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. Posted on 08/19/2002 4:16:26 PM PDT by FresnoDA
August 19, 2002
WITH VIDEOWith 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.
This is from an older post of mine, not yet updated to include the testimony we have--but it's a real good start. First, here's the interview from February 5th, LEO to the SD local media, source is below:
Officer: During the course of our investigation, the resident here, his name came up, as someone who had contact with the family. We've talked to him. He is cooperating with us. He's talked to us yesterday, he's talking to us today. We had some things we wanted to check in his house. He allowed us to go into his home and we are doing some things to process the scene and possibly eliminate him as a suspect." Source
Second, there was an article in the San Diego Union-Tribune the same day, where another officer says something quite similar:
"This is a process of elimination," said Dave Cohen, a spokesman for the San Diego Police Department. "We have gotten some information and we wanted to take a little closer look at his vehicle and his residence." Source
And from the motion filed in court by Feldman:
"Detective Alldredge's affadavit was relied on to establish probable cause for search warrants 2783D and 27818 to search Mr. Westerfield's home. 27813 for Mr. Westerfields clothes. In his affadavit, Alldredge misrepresented statements by Brenda Van Dam that were relied on to supply probable cause for the issuance of the search warrants. Because the affadavits were sealed, documents may only disclose the specifics of the misrepresentations in camera."
So, from this, it appears Brenda said something, but that Alldredge might have altered it or exaggerated it. Bottom line, it looks like someone did point the police in a certain direction.
sw
The sealed portions are:
Attachment A, page 7, line 19 through page 8, line 13.
Attachment A, page 12, line 18, through page 13, line 10.
Attachment A, page 15, line 11 through the end of page 16.
I also thought the phone trap on the VD phone was to be unsealed but it appears they unsealed the police cell phone affidavit instead...regarding Detective Collins recreation trip on 2/16.
Be back in couple of hours.
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