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.
Wow.
Did she have a bath since the last time the RV was in the neighborhood or since the time she sold cookies to Westerfield ?
This morning one of the lawyers not sure which one, asked the Judge to instruct the jury NOT TO WATCH "BODY FARM" ON THE A&E CHANNEL.
I have watched "Body Farm" It is in I think Tennesee and they put cadavers in all kinds of inviroments and conditions and watch how and when bugs invade the body.
When I saw it I was so facinated by what they could determine from the bugs.
Medical examinors call in entomologists because they are able with their science to set the time of death closer to the actual time.
P.S. They were also talking about Samatha's mother being on Larry King and blaming the jury for not having put Avila away before and what effect this might have had on the jury if they saw it.
The lawyers are then able to represent it as a match to the jury.
BTW, the hair under Danielle's arm was identified as similar to her own, I believe.
Also, there were samples taken from search dogs and investigative personnel, so it is incorrect to say these things weren't done to rule them out as contributing factors.
9 MR. FELDMAN: ASKED AND ANSWERED.
Interesting that Feldman doesn't object to the characherization of blood, just the duplicate nature of the question.
There were also the same orange fibers in his bed, all laundry in laundry room and some in the MH (plus around Danielle's necklace). How would those be explained by the above?
YesI understand. These fibers are like super fibers. Westefield would be able to spread both the orange and blue fibers in several places throughout his RV and on the back seat of his SUV (while driving home drunk ?) after dirty dancing (and didn't he say he took a shower and changed sat morning before going to RV) while at the same time one of the dirty dancers went to Westerfield's stripped her and caused the same fibers to rub and stick to her bare skin.
Okie dokie. Sounds possible but anything but reasonable to me.
I didn't realize their were two totally different fibers that matched Danielle to so many places belonging to Westerfield. I understand that its possible to explain each one individually but when it adds up to so many connections its mind blowing.
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