Josie Dykeman told the 911 dispatcher her son wasn’t waking up. It was just after nine in the morning on February 11th, 2023, and the six-year-old boy lay on a bed in the home in Maderi, Wisconsin, unconscious and not breathing. First responders tried CPR. They even administered Narcan in case the boy had opioids in his system.
But nothing brought Alexavier Pedran back. He was pronounced dead at the scene, seventeen minutes after that frantic call. Deputies found an empty pill bottle in a bag near his body, along with other prescription pills. Emergency personnel also noticed visible bruises and injuries on the little boy’s body.
Josie was the only adult in the home. Derek Pedran, Alexavier’s father and Josie’s boyfriend, had been arrested the night before for bail jumping and was in jail. Eight days earlier, a deputy had responded to the same home for a welfare check. Alexavier’s cousin had called, worried because Derek had been arrested again and feared he might have violated a no-contact order and returned to the home.
When Deputy Joe Kernan arrived, Josie let him inside, insisting Derek wasn’t there. She directed him to Alexavier, who was sleeping on a makeshift bed in the dimly lit living room. Using a flashlight, the deputy saw a small, healing cut above the boy’s eyebrow. Josie said Alexavier had hit his head on his school desk and had picked at the scab out of boredom.
The six-year-old was so deeply asleep that the officer couldn’t wake him, even after trying several times. Josie said the family was recovering from the effects of the pandemic, which made Alexavier very tired, and that she had given him a dose of melatonin to help him rest. The deputy asked to check on him again. Josie agreed but asked him not to use the flashlight, saying repeated police visits were traumatizing her son.
When the deputy returned, Alexavier had shifted positions. He was uncovered now, wearing only a diaper. The deputy noticed a bruise on the boy’s inner thigh but didn’t pay much attention to it. Josie explained that minor bruises were common with such energetic children.
The deputy saw another child tapping on Alexavier’s leg cast like it was a door. He found no immediate danger and left the boy in the home. Alexavier Pedran was born on July 10th, 2016, in Onalaska, Wisconsin, to Derek Pedran and Jenna Love. He was a lively little boy with big brown eyes and sandy blonde hair, full of personality and a contagious smile.
His family called him AJ, or endearingly, Hammy. He loved to sing, dance, swim, ride his bike, and play basketball, and he thought of himself as fast, just like Lightning McQueen. He was a mommy’s boy who loved reading books with his mother, often telling her, “You’ve got a friend in me, Mom. ”
But the adults in his life carried heavy baggage.
His mother, Jenna, had a history of run-ins with the law. As a teenager, she was involved in a car theft at fourteen and was later charged with felony grand theft auto, though the charge was reduced. Her behavior worsened over time, leading to substance use and running away from home. She eventually served time in the La Crosse County Juvenile Detention Center for check fraud.
His father, Derek, also had a criminal history and struggled with substance use. He and Jenna started dating in 2008 and had their first child, a daughter, that September. Around that time, Derek faced multiple charges, including breaking into a locked vehicle. He was later charged with violating his bail conditions and spent months in jail.
In November 2008, he was charged with domestic-violence-related disorderly conduct, leading to a no-contact order and conditions including counseling and community service. He continued to rack up charges and serve short stints in county jail. Before Alexavier was born, Jenna and Derek had separated, but Derek remained in his son’s life as a co-parent. He had begun a relationship with a woman named Josie Marie Dykeman, and they lived together in Maderi.
Allegedly, Josie and Jenna had been friends in high school. Before Josie got together with Derek, she was dating a man named Dustin Barnes, who was also friends with Derek. Dustin had a daughter, and Josie reportedly had two children of her own. This history would become crucial.
In 2011, CPS was first notified of possible family violence in Josie and Dustin’s household when Dustin’s twenty-one-month-old daughter was rushed to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center after reportedly falling down the stairs. Doctors found she had suffered a traumatic brain injury. Josie told doctors this wasn’t the first time the little girl had fallen. She claimed it had happened twice before, blaming a broken baby gate the couple couldn’t afford to fix.
