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Evidence On Insects Likely To Continue: (Westerfield Trial "Creeps" Along At An Ant's Pace!)
Union Trib ^ | June 29, 2002 | Alex Roth

Posted on 07/28/2002 8:56:21 PM PDT by FresnoDA

Evidence on insects likely to continue

Trial winding down; closing statements may be this week

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.Photo

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.


TOPICS: Society
KEYWORDS: danielle; daniellevandam; kidnappig; kidnapping; molestation; pedophile; vandam; westerfield
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To: Politicalmom; kayti
Thanks for pointing that idea out mom, it IS excellent thinking! Very possible! Someone needs to send it to the defense!
581 posted on 07/29/2002 8:44:10 PM PDT by hoosiermama
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To: VRWC_minion
What about the emerald green ones and the red ones that were everywhere including under her fingernails? Why is there NO dog hair at Dehesa?
582 posted on 07/29/2002 8:48:46 PM PDT by Jaded
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To: cyncooper
The orange fibers are not a common type.

My first impression is to ask 'Where in the hell did you pull that from?'

But I will be polite and ask "What testimony points to that statement? If I recall the correctly no one know what the source of the orange fibers are."

583 posted on 07/29/2002 8:49:58 PM PDT by Dave_in_Upland
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To: Jaded
What about the emerald green ones and the red ones that were everywhere including under her fingernails? Why is there NO dog hair at Dehesa?

I thought she had blue under her finger nails ?

I would imagine any dog hairs she transfered would have been on her night clothing and not on her. The lack of dog hairs on her, if true would also indicate that the orange and blue fibers found on her were not transfered to her before she was abducted.

584 posted on 07/29/2002 8:55:24 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: Dave_in_Upland
My first impression is to ask 'Where in the hell did you pull that from?'

The testimony of the fiber witness stated they were long acrylic fiber of a very unusual shade of orange. Not common.

Evidently people here are being told to go look it up.

585 posted on 07/29/2002 8:55:28 PM PDT by cyncooper
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To: VRWC_minion
I hear ya.
586 posted on 07/29/2002 8:55:58 PM PDT by cyncooper
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To: clearvision
I'd like for them to cover this topic, might explain where the fibers inside the SUV came from.....

16 BY MR. FELDMAN:

17 Q. Can you tell me now with regard to the next set
18 of notes, which are marked as defendant's exhibit H, where
19 did those lifts come from?

20 A. Those came from the black Toyota 4-Runner with
21 California license plate 4SFN016.

22 THE COURT: This is beyond the scope. I thought
23 it came from the home. Apparently it comes from something
24 else.

25 MR. FELDMAN: I concede.

587 posted on 07/29/2002 8:57:51 PM PDT by Jaded
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To: VRWC_minion; All
I don't recall testimony that there were orange fibers in RV. I thought the orange fibers were in house and SUV according to July 9 testimony. Was there earlier testimony that the orange fibers were also found in the RV? I think the June 25th testimony was only in his house laundry. The orange fibers in SUV, house and one on Danielle would be consistant with dancing. The blue-grey in all the areas could be LE.
588 posted on 07/29/2002 9:01:49 PM PDT by clearvision
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To: Politicalmom

558.561,564...JACKAL BAITING....

    Warning...

        Warning...

            Warning....


589 posted on 07/29/2002 9:04:48 PM PDT by FresnoDA
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To: BARLF; ~Kim4VRWC's~
Brenda van Dam testified she had at least 5/6 contacts with David Westerfield.

My understanding is a year ago was the first contact selling GS cookies.

So we have
1. BVD at Westerfields to get order for GS cookies 2001.
2. Deliver order of GS cookies 2001.
3. BVD & Westerfield at Dad's January 25th.
4. BVD at Westerfields to get order for GS cookies 2002.
5. BVD & Westerfield at Dad's 1/31/02-2/1/02

That makes the 5 contacts.

590 posted on 07/29/2002 9:06:48 PM PDT by Spunky
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To: clearvision
RE orange fibers. You might be correct. I'm on fact overload.
591 posted on 07/29/2002 9:06:58 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: demsux
Keith Stone testified on June 10 between Rich Brady and Garry Harvey.
592 posted on 07/29/2002 9:08:57 PM PDT by nycgal
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To: clearvision
Here is an interesting thought. Assuming the last two bug guys are correct about Danielle getting dumped in two weeks later than abduction those fibers that were supposedly transferred at via dirty dancing were pretty stuborn fibers to stay with her all that time.
593 posted on 07/29/2002 9:09:14 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: Spunky
Yep...so the natural question to ask, well, one of the natural questions to ask is..."when" did DW bend his winder screen in the john.
594 posted on 07/29/2002 9:09:20 PM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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To: clearvision
Okay, we have all these fibers. Has the prosecution submitted a common source for all this fiber evidence?
Where did it all come from?
595 posted on 07/29/2002 9:10:45 PM PDT by gigi
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To: Spunky
DW only fesses up to 3 visits..
596 posted on 07/29/2002 9:11:13 PM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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To: hoosiermama
And the one in Danielle's necklace from when she hugged her daughter. Common source .....BvD in all innocent actions.

I don't get where anyone from bar hugged Danielle that night ?

597 posted on 07/29/2002 9:11:23 PM PDT by VRWC_minion
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To: VRWC_minion
The way some would tell it, she never hugged her daughter..
598 posted on 07/29/2002 9:13:04 PM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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To: VRWC_minion
I speculate that the single orange fiber in her necklace (if it is indeed the same as the other orange fibers) is from one of the 3 "ladies" who were at the VD house and hugged her, then at Dads dancing with DW. The blue-grey fibers might be from LE.
599 posted on 07/29/2002 9:15:24 PM PDT by clearvision
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To: cyncooper
"very unusual shade of orange"

Yea one was "bright orange" and the other was "dull orange", but they matched perfectly in all known tests of science (except the human eye)!
600 posted on 07/29/2002 9:17:52 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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