Westerfield's Fate In Hands Of Jury: VERDICT WATCH BEGINS in Van Dam Murder Case

CourtTV ^ | August 8, 2002 | CourtTV

[FresnoDA]

Jury's hands After two months of hearing evidence, jurors have begun deliberating the fate of David Westerfield, who is accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam

[Kerensky]

They seem to have a natural propensity to low-tact interaction with Westerfield's associates.

Recall also the "mad-dogging" of DW by Damon, and Judge Mudd's resigned reaction to the incident of intimidation of Feldman's mother. (He put in face in his hands and shook his head). Compare that to the courtroom composure of DW, whose easy going cooperation with police was widely interpreted as "too helpful and incriminating".

[The Other Harry]

Is anything known about the religious beliefs of the van Dams and their friends? Are they merely hedonists, or does their world view extend to belief in the supernatural, perhaps even witchcraft?

Fwiw, there have been a number of suggestions in these FR threads concerning apparent evidence of what I would call satanic / witchcraft type practices that may have been involved in this repulsive crime. The knocking-out of the little girl's front teeth is one particularly nasty one. There have been others.

I'm not too sure what to make of these, but there could be something there.

The hell of it from my POV, is that if you are DW (or me) and you are innocent, all it takes to ruin your life is one accusation, regardless of how outlandish, that gets picked up and treated seriously by some overzealous, $2000 a month CPS worker who just graduated with a C average from the local state college with a degree in sociology.

That's happens, you can pretty much hang it up. You're toast.

I know I've changed what I would otherwise do out of fear of that. I am less friendly with the local kids than I would be. I like children (especially other people's children). I'd like to make ice cream for them on the back deck. But I don't want to be seen as being overly friendly with them, so I don't do things like that.

I think that's too bad. Still, there isn't much other choice these days.

Nonetheless, no matter how careful you are, that accusation can still go down.

[Yeti]

know this one - Feldy held up both drycleaning receipts during his closing arguments. The one that says it's for a "Jacket" is dated 1/26, before Danielle disappeared. The police/prosecutors say that the wrong date is on that receipt because the computers at the drycleaners were acting up.

LOL!!!!

I forgot about that!!!

The police planted DNA on the WRONG JACKET!!!

[Yeti]

Receipts from the transaction with Westerfield also displayed later times than what she testified to, and there was a separation of 25 on identification numbers she said normally were in sequence.

Wow. I hope the jurors reread the testimony. I had completely forgotten about all of that.

Didn't she try to say that the number didn't mean anything before being forced to admit it was a sequential numbering of the receipts?

Or was that a cop he called afterward?

[Greg Weston]

>>>The alternative explanation that comes to mind, is that DW got into a drunken rage that night, saw an opportunity to engage in a kink that he'd previously managed to repress, and things got totally out of hand from there.<<<

This is the first time that I've seen this theory. I think you may be on to something here. Although it's possible that Westerfield has "lost control" a time or 2 before...And got away with it.

[Greg Weston]

>>>I'm a woman and wouldn't go anywhere with Damon for any reason, but would probably take a ride with Westerfield if I had to.<<<

Damon might hit on you perhaps. But you probably would be safe with Westerfield. It's only been proven that he kills little girls not adult woman.

[Greg Weston]

>>>You are helping find this TRUTH.<<<

Truth is is that your main man, the child rape porno collecting, child killer Westerfield is guilty. Get used to it.

[small_l_libertarian]

Cyn, that's not what I'm saying. I don't have any idea where the green jacket was at any time. I don't have any theory about it, nor does it matter for the purposes of what I think happened to Danielle.

The only important things about the drycleaners, to me, are the fact that the lady who took the jacket described it as a "sport jacket," and didn't see any blood on it when she took it. (The green jacket is not something I would describe as a sport jacket, and I'm almost sure I would have noticed a one-inch blood stain on the front of it.) Also, the two clerks disagreed on the stand about whether the computers were not working right that day, and can't say for sure what times DW came in. Items were entered under wrong people's names at the wrong time of day. The drycleaners didn't know what belonged to whom to begin with.

