Witnesses picked for Westerfield penalty phase ( SBR penalty Watch).

San Diego Union-Tribune ^ | 2002-08-27 | Alex Roth , UT Staff

[dread78645]

The judge in the David Westerfield case said yesterday that he has decided which prosecution witnesses will be allowed to testify at the penalty phas e of the murder trial, but he refused to be specific.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd made his announcement following a closed-door hearing with the lawyers. He didn't identify the witnesses or the nature of their testimony. He simply said some prosecution witnesses "will testify, others will not".

Westerfield was convicted last week of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. She was discovered missing from her bedroom Feb. 2; her body was found more than three weeks later in a brushy area off Dehesa Road in East County.

Tomorrow, the jury will begin hearing evidence on whether the 50-year-old Sabre Springs design engineer deserves the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Westerfield's lawyers objected to some, if not all, of the prosecution's witnesses. They also opposed airing a videotape of Danielle, which the judge will allow.

Westerfield's lawyers raised constitutional challenges to the death penalty. The judge said he will consider those arguments at a hearing today when he also is scheduled to decide whether to disallow still photography during the remainder of the trial.

The issue arose after a Union-Tribune photographer took a picture of Danielle's parents in the courtroom gallery as the jury returned its guilty verdicts.

The judge said photographer Dan Trevan violated a court rule that prohibits photographing spectators. The newspaper says the van Dams weren't spectators but witnesses who testified during the trial and who have been photographed frequently inside and outside court.

---

Following path of other parents, mother of Danielle van Dam creating foundation

SAN DIEGO --Following the path of other parents of murdered children, the mother of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam is creating a foundation to promote child safety and preserve the memory of her daughter.

Brenda van Dam hopes to have the foundation running by Sept. 22, which would have been Danielle's eighth birthday.

"With all the other missing children, we felt there's got to be something we can do," said Susan Wintersteen, a van Dam family friend who is helping to organize the effort.

Danielle's parents are prohibited by a gag order from speaking to the news media about any issue related to their daughter until after the sentencing of David Westerfield.

A jury on Aug. 21 convicted Westerfield of kidnapping Danielle from her bedroom and killing her in February. The penalty phase of the trial is scheduled to begin Wednesday.

Brenda van Dam and five friends met over the weekend at Wintersteen's home, not far from where the girl was kidnapped, to work on the details of what is to become the Danielle Legacy Foundation.

Modeling their group on Mothers Against Drunk Driving, they plan to use the network of volunteers who helped in the search for Danielle to promote child safety and promote programs like the nationwide Amber Alert system, Wintersteen said.

The system, named in honor of Amber Hagerman, a Texas girl killed in 1996, is a way of quickly disseminating information about a missing child through news media and other outlets. It's used in more than a dozen states.

The San Diego effort follows other advocacy and safety groups born out of tragedy. They include the Laura Recovery Center, named for Laura Kate Smith, murdered in Friendswood, Texas, in 1997. The group fields volunteer searchers in child kidnapping cases.

Laura Recovery coordinated thousands of searchers after Danielle was reported missing Feb. 2. One of the volunteers found her body along a rural road nearly a month after the abduction.

Marc Klaas created the Klaaskids Foundation, after his daughter, Polly, was kidnapped and murdered in Northern California in 1993. Another group is named for Carole Sund, who was killed with her daughter, Juli, and the girl's friend Silvina Pelosso while they were visiting Yosemite National Park in 1999.

"A lot of families tend to start an organization in their loved ones memory, so there are a lot of them out there," said Kim Petersen of the Carole Sund Carrington Memorial Reward Foundation, based in Modesto. "It can be very healing."

It can also be very difficult. Foundations trying to raise donations often find themselves competing with similar efforts or overshadowed by larger o rganizations, said Klaas, who lobbies, speaks on child safety and helps other groups.

Still, "There's always room for innovation, for fresh new ideas," Klaas said.

