LA CROSSE, Wis. (Court TV) — A woman charged with the death of her boyfriend’s young son denied any responsibility for his death and repeatedly accused the child’s father of abuse as she took the stand on Tuesday.
Josie Dikeman testified in her trial on May 12, 2026. (Court TV)
Josie Dikeman, 33, testified for hours as she stands trial on charges of first-degree intentional homicide, chronic neglect of a child resulting in death and repeated physical abuse of a child.
While prosecutors have said that Dikeman routinely abused the victim, 6-year-old Alexavier Pedrin, the defendant told the jury that she treated the child the same as her own children in the home. “He was my son,” she said. “I loved Alex with all my heart, just as if he came out of me.” When pressed, she maintained, “I treated them all equal.”
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Other children who lived in the home previously testified that Dikeman applied special rules to the victim; they said he was not allowed to have food or drinks and that Dikeman would pour hot sauce on his food. The children also said that Alexavier was only allowed to eat the other kids’ discarded pizza crusts — an allegation that Dikeman emphatically denied. She said the rules were that everyone had to eat their own crust, “because I was finding half-eaten pizza and they’d want more and pizza’s expensive.”
Key testimony from the children centered around an incident days before Alexavier’s death, when he broke his leg. The children testified that Dikeman had pushed the victim down the stairs and bent his leg back as far as she could. Dikeman denied that on Tuesday, saying she didn’t even see the victim fall. “I was going upstairs to get their clothes for the day and I heard ‘thump thump.’ I heard that and then I heard Alex screaming.”
When her children took the stand, Dikeman said she hadn’t seen them for three years. “It was very hard,” she said of seeing them testify. She said hearing their testimony was “heartbreaking, especially hearing all of the lies.”
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Dikeman appeared to have a flat affect while testifying and at times struggled with memory. At one point, she had to take a break to take medication for a headache. Her attorney said that these were all symptoms of the traumatic brain injuries she suffered at the hands of Alexavier’s father and his ex-girlfriend. “My brain’s going through a lot right now,” she said at one point. “And it’s starting to block everything out.”
Dikeman recounted multiple instances of alleged abuse at the hands of the victim’s father, Derek Pedrin, targeting both her and Alexavier. Pedrin previously testified in the trial that he was violent at times with the defendant, but denied ever touching his children. Dikeman said that wasn’t true and detailed an incident in which Alexavier had lost a dental crown. “Derek tried shoving it back in his mouth,” she said. “He made Alex open his mouth, and he shoved it back in and Alex was crying.” When asked to recount how many times she saw Pedrin hit his son, she said, “I can’t count, it’s been ever since he was a baby.”
Dikeman flatly denied killing Alexavier when asked by her attorney. She has said that she woke up to find him unresponsive and immediately called 911. An autopsy showed the child suffered blunt force trauma and had a lacerated liver.