CPS removed the toddler from their care and placed her in foster care. She was returned to the couple a year later, closely monitored by CPS. In 2013, CPS intervened again when a medical evaluation revealed the same girl had dropped from the 85th percentile to the 6th percentile in weight. She was severely underweight and malnourished.
Medical exams also revealed fractures in her hands and feet, injuries consistent with someone slamming a toilet seat cover over her fingers. Josie claimed the girl had gotten overweight after returning from foster care and that Josie had put her on a diet. Meanwhile, Dustin’s mother claimed Josie had restricted the girl to only three glasses of water a day. Witnesses testified she was forced to raise her arms over her head whenever she used the bathroom, reportedly to stop her from drinking from the toilet bowl.
This time, Josie and Dustin were charged with child neglect and causing mental harm to a child. In November 2013, Josie pleaded guilty to child neglect as a party to a crime. The mental harm charge was dismissed but read in at sentencing. She received three years of probation, and Dustin received a stayed three-year prison sentence, to be served after an unrelated eight-year sentence for a prior conviction.
Josie’s mother and aunt testified on her behalf, claiming she had changed after having her own children and had been suffering from postpartum depression. But the prosecutor noted this didn’t explain why only Dustin’s daughter, and not Josie’s biological children, had suffered neglect in the home. At her sentencing, Josie reportedly told the judge she missed the girl terribly and was sorry for what had happened. Now, Alexavier’s well-being rested in the hands of this same woman.
By March 2017, Derek and Josie had their first child together. In August of the following year, they had another daughter. Soon, their household held seven children under one roof. They were struggling to care for all of them.
During this time, they were in contact with several social services programs. At one point, while staying at Josie’s mother’s house, one of the older kids found Alexavier lying on top of his younger brother, both partially undressed. When asked about it, Alexavier reportedly said he didn’t know why. Later that evening, while Alexavier was being bathed, Josie voiced concerns about his behavior, saying he was allegedly rubbing a toy on himself in an inappropriate manner.
She explained that when Alexavier lived with his mother, she frequently moved and had relationships with multiple men. But relatives on Alexavier’s maternal side grew increasingly concerned about his welfare when he stayed with his father. At times, Alexavier returned from his dad’s with bruises or injuries that were hard to explain. Family members recalled that Alexavier would say Josie was mean to him and punished him in bizarre ways.
He said she forced him to drink his own spit when he was thirsty. He also alleged that Josie would hit him for misbehaving. Josie’s own children confirmed that their mother also choked and kicked Alexavier on multiple occasions. An anonymous caller informed child protective services that Josie, due to two brain injuries, was struggling to care for seven children.
They also reported that the parents often left the children inside without supervision while they smoked outside, that the children were frequently moved from place to place causing them to lose their belongings, and that the older children were missing days of school. In early 2019, a concerned individual contacted La Crosse County Human Services to report potential neglect involving Alexavier, citing visible abrasions on his face and a bruise on his arm following a weekend visit with his father and Josie. Alexavier was taken to the hospital, where doctors noticed three visible abrasions on his face and a horizontal bruise on the back of his right arm. When asked about his injuries, Alexavier kept saying, “Wall, wall, wall.
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This matched Josie’s claim that he had slammed himself into a wall while playing. Medical staff determined the injuries did not warrant a formal CPS report. Weeks later, law enforcement became involved when Derek violently assaulted Josie, slamming her head against the floor and causing a traumatic brain injury. He was charged with domestic-violence-related offenses.
Despite the severity, Josie requested the no-contact order be lifted and soon resumed her relationship with him. Later that year, Josie and Derek moved in with his ex, Jenna, in an attempt to co-parent their children under one roof in Joplin, Missouri. The arrangement fell apart within a week when Jenna allegedly attacked Josie with a baseball bat in front of the children. The chaotic home life prompted further CPS involvement across state lines, including temporarily removing the children in early 2020.