Wintersteen, whose daughter was in school and Brownies with Danielle, said one of the group's first efforts will be to distribute identification kits that parents can use to set aside their child's fingerprints, DNA and a recent photo.

Investigators had to scramble to collect such identifiers when Danielle disappeared in February.

"We still feel there is change that needs to be done," Wintersteen said.

---

Mudd rules some prosecution witnesses will be allowed to testify, and that the music video produced of the victim will be shown to jury over defense objections

---

[CAPPSMADNESS]

AHHH...... The DREADED CHOCOLATE FETISH!!!!

THE MOST EVIL FETISH OF ALL!!!!

(at least my hips think so.....)

:)

[juzcuz]

Chocolate--
I like boiled crawfish too. I found out one day that It's not a good idea to mix those two together. That day I understood the dynamics of the mix.

[juzcuz]

Bed Wetting--

What about Dylan 6 years now going back to bed wetting. Today Damon said: "He's reverted back to where he was before". Well, that sure begs the question. How often was Dylan bed wetting before? Today Brenda says: "He's getting better".

We don't know much about their other kids. There was an issue about the child not liking to sleep in the 'car-bed' about 2 years ago. They were trying to sell over the internet.

[Guenevere]

#43....I have no knowledge of this.....
....I listened as much to Damon as I could....but had to mute the dial, he gave me a stomach ache, with his laughing & carrying on.
...The same with Brenda.....I find them both surreal.

I do know little kids will revert to these kind of habits, due to trauma, sometimes.

[juzcuz]

Yea-
I heard Damon say that Dylan wets the bed. Dusek was aking him how he was taking the loss of Danielle. Damon added that "He's reverted back to where he was before." I thought that statement was startling.
Considering that Danielle, according to damons testimony, had potty problems too especially in her sleep. Damon said: " Danielle does a potty dance", she dances in circles and crys, she needs to go to the bathroom but she asleep she can't wake up.
Gees--Even the dog had Potty problems.

Of course we know the parents had POTty problems too, but thats a different story.

[HoneyBoo]

Didn't you find the story Danielle was writing about her grandmother's house being broken into strange? Sounds like a plea for help to me. I know this stuff about DW and the niece is not good, but I can't ignore the red flags the stories about the Van Dam kids raise in my mind.

Also, did you notice that Danielle was taken out of school early on the friday before the disappearance? What's that all about? I'm still wondering if Brenda actually went out for pizza that night. Remember, Damon referred to the pizza as being obtained "at noon."

[juzcuz]

THEY ARE STILL LYING:

They lied today on the witness stand. Have you ever looked the appropriate attire for father daughter dances via internet? I did, the elementary schools that offer that social have pictures of their events. All the little girls dress up in DRESSES. But yet Brenda says she bought Danielle a sparkly TEE-SHIRT to wear with PANTS?? Brenda said the dog was neglected and house bound. Yet today Brenda says that the dog was taken out for walks frequently.

There other things too. I just trying to remember them all.

Yes- Danielle and her two brothers were taken out of school on that Friday to go shopping. They missed school that day. They were going to go to Italy the next week, the kids would have missed more school.

That's 'NOON" pizza. Damon said he watched his wife come home with this neverending pizza that Friday evening. They all ate it but he said they had pizza from NOON.

Don't know about the g-Mothers house break-in. I missed some of that portion today.

[dread78645]

Chocolate--
I like boiled crawfish too.

Strawberries call for chocolate.
Crawdads scream for garlic butter.
Never the twain shall meet.

HTH.

[juzcuz]

I was angry in my last post, but now you've got me laughing.
I did not eat crawfish and chocolate together, but at different times in the same day. Anyway I learned not to do that anymore. Boy, some hot crawfish would be real good right now, you're right with some hot butter garlic and parsley sauce. hum hum hum.....

[dread78645]

Also, did you notice that Danielle was taken out of school early on the friday before the disappearance? What's that all about?

