Mudd Denies Access To Transcripts As Well As Lineage To Hussein: Van Dams' Sex Life Still In Play!

Union Tribune ^ | August 19, 2002 | San Diego Tribune

[FresnoDA]

Mudd denies access to transcripts of closed hearings as well as lineage to Hussein


SIGNONSANDIEGO

August 19, 2002

 WITH VIDEO
With the jury completing its eighth day of deliberations without a veredict in the kidnap-murder trial of David Westerfield, the judge in the case has denied a media request to unseal transcripts of closed hearings.

The motion before Superior Court Judge William Mudd was filed by Guylyn Cummings, the attorney who represents the San Diego Union-Tribune and other media companies.

During the trial, a number of hearings were held outside of public view. Mudd denied the motion, reasoning that the jury was continuing to deliberate in the case and to ensure that "this deliberating jury is not exposed to any more publicity than they're already exposed to."

The jury should be free of a "deluge" of items that were not allowed in the trial, the judge said.

"I don't need the headaches," Mudd said, referring to seeing stories about the closed hearings in The San Diego Union-Tribune.

Mudd lashed out after an editorial in Saturday's Union-Tribune criticized his decision to banish a radio producer from the trial because the station she worked for aired the contents of a closed hearing.

The judge said he "had no idea" that he was the "Saddam Hussein" of the First Amendment in San Diego. The editorial, titled "Judge's overreach," does not mention Saddam Hussein or make allusions to the Iraqui leader. Read the full editorial here.

He said making the sealed transcripts public would cause prejudice that would be "hard to compute."

Mudd said he had no reason to believe that the media would use good judgment in reporting the contents of the closed hearings if it were to be released.

"What the public has heard is what the jurors have heard," the judge said.

Back to work
The jury returned to the San Diego County Courthouse in an attempt to decide the fate of the man accused of killing Danielle van Dam.

In all, Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in connection with the death of the 7-year-old.

As of this morning, jurors had deliberated about 31 hours over seven days.

The twice-divorced, self-employed design engineer could face the death penalty if the jury convicts him of killing his Sabre Springs neighbor and finds true a special circumstance allegation that the second-grader's murder occurred during a kidnapping.

Brenda van Dam discovered her daughter missing from her bed the morning of Feb. 2.

On Friday, the jury asked for a readback of the testimony of San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne and insect expert David Faulkner.

Blackbourne and Faulkner were among a group of witnesses who testified about how insects found on the child's body could help determine when she had been dumped off an East County road near Dehesa.

Faulkner, a forensic entomologist, found 14 insect species on the girl's body when he examined it at the East County recovery site.

The witness testified that fly larvae first infested the body 10-12 days before volunteer searchers discovered it on Feb. 27.

On cross-examination by prosecutors, Faulkner conceded that he could not give a maximum time Danielle's body was exposed to the elements. Blackbourne testified that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and that animals had been feeding on it.

He testified that Danielle died between Feb. 1 and Feb. 18.

Other experts testified that insects infested the body as little as four days before it was discovered to six weeks earlier.

Jurors also have asked for readback of the testimony of San Diego police criminalist Jennifer Shen when she was recalled to answer questions about orange fibers that allegedly link Westerfield to the victim.

Shen testified that orange fibers found wrapped in Danielle's choker matched orange fibers found in Westerfield's laundry. More orange fibers were found on a pillow case in the defendant's master bedroom.

During her second time on the witness stand, Shen acknowledged that if she had known that witnesses at a Poway bar said Westerfield and Danielle's mother had been ``dirty dancing,'' it would have influenced her evaluation of the fiber evidence.

Shen also told prosecutors that the amount of orange fibers found in Westerfield's SUV, home and motorhome made it unlikely the fibers were transferred from a third party.

Jurors also have reviewed the pornographic evidence in the case and asked to look at photographs that Westerfield had taken of his ex-girlfriend's teen- age daughter. Prosecutors told the jury that one photo of the daughter lying by the pool was sexually suggestive.

Jurors also listened again to a taped interview the defendant gave to a police interrogation specialist on Feb. 4.

Nearly 100 witnesses were called during the two-month trial.

[ican'tbelieveit]

I definitely think you can microscopically tell the difference.

