A 27-year-old Missouri father, Blake Dopirak, was sentenced for the 2022 killing of his 4-year-old child. Dopirak had recently regained custody after a 2018 incident in which he crushed his then-newborn son’s skull with his bare hands.
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According to court records obtained by Law & Crime, Dopirak was sentenced to 24 years in prison on Thursday, June 26. He had previously pleaded guilty to endangering the welfare of a child, resulting in death.
“Justice has been served,” Louis County Prosecuting Attorney Melissa Price Smith said, as per KTVI. “We are relieved for this family that this painful chapter is over, and they can continue on their path to healing. May this angel rest in peace.”
As reported by KDSK, the incident occurred on January 2, 2022. Manchester Police Department officers arrived at a Huntington Hill Drive residence after responding to an unresponsive child report.
Upon arrival, responding officers talked with Blake Dopirak, the child’s father. He claimed that his son, 4-year-old Zaydian, had stopped breathing all of a sudden. Zaydian was rushed to a local hospital, where he, unfortunately, succumbed to his injuries.
Despite the father’s story, an autopsy determined Zaydian’s manner of death a homicide. Charging documents obtained by KDSK revealed that Blake Dopirak had caused “abusive head trauma” to the 4-year-old before his death.
Court records show, however, that this wasn’t the first time that Dopirak had physically abused his son. Back in 2018, when Zaydian was only 5 weeks old, Dopirak crushed the newborn’s skull by hand.
Controversial Reunification
Zaydian was placed in foster care, where he was nurtured by Dawn and Jeff James, according to KTVI. Until 2022, the James couple raised the boy, who even defied all odds and walked, something doctors had told them was impossible due to his sustained injuries.
In a scandalous decision, the state reunited Zaydian with his father, Blake, in 2022, despite the Jameses’ and other specialists’ warnings. As a result, the boy died shortly after returning to his father’s custody.
Now that Blake Dopirak has been sentenced, and after the family court commissioner responsible for the reunification retired, the Jameses feel their faith restored.
“When Commissioner [Diane] Monahan stepped down and we knew that no family would be put through this again, that restored – did restore our faith,” Dawn James said. “I know that Zaydian can never be brought back, but my family got justice for him today. Knowing that he’s going to go away, I have a little bit of peace.”