Despite mounting concerns, Josie stayed with Derek, who would again be arrested for strangulation and battery. In November 2022, Derek was again arrested. On January 16th, 2023, Alexavier was taken to the Mayo Clinic for a leg injury. Josie told doctors that Alexavier had two prior injuries.
One was that he slipped and fell on ice at school. The second was that his younger sister had pushed him down the basement stairs because he was reportedly walking too slow. Josie claimed that when Alexavier complained of leg pain, she iced his leg until he felt better. Just a day after being pushed down the stairs, Josie claimed they took Alexavier to a birthday party.
It wasn’t until about 11:00 a. m. on January 16th that Alexavier started complaining that the pain had become really bad. According to the Facebook page Justice for Alexavier, Alexavier was in visible pain at the party and was kept in a separate room, where Derek and Josie kept icing his leg.
He had to be carried around the event or sat somewhere because it was too painful for him to walk. At the hospital, Josie reportedly searched for leg injuries in children and even CA injuries while she was there, even making a call to her attorney. She also reportedly complained that she didn’t want the case referred to Gundersen Lutheran Medical Center, saying that because of her history with her ex’s daughter, the doctors there would make a biased decision against her and call CPS again. Alexavier was eventually referred to Gundersen Lutheran.
But doctors there claimed the child’s injuries were consistent with an accidental fall and found no evidence of mistreatment. Alexavier was sent back to Josie and Derek’s care. On January 26th, 2023, a social worker conducted a home visit with Josie and the children. The caseworker described the home as cluttered but adequately stocked with food, clothing, and basic care items.
All the children appeared well cared for. During the visit, Josie voiced frustration that the Mayo Clinic’s documentation did not accurately reflect what Alexavier had told hospital staff during his previous visit for a femur injury. She asked why CPS was still investigating if the hospital had deemed the injury accidental. The caseworker explained that CPS had not yet received that determination when the investigation began, and once a case is opened, it must be completed.
The report noted that Josie appeared irritated by this explanation. By early February 2023, Derek and Josie’s relationship reportedly turned violent again. On February 10th, at 6:14 p. m.
, Alexavier’s cousin called La Crosse County Emergency Dispatch for a welfare check, concerned after learning Derek had been arrested for bail jumping and fearing he might still be in the home with Josie despite a no-contact order. That was the night Deputy Kernan found Alexavier sleeping so deeply he couldn’t be woken. The next morning, Josie made the 911 call that would end with Alexavier being pronounced dead. After his death, an autopsy was conducted by Dr.
Reed A. Quinton at Mayo Hospital in Rochester. It confirmed Alexavier’s death was not an accident, but the result of brutal violence and poisoning. According to reports summarizing the autopsy, Alexavier had blunt force injuries to the head and neck, including widespread bruising across his scalp and face, a partially healed cut above his right eyebrow, an abrasion on the back of his head, and two reddish-yellow scrapes on his neck.
Most significantly, Alexavier had suffered hypoxic-ischemic brain damage, a condition where reduced oxygen and blood flow, often following cardiac arrest, leads to severe brain injury. His torso showed further signs of serious harm. His chest, back, and buttocks were all bruised. Faint abrasions were found on his genital area.
Internally, there was bleeding within the abdominal region, trauma to multiple organs, including a bruised and torn liver, hemorrhaging in the pancreas, and a fractured rib in his back. According to Dr. Quinton, these abdominal injuries were not the result of CPR, as efforts to revive Alexavier began only after he had already passed away. Toxicology revealed that Alexavier had high levels of the sedative alprazolam in his system, commonly known by the brand name Xanax, a prescription anti-anxiety medication not meant for children.
The La Crosse County coroner concluded Alexavier’s manner of death was homicide, caused by blunt force trauma to the body and exacerbated by alprazolam intoxication. On May 19th, 2023, a little over three months after Alexavier’s death, authorities arrested thirty-one-year-old Josie Dykeman. She was charged with first-degree intentional homicide, chronic neglect of a child, and physically hurting a child. The criminal complaint stated that Josie’s children told investigators they saw her hit, choke, and kick Alexavier more than once.
