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. |
But, the question that remains is was DW on the planned trip, or had he changed plans?
According to his statement he changed his plans several times that weekend. So, which part was his statement to police referring to? The original plan, or his decision to just pick up and go (from the beach) to pick up and go (from the desert)?
"Of the blue fibers, Shen (pictured, right) said 19 were found around Danielle's body and 10 were discovered in the defendant's laundry"
I am not a fiber expert. So my opinion might not mean much,but, first,other than what appears to be the same color and the fact they are fiber shaped, I see nothing similar about them.
Second, if you notice the background in each is a different color, that means that the colors of the fibers are actually different. If the picture is corrected to make the backgrouds come out the same, then the fibers will be different.
If it is because the backgrounds actually were a different color, then that throws the whole comparison ability out the window.
I know. I thought it was a classic summation of the CTV NANCY GRACE mindset. Not yours. NOWAY!
1. Fear of arrest for drug usage?
2. Fear of public humilation for sexual perversion?
3. Involvement in child's disappearance?
4. Fear of/protection of/from drug supplier and/or sexual playmate?
5. "Not thinking it was important", although LE had told them MULTIPLE times that it was important.
The only one that makes sense is number 3. None of the others makes any sense.
If it were my daughter, I would name every individual that had entered my home (sex or no sex, adultery is not against the law). I would tell LE the truth regarding drug usage...if they want to arrest me on that, then have at it...I'd pay my fine and tell them to get off their asses and find my daughter.
Nope, Damon put blinders on LE from the start, and, unfortunately, LE left those blinders on.
Cyncooper, is this just the portion of transcript that was revealed to the jury? Is that why it's not complete?
I believe when the MEDIA hype comes out and says something (especially during this case) you can assume they took it out of context to make the MOST out of it.
With all due respect, I am sick and tired of this angle.
Believe me, I do not have a high opinion of the media. I have been watching the trial and form my own opinion. Sometimes I hear my observation and opinion echoed or mirrored in the media in this particular case. So does the other side.
You need to accept that some viewers of the trial see it the way they do because of the evidence, not because the media told them to think a certain way.
If the fibers were placed on the same background (which One would assume), then it means someone tried to falsify the photos by one of two methods (1)filter on camera or (2)during processing of film.
If the backgrounds are different, same thing really. You cannot do an accurate color comparison with different colored backgrounds.
http://members.cox.net/jeneal/PrelimTranscripts/020311p1.txt 17 This body was mummified. All the skin that was still 18 present was mummified, a brown leathery appearance
What was played for the jury (and is therefore evidence) should be represented in those transcripts at CTV. Now, as I said I'm not sure if a page is missing or if they accidentally just posted the one page twice.
The tape played for the jury is just a small portion of the whole interview DW gave to police and as Dusek indicated, there are places in the middle of the jury tape that were edited out.
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