From this page: http://www.instantweb.com/v/vlr/w21_pd.html

Q Was the hairs, to your knowledge, that were tested for chemichal characteristics or bleaches or things like that which would be individual to the person?

A Well, I would dispute the statement of being individual, even if we had chemial treatment and things like that, those can be helpful in drawing conclusions about comparison. For example, we can get an area of where people dye or bleach there hair and it grows at a certain distance from the scalp, it's bleached and dyed and again we can see that along the hair shaft that doesn't acquire a chemical, it simply requires it being observed microscopically where it's ovservable and there are some times where it's obscured but that can be a very, very

---

30
helpful thing in doing - - in augmenting the regular comparison of innate charactheristics in the hair. I had a thought here and lost it.

Q I think we're talking about bleaching and individual characteristics of hair and simply I am asking was there any evidence that Mr. Malone or you received or any one found evidence of bleaching on one hair and matching another hair bleaching or something like that?

A No, no, not as such, no.



Q Several statements in the FBI report, I am going to go ahead and read them and ask you if you agree with them. "Unequivocal identification of an individual from a hair sample does not appear to be possible in the present state of the science." Do you agree with that?

A I would agree with that.

Q Secondly, "The consensus from all reports recieved was that microscopic examination of hairs, unlike fingerprints, did not permit a positive identification to be made, except in a few rare instances."

A I would agree with that.

[ican'tbelieveit]

AND AGAIN KIM, the KIDDIE PORN has been proven IN TESTIMONY by the prosecutions OWN WITNESSES to be questionable at best.

[clearvision]

No Verdict Yet!

No Verdict Yet!

No Verdict Yet!

No Verdict Yet!

If you can read this it worked!

[RnMomof7]

No on exam the chemicals would show..also I would think the root would be clearly visible (says she that has roots easily seen by the naked eye:>)

[Politicalmom]

WHAT is it with you? The "attack" videos were obtained when NEAL was surfing. Which part of that don't you understand?

To me, that would indicate that it is likely that ALL the porn is Neal's. STOP lying about DW's "collection". THERE is NO proof that it is his, and quite a bit of proof that it is his son's.

[Jrabbit]

Not in a million years would I ping you. So far, my claim to fame on the FR threads is not having a post pulled because of you or having a freepmail from you.(do not freepmail me. I won't read it.)

[kayti]

Kim, you and all the other regulars KNOW you have posted kissez and huggz numerous times. Problem being, you are a prolific poster, I would have to go through thousands of posts to find one.

Thousands of posts, WAIT, that is an OBSESSION!!!!

[RnMomof7]

How bout a link to the post

[Phyllis]

See, "pressure" does happen.

orlandosentinel.com/news/local/orange/orl-locmorgue20082002aug20.story
Orange pathologist resigns in dispute
By Henry Pierson Curtis
Sentinel Staff Writer

August 20, 2002

A pathologist caught up in a controversy over the death of an Orange County Jail inmate has resigned, accusing his boss and county administrators of undermining the integrity of the Orange-Osceola Medical Examiner's Office.

Dr. William Anderson says Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Shashi Gore pressured him to change his finding in the June 7 death last year of Karen Johnson, who died from methadone withdrawal.

"What he said was, 'We're going to have to change this diagnosis. They [county officials] have an expert looking at this case, and the expert says we're wrong,' " said Anderson, chief deputy medical examiner for 10 of his 12 years in the office.

Reached at home, Gore denied the accusation.

"That's not correct. Impossible," Gore said, adding that he agreed with Anderson's assessment when he presented the case to his colleagues before issuing the cause of death.

Earlier in the day, before Anderson specifically named him as the one who pressured him, Gore laughed at the general allegation and denied that anyone could influence the Medical Examiner's Office.

"There was never any direct or indirect inference from me or my office, and I'm not aware of anyone else interfering in his decision-making capability," Gore said, promising to investigate.

Anderson, the only physician at the Medical Examiner's Office to hold the profession's top rating as a board-certified forensic pathologist, said Gore approached him after the cause of death was issued. He said at least one other staff member would be willing to give a sworn statement that Gore wanted Johnson's cause of death changed.

Johnson died three days after being booked into the jail.

The staff agreed that she died from "precipitous withdrawal from methadone" after Anderson found no other drugs in her body or condition to explain her death.

