Jurors in Iowa City murder trial head home without a verdict

CEDAR RAPIDS - Jurors charged with determining the guilt or innocence of a former Iowa City man accused of killing his 21-month-old son in 2005 started deliberating Wednesday afternoon but went home without reaching a verdict.

The 12 jurors will continue discussing on Thursday whether the Johnson County Attorney's Office has proved that Brian Dykstra, 35, committed second-degree murder in connection with his son Isaac's death on Aug. 14, 2005.

To find Dykstra guilty of that charge, jurors have to agree that prosecutors proved beyond a reasonable doubt that Dykstra inflicted the significant head injuries that took Isaac's life and that he did so with malice.

They could find Dykstra guilty of a lesser charge of involuntary manslaughter, which means they believe he acted recklessly to cause the fatal injuries, but the death was unintentional.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey urged jurors during her closing arguments Wednesday to find Dykstra guilty of second-degree murder despite the character witnesses who said he was a loving father who always was gentle and never hurt his child.

“Brian Dykstra, for whatever reason, snapped,” Lahey said, picking up the metal leg brace and shoes that Isaac wore to correct his clubfoot. “He could have picked up Isaac by these shoes and slammed him down.”

She suggested Dykstra slammed his adopted son into the floor or maybe a wall.

“We don't know how many times he slammed his head,” Lahey said. “We don't know how many time he shook him.”

Dykstra called 911 on Aug. 13, 2005, and hung up. When an operator called back, Dykstra said his son had suffered a seizure and was struggling to breathe. Responding paramedics found Isaac unconscious with extensive bruising on his head and body and severe head injuries.

He was rushed to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where he died the next day with significant brain swelling, brain and retinal hemorrhaging and a hematoma.

Dykstra told doctors and authorities that his son had fallen down two stairs on Aug. 10 and that he developed a knot on his head that became “squishy.” Dykstra testified this week that he believes injuries Isaac sustained in that fall worsened over the next few days and eventually caused his death.

Dykstra said no traumatic event preceded his 911 call on Aug. 13. He said he was in the kitchen when he heard his son cry, and when he went to comfort him, Isaac passed out in his arms.

But numerous doctors who treated Isaac testified that his injuries had to have occurred shortly before he was hospitalized on Aug. 13, and only severe blunt force trauma – like a car accident – could have caused such significant damage.

“The state submits to you that all the doctors at the University of Iowa are not wrong,” Lahey said. “The fall on Aug. 10, 2005 did not kill Isaac.”

Lahey told jurors that both Brian and Lisa Dykstra told at least a half dozen people between Aug. 10 and Aug. 13 that Isaac was fine, and people who saw the child said he appeared to be happy and without significant bruising.

But Dykstra's defense attorney Leon Spies reminded jurors that medical experts he called to the stand disagreed and said short falls, on occasion, have been fatal.

“It's not fair to judge Brian on the statistics that death from a stairway fall is rare,” Spies said.

He told jurors that the “best scientific minds” – including the Iowa medical examiner – concluded it “impossible to say that Brian Dykstra is a murder.”

“There is nothing in this case that is inconsistent with this tragedy being exactly what it is,” Spies said. “A tragedy. An accident.”

Bringing to mind testimony from Dykstra's now former wife, Lisa DeWaard, Spies reminded jurors that witnesses with nothing to gain vouched for Dykstra's loving parenting style.

“If this man had murdered (DeWaard's) child, she would not have come into this courtroom,” Spies said. “He is not a killer.”

Spies talked about how the medical evidence is not inconsistent with an accident, and he provided explanations for some of the bruising. He conceded there are questions lingering around Isaac's death.

“We don't take comfort from the mysteries in this case,” Spies said. “But if there are doubts, they have to be resolved in Brian's favor.”