Feldman's Questions Show Defense Strategy: Dig into Damon and Brenda van Dam's Private Lives!

KNSD NBC ^ | March 19, 2002 | Lynn Stuart

[FresnoDA]

Experts say attorney Steven Feldman's questioning of the van Dams gives clues to the strategy he will pursue during the trial.

Feldman's questions show defense strategy by Lynn Stuart

SAN DIEGO, March 15 –    When the parents of Danielle van Dam testified Thursday at a hearing to decide if the murder case should go to trial, it gave the suspect's attorney, Steven Feldman, an opportunity to grill them.

Much of the questioning may have seemed like needless digging into the couple's private lives, but experts say Feldman was laying groundwork for his defense.

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At times during the long day of questioning, Brenda and Damon van Dam appeared openly exasperated by the tough questioning dished out by Feldman. The attorney for murder defendant David Westerfield focused on the couple's drug use, their alleged "swinging lifestyle," and lies they told to police early in the investigation into Danielle van Dam's disappearance. Many of his questions were ruled irrelevant, and at times it appeared to the untrained observer that the attorney was asking the same questions over and over as he tried to find a wording that satisfied the judge. But legal experts gave Feldman's savvy courtroom performance high marks.

"It may just look like not much was happening, but Steve Feldman really got in there, he did his homework and he got the answers to the questions he needed to get," criminal defense lawyer Gretchen von Helms said.

Some of the questioning was an attempt to catch the van Dams in inconsistencies. If Feldman can show that Brenda or Damon answered Thursday in ways that contradict or were inconsistent with their past statements or the testimony of others, it could hurt the prosecution's case when it goes before the future jury.

One example is when Feldman questioned Brenda about her night out at Dad's Cafe.

"You just told me you don't recall dancing with David Westerfield. Is that true?" Feldman asked.

"Yes," Brenda answered.

Feldman claims that he has witnesses who will testify that they saw Brenda dancing with Westerfield the night before Danielle was discovered missing. That could raise doubts about the mother among jurors, legal observers said.

"He wasn't asking those questions for anything but preparing a transcript so that he can use that for impeaching those witnesses at trial and he did that very effectively.," von Helms said. Feldman peppered both parents with questions about their drug use.

"How often did you smoke marijuana?' he asked.

During the preliminary hearing, the judge ruled that many of Feldman's questions about the van Dams' lifestyle were irrelevant. But during the trial, the defense will be permitted more latitude, and von Helms expects Feldman to bring up the subject again.

"It opens up to the defense to go in an say not only were they doing drugs and having sex and all these other things, which in one side of it, but also that it affected their ability to be parents," von Helms said.

The questioning also gave Feldman a chance to see how the van Dam's react to his questions. How the van Dams appear to a jury could plant seeds of doubt that affect their deliberations on Westerfield's guilt. Legal experts say if the parent's don't show any more emotion in trial than they did in court today, that factor alone could hurt them with a jury.

[FresnoDA]

Hmmm, I had heard otherwise. Someone will help straighten this out, I'm sure. :) Can you imagine..having to get the fingerprints of all of danielle's playmates?

I WOULD SUGGEST WE FINGERPRINT ALL OF BRENDA'S AND DAMON'S PLAYMATES AS WELL!!

[Jaded]

This is information that I got from a friend from a ng that she's on. I cannot give you names, or tell you how the source is connected so don't give me a hard time about Source? Alot of this you've heard before and we've discussed it. As I've said before give me substantial evidence and I'll hop off of the fence. I was going to repost my thoughts on how the blood came to be in the RV but I can't find it and I need do go to family stuff.

First of all, there is evidence that Westerfield was watching her. Apparently one of his upstairs windows faces her bedroom (the houses are on hill, with Westerfield's UP the hill from the Van Dam's), and they found binoculars by the window, pornagraphic materials, and evidence that the blinds on that window had been repetitively pulled down in the middle as if to peek out (and there were slightly dirty areas around the pulled down in that section). Only Westerfield's finger prints are on it.

I can't say for sure that he didn't have help, but I CAN say that the police are about 99% sure they have their man. The very first day she was missing, the search dogs were brought out and they went right to Westerfield's house to his garage and front door!

Besides the obvious blood evidence in his motorhome and on his jacket there is some other evidence from her bedroom. And he had scratches on his arms which my source said a detective told him are the perfect "half moon" shape of 5 little fingernails.

The crime lab is sitll testing various fibers and stuff, but in the coming months, I can imagine more evidence will come out.

Listen to John Walsh comment on this case. He has such great insight. He was saying today that Westerfield probably got his motorhome stuck on purpose (as an alibi) and if you track his routes that weekend, he went right by where her body was found.

Early on when asked where the body was Westerfield allegedly replied, "Give me your gun and I'll tell you where she is." The detectives basically felt that as a partial confession.

Enjoy sleuthing and be nice. Catch ya in a couple of hours.

[RangeRatt]

Glad you liked it...

[Valpal1]

Sort of like walking into a buzz saw on this thread, isn't it.

But that blood in the MH is hard to overcome. For the record the DNA in the blood spots was matched to DNA in Danielle's panties, but I still hear maybe in was really Brenda's DNA. Like she fits in Danielle's panties. The MtDNA test was done to establish that the panty DNA was from offspring of Brenda.

