Prosecution witness challenges findings of defense 'bug expert'
Posted on 07/30/2002 3:58:51 PM PDT by FresnoDA
Prosecution witness challenges findings of defense 'bug expert'
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July 30, 2002
M. Lee Goff, an entomologist and chairman of the Forensic Sciences Department of Chaminade University in Honolulu, said his review of the crime scene photos, morgue photos, weather reports and other evidence suggest that Danielle's body was exposed to insects as early as Feb. 1 and no later than Feb. 14.
"We're working on an estimate. We're not running a stopwatch here," Goff said. The defense has contended that there was no way Westerfield could have placed the victim's body where it was found in the East County community of Dehesa, because he was under close surveillance by police beginning Feb. 5. Goff was called to the stand to rebut testimony from two forensic entomologists called by the defense who testified that Danielle's body could not have been exposed to insects any earlier than mid-February, nearly two weeks after Westerfield came under police surveillance. Westerfield could face the death penalty if convicted of the kidnap and murder of Danielle. He also has been charged with possession of child pornography. Danielle was reported missing from her family's Sabre Springs home on Feb. 2. Her body was found in a wooded area near El Cajon on Feb. 27 after a massive search drew national attention. Westerfield, who lived two doors down from the van Dams, became an early suspect in her disappearance.
Insect evidenceWhen Danielle's naked body was found, investigators took extensive photos of it and its surroundings, then put bags over her head, feet and hands and wrapped the body in a sheet to preserve any evidence.Law enforcement officials called in forensic entomologist David Faulker to study the signs of insect infestation on the body to try to gauge when Danielle had died. But lead defense attorney Steven Feldman argued in his opening statement that scientific evidence would prove his client could not have killed Danielle. As it turned out, the prosecution never called Faulker to the stand and he was called by Feldman as a defense witness. Early in the trial, San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne testified that the girl could have been dead from 10 days to six weeks when her body was found. Faulkner testified July 10 that his analysis of the life cycles of the insects found on Danielle's body showed it wasn't available to insects until sometime between Feb. 16 and 18. On July 22, a second defense expert, Dr. Neal Haskell, testified that Danielle's body couldn't have been exposed to flies any earlier than Feb. 12.
Insect rebuttalProsecutors began rebutting the defense insect evidence on Thursday by calling Dr. William C. Rodriguez III, a forensic anthropologist for the Department of Defense, who testified that Danielle's body was in "an advanced state of mummification" that would have delayed insect infestation.On Tuesday, Goff reiterated testimony about insect lifecycles presented by the previous experts: You can calculate how long a body has been exposed to the elements by gauging the age of the maggots – fly larvae – growing on the body. Flies are quickly drawn to dead bodies and will lay batches of eggs on them. The development of the eggs into different stages of larvae and adult flies is then affected by temperature, humidity and other environmental factors. Using charts of known development rates, a forensic entomologist can look at the age of maggots found on a body and, factoring in the weather, can calculate when the eggs they hatched from had been laid. Generally, the warmer the weather, the faster the insects develop. Goff, author of "A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insects Help Solve Crimes," said he calculated the "post-mortem interval" date from the maggots on Danielle's body using temperature records and charts from a 2000 fly study. He said Faulkner appeared to have made his calculations using a chart of insect development from a study that used 80-degree temperatures, far higher than the rates in the San Diego mountains in February. Haskell appeared to have calculated his dates assuming that the activity of the "maggot mass" on the body would have raised the temperature of the mass, speeding up their development. In both cases, Goff said, the other entomologists estimated that the maggots would have developed much faster than he did, giving a much later date for the exposure of Danielle's body to the elements. Goff was scheduled to resume testifying – and to face cross-examination by the defense – after a lunch break.
