Wisconsin Child Homicide: Prosecutors Alleged Suspect Falsely Staged 6-Year-Old Victim’s Death

A 33-year-old Wisconsin woman is facing a murder trial after being accused of killing a 6-year-old child on Feb. 11, 2023. The victim was her boyfriend’s son, and she has repeatedly denied responsibility for his death.

Prosecutors charged the suspect with first-degree intentional homicide. Additionally, she faces charges of repeated abuse and chronic neglect of a child resulting in death. Recently, the state delivered its closing arguments in the case. Prosecutors alleged that the woman deliberately staged the timeline leading up to the child’s death and continued doing so until paramedics arrived and discovered the victim’s body.

Josie Dikeman is accused of using brute force and administering an overdose of Xanax to kill 6-year-old Alexavier Pedrin. The victim’s autopsy reportedly determined his cause of death to be blunt-force injuries and intentional drugging. On May 15, the state delivered its closing argument in the case, accusing Dikeman of staging the timeline of events leading up to Pedrin’s death.

The prosecutor pointed to several inconsistencies in the suspect’s actions and statements. He argued that Dikeman was the only person who had the ability and opportunity to stage the entire crime scene.

As per the closing arguments, the paramedics found Alex’s body on the bed with a clean bedsheet underneath. It not only contradicted the suspect’s claim that she found him dead on the floor, but also made it evident that the child’s body was carefully placed on the bed.

Evidence of Xanax overdose in the child’s body was made abundantly clear when the paramedics tried moving it slightly from the crime scene. A black substance oozed out of the child’s mouth almost immediately, which clarifies that Dikeman administered no CPR as she mentioned during the 911 call.

The prosecutor further revealed that Josie Dikeman reportedly sent out a message to her date stating, “Something is wrong with my son. Don't come.” She then called her mother, informing her about Alex, but the call only lasted for 52 seconds. It was finally then that she called 911 and informed them about the child being unresponsive.

Describing the alarming amount of Xanax which was found in the child’s body, the state spokesperson mentioned, “Xanax in Alex's system you heard through the defense expert witness was enough to potentially cause the death of an adult. That tells you about the amount of Xanax in a six-year-old child's system. This isn't candy. This isn't something that you munch on. These are bitter pills and they're inside of a six-year-old child's body.

The spokesperson revealed that the suspect murdered the child after almost 3 a.m. She tortured him brutally before administering a high dose of Xanax in his body. The prosecutor alleged that Dikeman purposely kept the bag of medicine near the body. She wanted it to appear that the child was the one who consumed a large amount of the pills.

The state prosecutor explained, “The person who administered that drug to Alex would have to know that he was beaten. They would have to know and want to silence him after he was beaten. And they would have the ability and be the only person that could stage the scene to put the bag out to dump the pills inside of the bag and put the empty canister of the prednisone by Alex's body.”

Dikeman has not only denied charges of murdering the child but also attempted to divert the blame to the victim’s father, Derek Pedrin. She claimed that the man repeatedly targeted her and the child.

However, these statements contradict those by eyewitnesses, including other children in the house. They alleged that Josie repeatedly abused Alex, beat him violently and clearly presented a separate behavior with him.