It may be just me but around here, grade-school kids get out at 2:30. You'll have plenty of time to get a photo and then go shopping. I'd think.

[juzcuz]

I wonder what time she took them out of school and why all three kids?

Why was it necessary to take the boys out too? Did they have their P-Port photo's taken as well? That wasn't addressed in testimony. I mean Brenda and Danielle could have picked out a boys B-day Present for whomever. Mom's pick out presents for other kids all the time.

[dread78645]

Why was it necessary to take the boys out too? Did they have their P-Port photo's taken as well?

That's why the story stinks to me.
The youngest, Dylan is 5, he would (maybe) be in kindergarten, and would've been out for the day.
Derrick, at ten years old, should be 5th grade and would get out of school at the same time as Danielle. I've heard nothing about the boys getting photos (or did they already have one ?)

[the-gooroo]

According to Bren's testimony, she pulled kid's out of school for the three of them to get pp photos. I was also wondering why no photos of the boys were shown and why they were not shown on video today. Then it hit me that they don't want anyone (the public) to see what the boys look like, most likely for their protection. Maybe I'm wrong but that's the only reason I can think of.

[dread78645]

they don't want anyone (the public) to see what the boys look like, most likely for their protection.

That would be valid.

But what time does elementary school let out in San Diego ?
If it's 2:30 or 3:00, that should be plenty of time to get the kiddoes photographed and out shopping.

[TheSpottedOwl]

That is valid...about showing the boys pictures in public.

Potty problems are a recognized sign of problems in the child's life. Not too sure about dogs, but kids will wet the bed long after they should of been potty trained.

[UCANSEE2]

mark.

[Commander8]

I hope the Justice System lives up to it's name and puts Westerfield down like the sick animal he is.

[UCANSEE2]

But yet, we are to believe that every word spoken by DW in the police reports were suddenly sooooo very accurate.. HUMMMMMM.....

(1) Statements by DW regarded as accurate , NOW.

(2)Statements by DW to police before the trial, regarded as LIES, but proved to be TOTALLY TRUE.

(3)Statements by the Van Dams/Friends regarded as totally accurate, but proved to be LIES.

[UCANSEE2]

If Westerfield is truly the killer of this girl, then justice is doing it's duty, and whatever sentence he gets' he will deserve.

Did you have something else to say, or did your fellow disruptors only give you one line to read this time?

[dread78645]

CROWD: A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! We've found a witch!
A witch! A witch! A witch! A witch! We've got a witch!
A witch! A witch! Burn her! Burn her! Burn her! We've found a witch! We've found a witch!
A witch! A witch! A witch!

VILLAGER #1: We have found a witch. May we burn her?
CROWD: Burn her! Burn! Burn her! Burn her!
BEDEVERE: How do you know she is a witch?
VILLAGER #2: She looks like one.
CROWD: Right! Yeah! Yeah!
BEDEVERE: Bring her forward.
WITCH: I'm not a witch. I'm not a witch.
BEDEVERE: Uh, but you are dressed as one.
WITCH: They dressed me up like this.
CROWD: Augh, we didn't! We didn't...
WITCH: And this isn't my nose. It's a false one.
BEDEVERE: Well?
VILLAGER #1: Well, we did do the nose.
BEDEVERE: The nose?
VILLAGER #1: And the hat, but she is a witch!
VILLAGER #2: Yeah!
CROWD: We burn her! Right! Yeaaah! Yeaah!
BEDEVERE: Did you dress her up like this?
VILLAGER #1: No!
VILLAGER #2 and 3: No. No.
VILLAGER #2: No.
VILLAGER #1: No.
VILLAGERS #2 and #3: No.
VILLAGER #1: Yes.
VILLAGER #2: Yes.
VILLAGER #1: Yes. Yeah, a bit.
VILLAGER #3: A bit.
VILLAGERS #1 and #2: A bit.