2 weeks Ago
NASHUA — Hillsborough County Superior Court South clerk Amy Feliciano on Thursday told lawyers in the upcoming trial of Danielle Dauphinais, who is accused of murder in the death of her 5-year-old son, that up to 500 prospective jurors are expected to convene at the courthouse Oct. 8 for the start of jury selection. In laying out the timeline of events leading up to jury selection and the trial itself, Feliciano said about 250 people are expected in the morning and another 250 for an afternoon session, as the parties begin to pare down the field over the course of four days.
A typical jury has 12 members and a certain number of alternates, but how many alternates will be seated in this case isn’t yet known. Thursday’s trial management conference was the final hearing scheduled before the start of jury selection. Four days have been set aside for the selection process.
The trial itself is scheduled for a total of 13 days, beginning Tuesday, Oct. 15 through Friday, Nov. 1, excluding weekends.
During Thursday’s roughly one-hour hearing, the four attorneys — two prosecutors and two defense lawyers — met with Judge Charles Temple at the bench, mainly to work out details of the jury selection procedure. Senior Assistant Attorneys General Meghan Hagaman and Bethany Durand are prosecuting the case. Representing Dauphinais are Boston-based defense lawyer Vivianne Jeruchim and Attorney Benjamin Falkner of Andover, Mass.
Dauphinais, a former Merrimack resident, is being tried on seven charges, including one count each of first-degree murder and second-degree murder, both special felonies; and three counts of witness tampering and two counts of endangering the welfare of a child, all Class B felonies. She is accused of causing the death of her 5-year-old son, Elijah “Eli” Lewis, who disappeared from his Merrimack home in 2021. Dauphinais, now 37, was arrested in New York in October 2021 along with her then-boyfriend, Joseph Stapf, who has pleaded guilty to related charges and is currently serving prison time.
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