Expect to hear more evidence about insects as the David Westerfield trial enters what could be the final week of testimony before jury deliberations. Posted on 07/28/2002 8:56:21 PM PDT by FresnoDA
By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 28, 2002
Expect to hear more evidence about insects as the David Westerfield trial enters what could be the final week of testimony before jury deliberations.
On Tuesday, prosecutors are scheduled to call Dr. M. Lee Goff of the University of Hawaii as their final rebuttal witness in a trial that has lasted 23 court days. Goff is a forensic entomologist and the author of "A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes."
Whether Goff will be the final insect expert in the case – jurors have already heard from three witnesses with expert opinions about the behavior of insects on human remains – is unclear. Westerfield's lawyers have said they will take at least a day to present evidence to rebut the prosecution's rebuttal.
The trial will not be in session tomorrow because the lawyers and judge are scheduled to hash out the legal instructions that will be read to the jury after the close of testimony. The instructions guide jurors on the law to be applied in the case.
Given the time estimates of the lawyers, it seems likely that closing statements won't come until Thursday, or the following Monday at the earliest. So far there haven't been any Friday sessions in which the jury was present to hear testimony. The judge said the jury will deliberate Mondays through Fridays.
As the case winds down, the battle of the insect experts has emerged as perhaps the final arena in the murder trial. Westerfield's lawyers say the insects found on 7-year-old Danielle van Dam's body prove that it couldn't have been dumped until after Westerfield was under 24-hour police surveillance.
Danielle was reported missing from her home Feb. 2, and her body was found by volunteer searchers Feb. 27 in a remote area off Dehesa Road near the Singing Hills Golf Course in El Cajon.
The defense called two entomologists who testified about blowflies on the girl's body. Westerfield's lawyers say the experts' testimony proves that the remains couldn't have been dumped until mid-February. Westerfield was under constant police surveillance beginning Feb. 5.
The prosecution countered with a forensic anthropologist who said the body's extreme mummification might help explain why blowflies weren't able to access the remains immediately.
Westerfield, a self-employed design engineer who lived two doors from the van Dams in Sabre Springs, is accused of kidnapping and killing Danielle. He is also accused of possession of child pornography, which the prosecution claims shows that he had a sexual interest in girls.
Prosecutors said the pornography – some of it depicting violent sexual attacks against young girls – was found on Westerfield's computers and on computer disks stored on his office bookshelf.
In a trial of numerous shifts in momentum, legal experts say prosecutors scored a significant blow last week by calling Westerfield's son as a witness. Neal Westerfield, now 19, testified that the computer child pornography in the house was his father's, not his.
Earlier in the trial, the defense presented a computer expert who testified that Neal Westerfield might have been the person who downloaded some of the pornography.
"This is a young man who clearly cares about his dad and has a good relationship with him, so he has no reason to say anything bad," said Peter Liss, a Vista criminal defense lawyer. "He was just truthful."
In this respect, the defense's strategy of trying to blame the son for the child pornography in the house appears to have backfired. Criminal defense lawyer Robert Grimes said the jury is likely to view Neal Westerfield as "basically a nice young college kid" who testified honestly.
Westerfield's lawyers chose not to cross-examine his son. They will indicate this week whether they will call any witnesses to try to refute his testimony.
(Just kidding!)
Oooooh, semantics, is it?
What's with the hostility?
??????????????????????????????????????????????????
Appears "forceful" was Dusek's word, not Susan's, and she clearly said "one occasion."
There was discussion about bringing Goff last week and Mudd said it would not be right if he then could not be available for cross until after Monday.
Spin and shake it anyway you like. The delay was to accommodate the prosecution's witness and it is extremely hypocritical to then turn around and whine because the defense encounters the same problem.
If you are truly unable to see the double standard....hypocrisy......I give up.
Found this......link.
Entomology
" Forensic entomology is the application of the study of insects and other arthropods to legal issues. The arthropods that are most important in forensic entomology are the carrion feeders, those that eat dead bodies. They perform valuable recycling of organic matter in our ecosystem, and they can also aid the police in solving crimes.
After death the body begins to smell, and attracts different types of insects. The insects that usually arrive first are the Diptera, in particular the blow flies, or Calliphoridae, and the flesh flies, or Sarcophagidae.
The females will lay their eggs on the body, especially around the natural orifices and in any wounds. Flesh flies do not lay eggs, but deposit larvae instead.
After about a day, depending on the species, the eggs hatch into small larvae. These larvae live on the dead tissue and grow fast. After a short time they moult, and reach the second larval instar. They continue eating and moult to the third instar (this takes about four to five days). When the larvae are fully grown they become restless and begin to wander. They are now in their prepupal stage (about eight to twelve days after the eggs were deposited). The prepupae then moult into pupae, but keep the third larval instar's skin, which becomes the puparium. Typically it takes between eighteen and twenty-four days from the eggs to the pupae stage. The exact time depends on the species and the temperature in the surroundings, so by estimating the age of the insects scientists can estimate the time of death.
One important biological phenomenon that occurs on corpses is the succession of organisms that thrive on the different parts. For example, beetles that specialise on bone have to wait until bone is exposed. Predatory rove beetles or parasites that feed on maggots have to wait until the blow flies arrive and lay their eggs.The first group to arrive is blow flies, followed shortly by staphylinids. As putrefaction develops, more groups arrive at the scene, with most groups present just before the body dries out due to seepage of liquids. Afterwards, dermestids, tineids and certain mites will be the dominant animal groups on the body, and blow flies will gradually vanish. Several insects specialise in living in very decayed dead bodies, for example, the cheese skipper, Piophila casei, where the larvae usually occur three to six months after death."
So there are certain beetles that do not arrive till the blowflies do - till they lay their eggs. If those rove beetles and other parasites were on her body as well - they could aslo track their development to see how old they were - when they arrived had to have shortly been after the blowflies - thus dating the blowflies somewhat as well.
The beetles that feed on bone would be useful too. If their prescence and age could be determined - then we'd know when she was opened up enough by animals enough to exposes her bones - thus drawing these particular beetles. If these kinds of beetles were there since early Feb. - the defense's points would be weakened.
I really do think Faulkner and Haskell considered all this stuff in coming to their decisions - it will be interesting to hear from Goff.
Anytime I speculate I try to state same. I'm not perfect in this regard but I do my utmost to make that clear.
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.