Posted on 02/06/2003 3:57:00 PM PST by Jaded
SAN DIEGO – The District Attorney's Office spent nearly $270,000 prosecuting David Westerfield, including thousands for DNA analysis and expert witnesses, it was announced today.
Westerfield was sentenced to die for the February 2002 killing of 7-year- old Danielle van Dam.
The former Sabre Springs resident and neighbor of the victim is now on death row at San Quentin.
According to figures the District Attorney's Office released, more than $35,000 was spent on experts for Westerfield's trial, and more than $146,000 on DNA analysis.
More than $62,000 was spent on a telephone survey and a jury questionnaire review.
Prosecutors spent nearly $270,000 making sure they convicted David Westerfield of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, according to the San Diego District Attorney's Office.
The office wouldn't say where the Westerfield case ranked in comparison with the cost of other high-profile San Diego criminal cases in recent years, as they public might question the huge difference.
A spokeswoman for District Attorney Bonnie Dumanis, who took office in January after defeating incumbent Paul Pfingst, said this is the first time the office has released such figures. "In this particular case, we were more concerned about the public's desire to be satisfied, than with that dirty, child-molesting bastards rights! "
Death penalty trials are usually the most expensive to prosecute because of the legal complexities. These cases often have two phases: a guilt phase and a penalty phase.
The final figure of $269,746 doesn't include the salaries of the prosecutors and district attorney investigators involved in the case. The amount would be staggering if we revealed that. It also doesn't include the money spent by police and other law-enforcement agencies who investigated the girl's abduction from her Sabre Springs bedroom in February 2002.
San Diego police declined yesterday to detail their expenses pending a request for the information under the state public records law, which the Union-Tribune has submitted. Since the paperwork for our expenses and our real activities and expenses don't coincide, we are just gonna keep that info to ourselves.
Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pettine said the final cost wasn't terribly high considering the lack of scientific investigation involved in the case. The Chief said, "Just think how much it would have cost had we analyzed any of the evidence at the Van Dam house"
"We're also talking about the murder of a a little girl," he said. "How do you put a price tag on that?" (we like to use that phrase so no one will ever contest any of our expenses, no matter how high)
The biggest expense for prosecutors was DNA analysis, with the office paying $152,712 to several firms to give positive results, no matter what they actually found, according to the figures. They also paid more than $62,000 to a jury consulting firm and more than $14,000 to a single expert witness – Bill Rodriguez, a forensic anthropolgist, who provided an opinion he was given by the Prosecuting attorney, about the girl's time of death.
The office spent thousands of dollars on meals, drugs, liquor, assorted gifts, air fare and lodging for various witnesses.
Westerfield, a self-employed design engineer, was sentenced to death Jan. 3 for kidnapping and murdering the girl, who lived two doors away. He is being housed on death row in San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco.
Westerfield, who sold his house to help pay his legal bills, ran out of money before the trial started. His legal bills were paid from public funds from that point forward. Which, of course, means nothing/nada. No money, no defense. He had no money to have his side of the story investigated or analyzed. No DNA tests for Mr. DW. If it takes expensive tests in a case to provide proof, and you don't have money, forget it. The other side is gonna win.
The cost of his public defense has been ordered sealed by Superior Court Judge William Mudd, who didn't want to answer to why nothing had been spent on the defense, throughout the whole trial (except for Atty fees and one witness). The Union-Tribune has asked the 4th District Court of Appeal to unseal those costs, but the appellate court has been asked to delay that ruling for as long as possible.
I heard Feldman say that "we would hear more about Bill Libby" in his opening, but I think it was more of Feldman's inability to keep names straight. I think that he was probably referring to Keith Stone (a/k/a Viagra Boy).
To me, the most interesting "non-testifier" is Barbara Easton...how the hell was she able to stay off the stand? She was at the VD home, before and after the bar. She and Brenda VD were propositioning couples at the bar. She smoked dope with Brenda VD throughout the evening...THEN she jumps into bed with Damon VD approximately SEVEN HOURS before Danielle is discovered missing.