Fiber evidence
A series of shirts and other orange-colored items brought to the San Diego Police Department crime lab were made from either nylon, cotton or a polyester-cotton blend, criminalist Tanya DuLaney testified. "Did the fabric of any of these items consist of acrylic in any manner?" assistant prosecutor Woody Clarke asked. "No," DuLaney replied. Prosecutors called DuLaney back to the stand in response to defense suggestions that investigators could have inadvertently cross-contaminated the two crime scenes with the orange acrylic fibers, which became a key piece of prosecutor evidence linking Westerfield with Danielle's body. On June 25, police criminalist Jennifer Shen testified that an orange acrylic fiber tangled in Danielle's plastic necklace at the time her body was found was similar to orange acrylic fibers found in laundry inside Westerfield's home and on bedding in his bedroom. On July 24, lead defense attorney Steven Feldman introduced into evidence several still images from television that showed police investigators wearing orange or orangish shirts as they entered and left Westerfield's house on Feb. 4 or 5. In response, the district attorney's office identified all of the police and search-and-rescue personnel shown in the photos, collected anything orange-colored they were wearing at the time and gave the clothing to the crime lab. That evidence consister of two orange long-sleeved shirts, an orange short-sleeved shirt, four reddish polo shirts, an orange rope, an orange strap, a black-and-red backpack, an orange hat and an orange dog vest, DuLaney said. Under microscopic and infrared examination, none of the fibers taken from those items contained any acrylic material, DuLaney said.
Trial's end in sightAt the start of today's session, Superior Court Judge William Mudd told jurors that there will be no testimony on Wednesday, but that testimony will resume Thursday and could conclude on Monday."It appears to me that next week you'll hear closing arguments and be in deliberations," Mudd said. The judge said that he had not yet decided whether to sequester the jurors during deliberations. Mudd also warned jurors not to read or view any material about the Westerfield case or the Orange County kidnap-murder of Samantha Runnion, in which the girl's mother blamed a previous jury for failing to convict her daughter's accused murdered in a previous sexual abuse case. "The fact is the case is not similar in any way, shape or form," Mudd said. |
THIS PING IS FOR YOU !
I have been working on a new ITEM for our threads.
It is called "GOLDEN COMMENTS"
convicted felons can't vote unless their rights have been restored or they are democrats
by rolling_stone
"Well, EXCUSE me, Mr. Feldman, what's a couple of math errors? We have a dead child, a beautiful little girl, brutally murdered by a monster, deposited like TRASH, on the side of the road, and YOU'RE concerned with MATH?!" "Give me a BREAK"!
by spectre (sw)
I find it interesting that those without a political agenda ALL FIND HIM NOT GUILTY
by mouser
Best case scenario is a hung jury.
And you hear thunder before you see the lightning ?
up is down --war is peace. What color is the sky on your planet ?
by dread78645
"A (Fly) Lie for the prosecution."
by dread78645
Bottom line is, Dusek should not have reopened his taken this case. If they really wanted a conviction, I don't know why Dusek was selected. Maybe he IS the sacrificial lamb after all.
by Southflanknorthpawsis
sshhh i'm hunting wabbits
by countess
Looks to me like some people have had to resort to grasping at fibers.
by bolthead
William Wallace suffered less than Goff did today.
by John Jamieson
That goofy mascot of the SD Padres has long orange fibers all over it...maybe Mudd did it.
by demsux
(AND MY FAVORITE, by JUDGE MUDD)
THE COURT: WE DEFINITELY HAVE ADMITTED UNTRUTHFULNESSES .
by Karson
Both
dog hair & house first morning session;
dog hair & SUV in the second morning session.
Gotta have both to ask for the death penalty.
They played a recording of DW saying his trip that weekend was spur of the moment.
What they didn't say on ctv now, was that DW's son knew about the trip the weekend before. DW lied to police.. It was not a spur of the moment.
Sorry -my mistake. Eyes read S-U-V, brain went R-V.
:/
Or, as known in any large ORGANIZATION, That's the BOSSES ORDERS!
A lot of people in the know? Not really. Just people going along with (DO AS YOU ARE TOLD). Also people going along because they are sure it is the RIGHT thing to do.
RISKING A LOT? No, not really. Since none of them had to be told to do anything specific, they can't be found guilty of anything. So they made a mistake, a miscalculation, a misjudgement. OOOOPS !
WHY WOULD THEY DO IT? Same reason the HANG DW crowd ignores any evidence, testimony that shows DW might not be guilty.
THEY ALL BELIEVE ! TOTALLY COMMITTED BELIEF!
They are just finding evidence to match their belief.
Do you think Dusek wears a rug? He should wear one on his face alright. Posted by The Deejay
Seems like you are desperate.
It was not a spur of the moment.
DW's trip was planned ahead of time. He ended up gettting bored with the PLANNED part of his trip, and picked up camp, and headed off to other places to see if he could find his friends, or other interest. THAT PART of it was the SPUR OF THE MOMENT he was talking about.
Well I suppose they could ...
But without the kidapping there is a higher standard of proof required for a murder conviction.
Probably why Dusek is against the idea. A very risky game these folks are playing.
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