Jury selected for former Iowa City man accused in son's death

UPDATE: Attorneys arguing the case of a 35-year-old father accused in the 2005 death of his 21-month-old Johnson County son have selected a 14-member jury.

Nine women and five men were chosen at 3 p.m. in a Johnson County courtroom to hear the second-degree murder trial of Brian Dale Dykstra.

Opening statements were set to begin Monday afternoon.

Dykstra, who now lives in South Carolina, was arrested in August 2008 and charged with second-degree murder after his son died with severe brain injuries on Aug. 14, 2005.

Assistant Johnson County Attorney Anne Lahey is the lead prosecutor on the case. Dykstra is being defended by Leon Spies.

The trial is expected to last about a week and a half, and prosecutors could call as many as 39 witnesses, according to trial information.

According to police, Brian and Lisa Dykstra, of Iowa City, adopted Isaac Dykstra from Russia just a few months before his death.

Officers were dispatched to the Dykstra home on Aug. 13, 2005, after receiving an abandoned 911 call from the residence. Dykstra told a dispatcher who called back that his son might have been having a seizure and trouble breathing.

He also said the problems might be related to a head injury, according to police. When authorities arrived, they found Isaac unconscious on the floor, struggling to breathe, with apparent head injuries and bruising.

The child was rushed to the University of Iowa Hospitals and Clinics, where doctors determine he had life-threatening injuries, including massive brain swelling, severe bleeding inside his skull and retinal swelling in both eyes.

He also had bruising on his body, and doctors said the injuries had occurred that day and were not consistent with Dykstra's explanation.

Isaac was pronounced brain-dead the next day, and Iowa City police, along with the Iowa Division of Criminal Investigation, launched a suspicious death investigation. They believe Isaac died from head trauma that was inflicted while he was in the sole custody and care of his father.

Dykstra moved to South Carolina after the child's death and posted a $15,000 bond after his arrest. He returned to South Carolina, where he has been living.