Trial Begins In Death Of 4-Year-Old

BOSTON -- Opening statements began Tuesday in the murder trial of a Dorchester foster mother accused of killing a young boy who was in her care.

NewsCenter 5's Gail Huff reported that prosecutors said Corrine Stephen was responsible for injuries that led to the death of 4-year-old Dontel Jeffers in 2005. Officials said that the boy was beaten in the stomach so hard that his organs were perforated, which led to a fatal infection.

"You will understand that a series of deliberate and conscious choices by the defendant resulted in the abuse of Dontel Jeffers and led to her making a decision to prefer her own self interests as she perceived it at the time," prosecutor David Deakin said.

"Corrine Stephen has emphatically denied that she responsible for the injuries or the death of Dontel," defense attorney John Palmer said.

Jeffers died 11 days after he moved in with Stephen. The Massachusetts Department of Social Services placed Dontel with the Dorchester woman.

During her arraignment in 2005, prosecutors said that she repeatedly abused the boy by tying him up and assaulting him, but Stephen claims that the boy hurt himself while jumping on a bed.