Tag Archives: Isaac Jonathan Dykstra

Thursday, after only a few hours of deliberation  a jury in Iowa City (IA) acquitted Brian Dykstra of all charges in the death of his Russian adopted son Isaac Jonathan Dykstra (no original name known.) The 21-month  old  was admitted to the hospital on August  2005, with severe head trauma and died the next day after being taken off of life support. His injuries were reported consistent with shaken baby syndrome. Dykstra claimed that three days earlier  the boy had fallen down steps head first on to a concrete floor, but had not required hospital treatment.. Doctors and police believed that while Isaac did fall a few days earlier, the injuries that caused his death happened in a separate incident the day before he died. After a prolonged police investigation, in August 2008, Dykstra  was charged with 2nd degree murder. His  former wife, Lisa DeWaard,. (divorce final August 1, 2011), now  an assistant professor of Spanish  at Stetson University, wasn’t home at the time and wasn’t charged.  Brian Dykstra, if found guilty, could have been sentenced to as much as 50 yeas in prison. The trial opened last week with strong testimony from prosecution EMTs, hospital personnel and police  witnesses Continue Reading →

On August 7, 2008 Brian Dale Dykstra, 31,was charged with 2nd degree murder in the 2005 death of his adopted Russian son Isaac Jonathan Dykstra, 21 months old. Dykstra surrendered to Johnson County, Iowa authorities on August 8 and was released on $15,000 bond. He submitted a written plea of Not Guilty on October 2 in Johnson County District Court. Dykstra currently lives in South Carolina where his wife, Dr. Lisa Dykstra, is an Assistant Professor of Spanish at Clemson University. She was not at home at the time of the alleged beating and has not been charged. I have been unable to find the employment status of Brian Dykstra (but he is not the actor/comedian/playright of the same name). Isaac was born November 18, 2003 in Krasnoyarsk and adopted from an orphanage there. An Iowa City Police Department press release says that on August 13, 2005 officers were sent to Dykstra’s home after receiving an abandoned 911 call from that address. On callback, Dykstra told the dispatcher that Isaac was having a ‘little seizure” and difficulty breathing from what “might be related to a head injury.” Responding units from the Iowa City Police, Iowa City Fire Department, and Johnson Continue Reading →