Three years before Johnson's death, the county paid a record lawsuit settlement of $3 million to the family of another female inmate who died of methadone withdrawal. Methadone is a legal drug used by addicts to control craving for narcotics.

In the wake of Johnson's death, the county has allowed inmates who have been prescribed methadone before their arrests to receive it in jail.

On Monday, an attorney hired by Johnson's family accused county officials of witness-tampering upon learning of Anderson's resignation.

"It's criminal," E. Clay Parker of Orlando said.

"Since one agency in government has testified honestly that she died as a consequence of the neglect of another branch, they are out to undermine his credibility."

Parker negotiated the $3 million settlement for the 1997 death of inmate Susan Bennett. No suit has been filed in Johnson's death.

"They have in wholesale fashion either fired, gotten rid of quietly or accepted the resignation of others," Parker said by telephone from Alabama. "And those that stood up, the county has sought to undermine and hold up to public ridicule."

Anderson's resignation is effective Sept. 30. He has signed a contract to work as a pathologist in Sarasota.

He first complained publicly of outside interference in July, after the county opened an investigation into reports he did private work at the morgue on Lucerne Terrace. But on Monday, Anderson said he voiced concerns about county pressure within weeks of Johnson's death, including to Dr. Steve Nelson, head of the state Medical Examiners Commission.

Orange County spokesman Steve Triggs said no one has tried to influence Anderson's finding.

Public Defender Robert Wesley applauded Anderson's work.

"He was always a straight shooter and a fine scientist," Wesley said, saying his office would likely hire Anderson now as an expert witness. "He's beat me an awful lot of times."

Doris Bloodsworth contributed to this report. Henry Pierson Curtis can be reached at 407-420-5411 or hcurtis@orlandosentinel.com.


Copyright © 2002, Orlando Sentinel

[Freedom2specul8]

If I did it was in jest, not out of love...

[Freedom2specul8]

I didn't realize you were i'can'tbelieveit..sorry.

[kayti]

I seriously thought you were writing to someone who was leaving the thread and wanted to have a ping back. But it seems the person never really did leave. So much for veracity.

[Jrabbit]

I didn't realize that I couldn't post a reply unless the post was directed specifically to me. But, then I should have realized that some posters have to be handled with kid gloves around here. My bad:)

[ican'tbelieveit]

Hi Jrabbit, nice to meet you. I guess I am posting with both of my personalities. I just hadn't realized you were the other one.

ROFL

[kayti]

Kinda thought it was an 'open' forum for ALL to read and respond to. Don't know what you did wrong. Maybe some of the closeminded also prefer the closed threads!

[L,TOWM]

This is like the Star Trek with the bearded, evil Spock. Over in the 'nice' Gen Interest thread, flamethrowers seem to be the debating tool of choice; meanwhile, here in the 'naughty' Backroom we're having a (somewhat) pleasant chat.

(I wonder who trained Jackals to operate flamethrowers, anyhow?)

[Jrabbit]

Nice to meet you, too! I'm also rumored to be Fresnoda. So, I guess it's a threesome!

[ican'tbelieveit]

Oh my gosh, we should invite someone else in.....we can be swingers.

[UCANSEE2]

I IZ CONFUZED.

You said you think they can.

The article says basically if they have two hairs and the bleached area vs. the unbleached is the same length, they can say they MIGHT BE the same, but NOT GUARANTEE it.

So, the question is did the LE's do a microscopic exam of the hairs in question?

I know they said Brenda's hair was bleached , therefore (letting the sheeple ASSUME again) it didn't match Danielle's (because we all assume her's wasn't bleached)

NOTICE the LE's NEVER said that Danielle's wasn't bleached chemically, or sun-bleached.

OR, am I wrong?

[nycgal]

Your wish is my command :-) Here is what I just emailed Hannity:

"Sean, you and others on FoxNews have been parroting other media's disinformation re: the Westerfield trial. I and others on Free Republic have been following the testimony on a daily basis.

Below is a comment I made (in italics) yesterday after hearing a segment on one of the Fox shows. The person answering me has read every word of the testimony and can give the so called experts a run for their money. Please act as the fair and objective person you claim to be."

An excerpt from the original post followed.