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Westerfield Closings Set For Tuesday, 8-6-2002: More Revelations Continue "Out" Of Jurors Sight!
Court TV ^ | August 6, 2002 | Harriet Ryan

Posted on 08/06/2002 6:40:14 AM PDT by FresnoDA

Westerfield closings set for Tuesday

Photo
The defense for David Westerfield, left, opted not to call a last forensic witness, clearing the way for closing arguments Tuesday morning.

SAN DIEGO — After two months and 116 witnesses, jurors in the capital murder case of David Westerfield will hear closing arguments Tuesday.

"We'll be ready to rock and roll tomorrow morning," Judge William Mudd told lawyers Monday.

Defense attorneys for Westerfield, who is accused of kidnapping and killing his 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam, had considered calling a forensic anthropologist as their final witness. After weekend discussions, however, they decided to rest their case, defense lawyer Steven Feldman told Mudd.

The judge imposed no time limits on the arguments Feldman and prosecutor Jeff Dusek will make, and closings in the trial, which included 199 exhibits and weeks of complex forensic testimony, could stretch into a second day.

At the hearing Monday, Feldman made yet another attempt to have the panel of six men and six women sequestered during deliberations. He cited front page articles about the case in the local paper as well as an article about swinging in San Diego magazine.

"The land mines keep growing, Judge," he told Mudd.

As he had before, the judge denied the request and said he trusted the jury to follow his instructions about avoiding media accounts of the case.

Westerfield, 50, faces the death penalty if convicted of Danielle's slaying. The second-grader was abducted from her bedroom last February. Searchers found her naked body on the side of a road three and a half weeks later. Prosecutors claim Westerfield sexually assaulted and suffocated her, but the defense says forensic evidence indicates she was dumped after the defendant was under police surveillance.

 
Comprehensive case coverage


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To: UCANSEE2
A mistrial would be a very bad thing...it means they get to prosecute him all over again, and he doesn't have the money to defend himself, after all this.
621 posted on 08/06/2002 2:37:48 PM PDT by Henrietta
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To: Blue Screen of Death
Dusek is trying to use a lack of evidence (fingerprints) to prove a point. You don't prove negatives.

Most of Dusek's case and closing arguments are lack of evidence.

The 'comforter', the 'blanket', the 'black boots'. My briefcase with a Million Dollars in it.

622 posted on 08/06/2002 2:37:54 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: Jaded
"The thing that is the most scary is if they do this in such a high profile case, what happens to those that don't hit the radar? Have we all been blind about what the justice system has become?"

I'm afraid maybe so. I know my eyes have certainly been opened by this case.
623 posted on 08/06/2002 2:38:05 PM PDT by MagnoliaMS
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To: Blue Screen of Death
But that doesn't stop him from using "no evidence" in weaving his tangled web, eh what? No black cowboy boots, no fingerprints, no scent for the dogs to hit on, no Westerfield hair in her bedroom, no DNA anywhere in the Van Dam house, no orange blanket with which he wrapped her. Yep, cut and dried. He's guilty. </sarcasm>
624 posted on 08/06/2002 2:38:23 PM PDT by shezza
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To: shezza
I must not be normal. many of these things that make DW a child raping murderer I too am guilty of. I have a pair of "blue gray" cowboy boots that I wear with anything. My hose is always laying around somewhere.
I bet cops would be very hard pressed to find my fingerprints in my bedroom.But if you go into my sons room his would be everywhere on everything. I find it strange that Danielles were not in her room.
I find many more things strange about the VD's then I do DW.
625 posted on 08/06/2002 2:38:53 PM PDT by winodog
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To: UCANSEE2
You still haven't proven that the briefcase is yours.
626 posted on 08/06/2002 2:38:59 PM PDT by shezza
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To: Blue Screen of Death
No evidence is evidence? Dusek is losing it/has lost it completely. He is over-reaching so badly now, the juros may be discounting even his legitimate points.
627 posted on 08/06/2002 2:39:00 PM PDT by connectthedots
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
..........do you think dusek will give his final final argument AFTER feldman? Me thinks so....

NOPE. Not today. Feldman plans to blab until 4pm PCT. Jury will adjourn until Tomorrow at which time Feldman will start.

628 posted on 08/06/2002 2:39:01 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: Jaded
No, I don't think that he wanted company that week-end. I think that he may have changed his mind later, but remember he told his son not to come until Monday? I think that he didn't know what he wanted, that he was depressed and nothing seemed to be going right, so he just kept moving, not really thinking clearly.
629 posted on 08/06/2002 2:39:49 PM PDT by Eva
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To: sawsalimb
The prosecutor could be going for a hung jury because now he knows Westerfield couldn't have dumped the body. He wants to keep his job and he doesn't want to send an innocent man to his death.
630 posted on 08/06/2002 2:40:02 PM PDT by Lucky
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To: shezza
You still haven't proven that the briefcase is yours.

It was black. Na,na,na,na,na,na.

631 posted on 08/06/2002 2:40:07 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: UCANSEE2
(Matched the boots?)
632 posted on 08/06/2002 2:40:52 PM PDT by shezza
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To: shezza
You got it.
633 posted on 08/06/2002 2:41:28 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: shezza
The evidence shows Danielle was not in that motorhome and she did not bleed in that motorhome (prior to being kidnapped, that is).
634 posted on 08/06/2002 2:42:00 PM PDT by shezza
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To: shezza
Hair found Mitochondrial DNA match was too long to be her brothers'.
635 posted on 08/06/2002 2:42:32 PM PDT by shezza
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To: shezza
Duesk says you don't have to prove anything.
636 posted on 08/06/2002 2:42:47 PM PDT by Krodg
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To: shezza
We can date the hair and when it got there (8 inches matched her haircut). When you've got the root, it's been forcibly removed, not just combed out. And we've got roots, roots in the sink of his motorhome. How did it get there? In his bedroom, in the laundry room, in the motorhome, on the carpet. Her hair. If this hair was just falling out, she'd be bald in a week.
637 posted on 08/06/2002 2:44:16 PM PDT by shezza
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To: shezza
We've got Layla's hair...the circumstances tell you it's her hair.
638 posted on 08/06/2002 2:44:50 PM PDT by shezza
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To: Steve0113
The blurb included this: "... as the trial of her killer nears an end."

Best case scenario: When the dust settles, DW will be the richest man in the world.

639 posted on 08/06/2002 2:46:12 PM PDT by Yeti
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To: shezza; All
{{{Ping}}} for continuing Jury Prayers.
640 posted on 08/06/2002 2:46:45 PM PDT by Jaded
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