One of Josie’s five-year-old children was forensically interviewed at Stepping Stones Child Advocacy Center in La Crosse. His first comment to the interviewer was, “Guess what? My brother died. ”
He said that when children in the home got in trouble, they were yelled at or spanked.
But Alexavier was specifically spanked, choked, and kicked. Alexavier was often punished for lying and stealing things like Takis and Cheetos. The child also claimed Alexavier drank poisonous water the day before his death and described his brother as looking like a monster. Another child interviewed said that when Alexavier got in trouble, Josie yelled at him while Derek would throw away his toys.
She admitted she had pushed Alexavier down the stairs but added that no one helped him after the fall, and claimed Josie did nothing about it. When asked if she received affection like hugs, she said yes, but said Alexavier specifically did not. A fourteen-year-old child explained that while living with Derek and Josie, both she and Alexavier were treated more harshly than the other children. She believed Josie disliked them because their being under her care meant ongoing contact between their parents, Jenna and Derek.
She said Josie had threatened to take away the younger children if Alexavier continued visiting Jenna’s side of the family. She recalled an incident where Josie was on top of Derek at the bottom of the stairs, choking him. The fourteen-year-old believed Josie was using prescription pills, though she acknowledged they were legally prescribed. The last time she ever saw Alexavier was on his sixth birthday.
She noticed he had a bloodshot eye but was told that something had just gotten in it. An eight-year-old child recalled the day before Alexavier’s death, stating that his brother was forced to eat ramen with hot sauce, even though he didn’t like it. That night, the family had pizza, but Josie refused to give Alexavier any. Instead, she made him eat leftover crust from the younger children.
At Josie’s initial court appearance in late May 2023, the judge set a cash bond of one million dollars, citing the severity of the crime and concerns about danger or flight risk. Just a week after her arrest, dozens of protesters gathered outside the La Crosse County Courthouse wearing shirts emblazoned with the words “Justice for Alexavier. ” They held up signs demanding accountability for the six-year-old’s death. Alexavier’s grandmother helped organize the protests.
She told a reporter, “Child abuse is not good in any form, mental, physical, verbal. It’s not good. My grandson did die because of it. And our big goal tomorrow is we have a court hearing and we hope the judge does not let her out, so no other child can be affected by this.
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She said they would keep protesting through the trial and beyond, so justice could be served for any child who has been abused. At her arraignment in June 2023, Josie entered a plea of not guilty to all counts. Prosecution, led by District Attorney Tim Gruenke, prepared for trial by lining up evidence, including the autopsy, forensics, and testimonies from medical professionals, police officers, and the other children who witnessed the violence. Josie’s defense attorney, Christopher Zachar, signaled an unusual strategy.
He began suggesting that Derek was the true culprit behind the boy’s death. In pre-trial hearings, Zachar claimed to have recently found evidence, including recordings, cell phone records, and eyewitness accounts, that would indicate Derek actually caused Alexavier’s fatal injuries. Prosecutors responded by emphasizing that multiple eyewitnesses, including children at the home, specifically saw Josie attacking Alexavier on the night in question. DA Gruenke noted that nobody other than the defendant claimed Derek ever hit the victim, especially on the night in question.
Josie’s defense also raised concerns about relying on children’s statements. Despite this, Judge Elliot Levine determined there was sufficient evidence for the case to proceed. Dr. Allison Gwocki testified about treating Alexavier after he broke his leg.
During her exam, she observed significant bruises on his forehead, eyelid, shoulder, and thigh. Josie’s defense attorney suggested Derek might have been responsible for these, but the doctor clarified he wasn’t present when the fall happened. She pointed out that Josie herself had described the injury occurring while the child was under her care. Special Agent Michael Haverly from the Wisconsin Department of Justice testified about phone records from the day Alexavier died.