Many of the individuals seemed so inexperienced. Mostly, everything had to go through OTT and KEYSER before being tested. Anything they didn't want tested, didn't get tested.
What is really important here though, is Where did those 'stains' come from. If we assume they were blood, what would that indicate?
If DOG BLOOD. Could have been DAMON vs THE DOG'S NOSE.
Could have been that someone chased Danielle into the house or broke in, and killed her, dragging her outside.
Could have been INTRUDER vs. THE DOG'S NOSE. An intruder could have encountered the dog, and kicked it causing the bleeding, or been bitten by the dog, bleeding him(or her)self. Why weren't they tested? I would suggest that Damon got them to ignore the stains, either with a nice story, or Diane Halfman helped by talking to OTT and KEYSER (her close personal friends and lead investigators on the case, and CONVICTED CRIMINALS THEMSELVES)
NOW, when the new lawyer in the PETERSON case pulls out the "We have a certified witness that has been keeping quiet until I arrived was hired"...... and "We have A Satanic Cult in California and they did it", stories, that is OK.
Isn't this another way of saying it was human blood, but we were told not to test any further than that. Just ignore it and go on. What does INCONCLUSIVE RESULTS mean if you tested for human blood, got positive, and then.....
Interesting that the blood in the garage tested "inconclusive", however the blood on the jacket (WHICH HAD BEEN DRYCLEANED) came back with a 13 point match.
Maybe DW should have used the VD's steam cleaner on his jacket...sure worked on the floor.
In the Danielle case, everyone KNEW Brenda (girl scout mother) couldn't have done it, or lie about it, therefore Damon didn't either.
Since DW didn't have any woman around, he was toast.
Would you mind explaining your thought on this? Is this more PROOF that the sheeple are supposed to accept, that he is guilty?
Not only do they NOT CARE, they specifically do not want anyone else to FIND OUT. They didn't want anyone else to even check for themselves. Remember, DW kidnapped Danielle therefore he killed her. He killed her, therefore he must have kidnapped her. Just accept one, and you accept both. No other choice allowed. All evidence that could have led to the real killer was specifically NOT TESTED by the police. The JURY was told not to worry about HOW, WHEN, or WHERE DW killed/kidnapped/raped Danielle. They were just to assume he did it, somehow.
He was the 'lead' in name only. Everything had to go through OTT and KEYSER. Collins was the lead of one team that 'unofficially' reported to OTT and KEYSER. It's in the testimony.
The media, the internet picked up the info before it was released and during, and miscontrued the info. The 'chief' simply did ....nothing to correct that misinformation.
There is information that leads to this possibility.
Danielle died, and her body was hidden somewhere. Later, it was moved to the Dehesa Rd location as that was on DW's 'weekend trip route' and made the case more convincing.
True, except for one detail. Embarrassing to .....? It wasn't the Van Dams they are worried about.
Funny how the 3 main pieces of physical evidence, were all in locations that someone trying to 'plant' evidence would think of. Not in the 'gee, I forgot to clean that spot' areas that the culprit usually misses. And they weren't actually found on the first search(es) of the motor home, but only after OTT and KEYSER had 'time alone' in the motorhome.
How disgusted he is about this thing. (right)
Of what expertise is he claiming whereby he gives out some partial statements, where you the reader are supposed to make the conclusion in your head, and qoute it as fact from then on. He doesn't know a damn thing about prison, but he claims to be an expert. He hasn't revealed any more than was revealed in court, yet he implies there is more. He is not required to provide any proof, you know.
Know what I think. Any time you get a individual/group that specifically tie onto one of man's moral sins, you inevitably find out that the most dedicated, most 'innocent' person in that unit, is there because he/she is attracted to this type of thing, and has found this a way to be 'in the middle' without getting caught.
For instance: The Meese Commission on Violence and Pornography. After all the money spent, no one was prosecuted for any crime, EXCEPT for one of the COMMISSION MEMBERS, a PRIEST. Any guess as to his crime?
This guy's article sounds just like that kind of person. All ready to tell everyone how BAD the guilty guy is. All to keep attention diverted.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.