Anatomy of a Murder |
The van Dams
Despite the reluctance of many in the media to explore the van Dams lifestyle choices, one thing is clear: The question of lifestyleboth the Van Dams and that of their neighbor, David Westerfieldis very likely to be a central issue in Westerfields murder trial. And it will be impossible for the media to ignore.
Looking back, Brenda van Dam called it a girls night out. Thats how she described an evening of drinking and dancing with her two girlfriends, on the same night her daughter disappeared. Brenda offered the following version of events that evening:
The three women met two men at a bar. Brady was one of them. They went back to the van Dam house about 2 a.m. Damon van Dam, who had remained home with Danielle and her two brothers, joined the group to eat leftover pizza. The pizza party broke up around 3 a.m., and the van Dams went to bed.
Later that morning, about 9 a.m., the van Dams discovered their daughter was missing.
In the days following Danielles disappearance, allegations about her parents lifestyle began to emerge. There was talk of spouse-swapping and drug use by the van Dams. It had the makings of a public relations nightmare.
At that time, attention was starting to get diverted to allegations of family lifestyle, says a spokeswoman for Fleishman Hillard, an international public relations and communications firm. A week after Danielle disappeared, four employees from the firms San Diego office started working with the van Dams as unpaid volunteers.
The spokeswoman says the van Dams needed help also because of the news crushthe sheer number of reporters now working the storyand the fear other news [stories] would begin to override the search for Danielle. At that point, there was still a child missing, she says. That was the concern.
The Fleishman Hillard employees worked with the van Dams for eight days, but the spokeswoman says the pair didnt need any coaching. In the media, there was a lot of second-guessing, a lot of speculation that the van Dams were heavily media trained. Frankly, thats not true. They knew what they wanted to say; they knew where they wanted the attention to stay focused. We just helped them along.
The spokeswoman has nothing but praise for the van Damsas people and as parents. I dont know that I could have been that strong. I think their strength came from the belief they were doing the right thing in trying to find their daughter. I dont think many people would have been as brave as the van Dams, she says. They were so selfless ... putting themselves through public scrutiny. They proved themselves to be ... good parents [who] do everything they can for their children. Thats exactly what they did.
The public saw another side of the van Dams during David Westerfields preliminary hearing in March. Thats when Brenda described a previous girls night outon January 25, a week before Danielle disappeared. On that night, Brenda testified, she saw Westerfield at Dads, a restaurant and bar in Poway, and he bought her alcohol. But she said she couldnt remember how many drinks she had.
A week later, on February 1, Brenda testified, she, her husband and her two girlfriends smoked marijuana in the van Dam garage. Then the three women went back to Dads for their second girls night out in eight days. Westerfield was back at the bar, too. Brenda testified she and her two girlfriends smoked marijuana again that night in the parking lot at Dadsmarijuana supplied by Rich Brady, the Little League coach.
Brenda acknowledged she told police her two girlfriends were dancing in a sexually provocative manner, rubbing their bodies together. One of the girlfriends, identified as Barbara Easton, tried to grab Brendas breasts, according to the statement Brenda gave investigators.
Westerfields attorney, Steven Feldman, pressed Brenda about her relationship with Easton. Would you characterize Barbara Easton as an intimate friend of yours? Feldman asked.
What do you mean by intimate? Brenda said.
Very close ... sexually very close, Feldman said.
The prosecution objected, and the judge ruled Brenda did not have to answer the question.
When Brenda and her friends came back to the van Dam house on February 1, Easton went upstairs to see Damon van Dam. Under questioning from Westerfields attorney, Damon admitted he initially withheld information from police about what he did with Easton. When he did provide details, he acknowledged telling investigators that Easton got in bed with him. Later during the same hearing, he testified he and Easton kissed and he rubbed her back while he lay in bedbut she was on top of the covers.
Maybe they can get a talkshow all their own to replace Rosie..it is good to have a broad overview (pun here) of preversion in your livingroom