Father of Deceased Merrimack Child Files Lawsuit

A father is filing a lawsuit against the New Hampshire Department of Health and Human Services following the death of his young son.

The lawsuit centers around the death of five-year-old Elijah Lewis, who died in a Merrimack home in 2021 while living with his mother, Danielle Dauphinais, and her boyfriend, Joseph Stapf.

The suit claims that the Department of Health and Human Services failed to act on information reported about Elijah’s safety, which if acted upon may have saved the child’s life.

Stapf pled guilty to charges in 2022 and was sentenced to 22 to 45-years in prison, while Dauphinais is scheduled to go on trial in October on several murder charges.