death was a homicide by mechanical asphyxiation.
Reckless homicide is a Level 5 felony with a sentencing range of one to six years in prison.
Wilson weighed 340 pounds and Dakota weighed 91 pounds, according to charging documents.
Shortly before Wilson found Dakota after he left the house, he asked a neighbor to adopt him “because his parents hit him in the face and didn’t let him call his caseworker.” The neighbor said she didn’t see any signs of injury, documents state.
Charges and a warrant for Wilson’s arrest were filed on July 12 in Porter Superior Court. Police in Berrien County, Michigan, arrested Wilson on July 13 in New Buffalo after a license plate reader there detected her car, according to a release from the Berrien County Sheriff’s Department.
She waived extradition for a transfer to the Porter County Jail on Monday, according to Sgt. Ben McFalls, public information officer for the Porter County Sheriff’s Department, and Porter County deputies transported her here on Tuesday.
Wilson’s bond was set at $20,000 cash. She was booked out of the county jail on Wednesday, McFalls said.
Wilson has a court hearing at 8:30 a.m. on July 31 before Magistrate Ana Osan. Her case has been assigned to Porter Superior Court Judge Mary DeBoer.
alavalley@chicagotribune.com