He explained that Rebecca, Josie’s mother, reported receiving a call from Josie saying she needed to call 911 urgently because Alexavier was unresponsive. Investigators noted that it took over four minutes after that conversation for Josie to actually call emergency services. As summer turned to fall, Josie remained behind bars. Her legal team filed various motions, one of which succeeded in reducing her bond to $250,000.
In January 2024, Judge Levine said the trial might have to be pushed back to 2025 due to his full court schedule. By December 2024, after she had spent over a year and a half in custody, the judge agreed to lower Josie’s cash bond from $250,000 to $50,000, with conditions like GPS monitoring and house arrest. Family and supporters of Alexavier were dismayed at the bond reduction. They had worried all along about the possibility of Josie being released before trial.
During a hearing on January 7th, 2025, attorney Zachar filed a motion to bring in a jury from outside La Crosse County, or remove the trial entirely, due to extensive pre-trial publicity. He cited the social media presence as evidence that local jurors might be biased and described the public’s demonstrations as advocacy efforts that painted Josie as a killer. Judge Levine denied the motion, expressing confidence that even in high-profile cases, impartial jurors could be selected. He also refused to dismiss the child neglect charge.
On January 18th, 2025, the Justice for Alexavier Facebook page posted that Josie was now free on bond with a sealed and protected address. Alexavier’s family was angry and disheartened. They felt there had been far less urgency when it came to protecting Alexavier himself. Despite the setback, the family was ready to continue fighting for the accountability they believed had been denied to him for far too long.
In May 2025, Alexavier’s family voiced frustration over being told they might not be allowed to wear “Justice for Alexavier” shirts in court. They saw this restriction as silencing their efforts to advocate for him. They were also upset by references to their courthouse demonstrations as picketing, pointing out that they remained on public sidewalks, respected traffic, and emphasized that their events were peaceful. At a hearing in June 2025, Judge Levine ruled that evidence from up to ten years prior could be introduced at trial.
This was significant because it potentially opened the door for the jury to hear about Josie’s prior incidents in 2011 and 2013 with her ex-boyfriend’s child. In early July 2025, Josie’s attorneys filed motions seeking to delay the trial. Alexavier’s family saw these legal moves as another obstacle in a case that had already dragged on for over two years. On July 4th, Alexavier’s family shared how painful it was to spend holidays without him, describing the difficulty of facing days meant for celebration while feeling his absence so deeply.
Even after two years, the grief remained raw. They believed no explanation or acceptance could truly balance that pain. Josie’s trial was scheduled to begin in August, with jury selection set for August 11th. As with all cases that have yet to go to trial, Josie Dykeman is considered innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
In the meantime, Alexavier’s family worked to keep his memory alive. In March 2025, they planned a candlelight vigil at Dash Park in Onalaska, inviting anyone who wished to stand with them and remember the little boy’s life. On May 10th, 2024, a sunny morning, Alexavier’s family and supporters gathered in La Crosse’s Myrick Park to plant a tree in his honor. Alexavier’s cousins said they chose to plant a tree because they can last forever.
The exact location was carefully chosen by his older sister. It carried deep personal meaning, as it was the same spot where they had last shared time with Alex during a wedding back in October 2021, the final occasion many of them saw him. On what would have been Alexavier’s seventh birthday in July 2023, a celebration of life was held. The family organized a gathering at the Holmen Area Community Center, inviting all who loved Alexavier to come remember the joy he brought.
Around the first anniversary of his death in February 2024, they organized a remembrance day. Community members held a vigil to honor him one year later. Alexavier’s family said, “Not a day goes by that he isn’t talked about or we look at his pictures. He’s always going to be with us.
I truly believe that he is with us. ”
On his online obituary, people expressed deep sorrow over Alexavier’s death and outrage that such a young child had to endure so much pain. They offered prayers and wished for comfort and strength for his family. Some called for accountability, hoping those responsible would face justice.
Through all the messages, people hoped the family could hold on to the happy memories of Alexavier’s bright spirit and eventually find peace.
