Due to my trip to the ASAC conference at MIT, I’ve g0t catching up to do. I’m starting with some Russian follow-ups and then on to ASAC.
This is cross posted from my Nikto Ne Zabyt – Nichto Ne Zabyto blog Please go there for my complete Russian collection.
The trial of Brian Dykstra, charged with second degree murder in the death of his adopted sonIsaac Dykstra (original name unknown) has been held off indefinitely. The trial was scheduled to start on May 10. The prosecution and defense filed a joint motion Friday requesting a new trial date due to the complexity of the case. According to their motion more than 130 witnesses may be called.
You can read about Isaac on my Summary of Cases page and a little about Brian Dykstra on my Summary of Cases – Killers page.
Comments from a member of the Dyskra family are here.
I go over there on the occasions when I am feeling stronger than usual. The thing that pisses me off is the fact that so many of these assholes walk or get short sentences. You can be assured that if it is the natural parents, they would rot in jail for the rest of their lives. While I think that all parents should pay when they cause the death of their children, I have to wonder about the disparity. It’s like adopting gets you a “get out of jail sooner” card. It frustrates and angers me.
You’re absolutely right. I think Peggy Hilt will do some serious time, but I’m not sure about the rest who are still in jail. I hpoe to have an update on the Craver case today. The prosecution is looking into death penalty specs. I don’t think thatl will happen, but it appears from that report they are taking this case very seriously. Russian media is on them, too. But the injuries were so bad in this case and the Cravers ‘”defense” so lame, they’re going away.
I read thru the family comments and understand where they are coming from. It’s a pretty nasty shock when one of your own is awaiting trial in the murder of a tiny child.
Brian Dykstra is not unique. Peggy Sue Hilt, the Lindorffs, the Emelyentsevs, and Susan Bennett come to mind. Nobody comes to adopt a child so they can kill him. None of the people I mentioned went into Russian adoption to kill a child and end up in jail.
Russian AChildren pose “unique challenges” to badly educated, ill-informed and starry-eyed PAPs. I believe that having been thru the trenches myself. PAPs were filled a bill of goods regarding the true mental and physical health of the adoptees BEFORE placement. Do you know how many times in 1999 when we waited for Cyril AParents would tell us not to wory about FAS, ARND, attachment, hPilory, low weight babies, institutionalization because, HEY their babies were THRIVING and DOING JUST GREAT.
Well, the AParents LIED to us. And we, being ignorant believed them. What a costly mistake that was to Cyril.
From experience, it’s my belief Brian Dykstra was as ill-informed about the issues Isaac was facing. Not the physical problem the boy had, but the bonding and loss issues the boy had. Think these children don’t greive when you take them from their “home”? They do. And as an AParent, you better educate yourself about it.
Lack of education = murder.
E.Case
Innocent until proven guilty. Brian Dykstra is innocent.
E. Case/Anonymous – if “lack of education = murder” then you should be first in line to exonerate the Dykstras. Dr. Lisa Dykstra has not only spent many years living in Russia, she is a linguist specializing in Russian, and like the extremely educated woman she is, she and her husband came into the adoption of Isaac well read on the issues. Which is not to say it’s ever easy. It isn’t. But they were as prepared as they could be for the challenges they faced.
Anonymous:
Brian Dykstra was uneducated about the REAL issues facing Russian children. He is the one charged in Isaac’s death; not Lisa.
I am fully aware of Lisa’s educational credentials, both in Russian and Spanish. Knowing the language, as I do too, does not spare you when children die.
Bringing a post-instutionalized (P.I.) child into your home is a challenge. Bringing a P.I. child with a physical problem, especially with a couple who didn’t have any kids is a hardy hurdle in itself.
Think I don’t know what I’m talking about? Guess again. Read all about it:
http://www.bewareofbbas.org
I haven’t been down this long not to know what I’m referring to. You may wish to check the other children stories on the Bastardette’s site. Isaac is not alone.
Elizabeth S. Case
I know Brian and Lisa Dykstra personally, and there is absolutely no way that Brian was at fault in this tragedy. I don’t discount that there are many shocking instances of abuse out there: but this is not one of them. Brian does not have a violent bone in his body – not even a short temper. He’s a kind-hearted, easy-going man who is being pilloried by people who have not heard any of the evidence in this case. I pray that he and Lisa will live through this trial and come out on the other side with their names completely cleared. I suggest you all hold off on your comments until you’ve listened to all sides of the story.