The fingerprints are hard to explain away as well. Like a little girl who had to ask permission to cross the street was allowed to play in a barely known neighbors MH, with her friends no less (although other prints have NOT been identified to my knowledge). Or that a tidy,organized bachelor boy let children play in his motorhome, probably while loading and unloading it, since it was not stored at his home. Strains credulity.

And DW has been caught in lies. His trip/timelines did not add up convincingly (according to SDPD), And he lied about not having his wallet, while the Park Ranger said he did.

The funniest part is that so many think drunk, stoned, viagra popping swingers managed to do the crime, clean up the house, frame DW and fool SDPD, all while stoned!!!

[MizSterious]

This is the only pic I could find of Danielle with fingers showing. It looks to me as though she has viable, sratch-worthy fingernails. Can anyone else tell?

San Diego area police investigating the kidnapping of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam arrested 50-year-old neighbor David Westerfield on February 22, 2002. Westerfield, who had been questioned by police repeatedly in the three weeks since the second-grader disappeared, was taken into custody at his San Diego attorney's office in what appeared to be a pre-arranged surrender. (Reuters)

[bvw]

What "drunk, stoned, viagra popping swingers managed" to do is provide copious cover for Westerfield (should have done the alleged deed) to get off -- on a reasonable doubt.

[Freedom2specul8]

I have to repost this for hamilton, Jay because it wasn't the same without the pic.

He had a REAL bad weekend, getting rejected by a druggie/partier on friday night, getting set up (blood, dna and a handprint) for the murder of a neighbor girl who was found nude, getting caught with his "sons" 60,000+ porn pics, beastiality pics, rape animations and possible less than 100 questionable pics of underage looking girls, paying way too much for his rent-a-room at the beach, getting stuck in the sand, being late for an appt, getting bad scratches on his arm... sweating in front of cops and all (/sarcasm)

[FresnoDA]

Early on when asked where the body was Westerfield allegedly replied, "Give me your gun and I'll tell you where she is." The detectives basically felt that as a partial confession.

Was he serious, or was he simply using bad humor?  If...as has been stated, DW was a bit of a "jerk" with other folks and with Women....remember the stories of lots of cases of rejection and people trying to "ditch" him???

Again, this guy may be so dirty, it is a slam dunk....but WHERE were Brenda and Damon???  What is the TRUE STORY of their "Enchanted Evening"??

If the VD's will come clean on that, then I for one will "crawl back into my hole" (from an earlier Valpall rant!!)

[RangeRatt]

I believe they were going snow boarding....

[FresnoDA]

STOP YOUR HTML CODE SHRIEKING!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

[homeschool mama]

**I WOULD SUGGEST WE FINGERPRINT ALL OF BRENDA'S AND DAMON'S PLAYMATES AS WELL!! **

Agreed!

[bvw]

What seems to be going on here is a lynching, not a trial. Perhaps Westerfield is guilty -- but due process is due process, and grandstanding shortcuts may gain a conviction that ends up being overturned.

[Freedom2specul8]

LOL~~ Fres, we learned from you!

I had no idea westerfield got stuck TWICE....could it BE that he's trying to count four an abnormal amount of dirt under his rv?

Westerfield says he then drove to Borrego Springs and drove down a road that turned out to be too narrow. He became stuck again, and this time, he had to dig himself out.

[Valpal1]

Is a virtual lynching a real lynching? We aren't the jury, and the judge wisely gagged the real participants. Although in today's information age, it appears to be not enough to protect the jury pool.

[Freedom2specul8]

count four.. LOL account for..is what I mean.

[Valpal1]

Holy Shrieking HTML Cow! Batman!

First of all, there is evidence that Westerfield was watching her. Apparently one of his upstairs windows faces her bedroom (the houses are on hill, with Westerfield's UP the hill from the Van Dam's), and they found binoculars by the window, pornagraphic materials, and evidence that the blinds on that window had been repetitively pulled down in the middle as if to peek out (and there were slightly dirty areas around the pulled down in that section). Only Westerfield's finger prints are on it.

This is an LEO's dream scenario, to good to be true.

[MizSterious]

Geez, Kim, that pic was posted just a few posts away. Why post it again? Are you trying to slow the thread down so badly it can't be read? Some of us are on dialups. (Country living...)

[Freedom2specul8]

First of all, there is evidence that Westerfield was watching her. Apparently one of his upstairs windows faces her bedroom

eeew....

[Freedom2specul8]

Whooops, it shouldn't double the load time cuz 1. it's in the cache and 2. it's the same pic

But...this is MILD compared to earlier threads.. ::wink::

[Valpal1]

What "drunk, stoned, viagra popping swingers managed" to do is provide copious cover for Westerfield (should have done the alleged deed) to get off -- on a reasonable doubt.

Some see the parent's pathetic prelim testimony as demonstrating opportunity for the alleged perpetrator to have done a snatch from an occupied residence, not providing reasonable doubt at all. This home was wide open and the adults incapicitated by alcohol/drugs, an easy mark for an amateur, much less an organized planner.