I'm just saying I wouldn't treat this evidence as the holy grail. And, considering just how much confusion the two clerks showed, I don't find it so suspicious that DW showed some confusion (maybe) during his police interview about going there. Besides, if you assume the receipts are correct and the clerks are confused, maybe DW really didn't get there until later than the police have said, so maybe he didn't have a second drycleaner trip to tell the police about until later.

Just woke up and haven't finished my first coffee. If the above makes no sense, I apologize in advance.

[crystalk]

Claim check shows it was brought in to cleaners on 1/26.

[Dave_in_Upland]

That is what really freightens me, and I imagine more than a few normal men in my situation, in this politically correct mad society, watch and are careful how we act and what we do so that we do not find ourselves being accussed of actions we have not done such that we might find ourselves in the position that DW is in.

Sure are a lot of us 'Daves' who fit that descritpion.

I am so concerned with what you said that I no longer allow my son to have friends over, and I make sure that I am never alone with a little child of any sex. I also no longer coach baseball or act as a turor because I might find myself accused of something I didn't do and be unable to prove my innocence to those who would realroad a DW.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

Where can I find evidence of this?

[sawsalimb]

For that matter,both clerks might be right. The computers at the drycleaning place might have been down for part of the day(the part of the day that one clerk is referring to),and been back up the same day.

[Jaded]

Well, that sums up what a number of people think. Let me qualify that, a number of people who don't rely solely on CTV for their daily pap.

[connectthedots]

Nope. Not even close.

[Politicalmom]

There ARE no black boots. Dusek made that up.

Susan L. testified that he had one pair of boots that were dark brown.

[Jaded]

The only church that they belonged to was one that some of their friends attended. They began counseling with the pastor after their daughter went missing. I believe publicaly that stated that they do not believe in God. Surprised?

[ItsOurTimeNow]

And yet, by the 3rd day of Danielle's dissapearance, the pastor was on TV, saying how great parents the VD's were, and how valuable they were as members of the church.

The pastor was never heard from again.

[CedarDave]

Thanks for you comment. And, BTW, I like your analysis at #714. This is the type of crime, especially given the violence that had been done to Danielle by the time they found her, that cries out for examination of the past life of the person charged in her murder. DW doesn't appear to be that type of person. Were either of his two ex-wives interviewed as too his interests in this dark area? I haven't heard of it (but if there were dark secrets, the defense would certainly not want them known, but the prosecution would jump on it as it would go to motive). In any event, you bring up some interesting points, ones that should also be in the minds of the jurors.

[bvw]

Just last month, do you remember the awful story of 6 year old Cassandra Williamson?

USA Today, 07/27/2002, VALLEY PARK, Mo. (AP) — The search for a 6-year-old girl who vanished from a suburban St. Louis home ended when a local transient who stayed there overnight led authorities to her body, police said.

Cassandra Williamson was reported missing Friday morning from her father's home. Police said the suspect, 24-year-old Johnny Johnson, later told them the girl's body was at an abandoned glass factory a few blocks away.

Johnson spent the night at a home shared by Cassandra's father, Ernie Williamson, and a roommate. Johnson had staying up drinking with the roommate, the father said.

Ernie Williamson and Cassandra's mother, Angela Williamson, had separated but still spent some nights together. Thursday night, the entire family stayed at the home — Ernie and Angela Williamson and their four children.

Police described Johnson as a local transient who sometimes slept in the factory. Ernie Williamson said he had only known Johnson a few days. He said Johnson was sleeping on the couch Friday morning.

Authorities said Cassandra was in the kitchen around 7:30 a.m. with her father. Williamson said he was about to pour his daughter a bowl of cereal and left the room briefly to go the bathroom. When he returned, the girl, barefoot and dressed in a white nightgown, had disappeared.

The father said he also noticed that Johnson was gone. About a half-hour later, Williamson said, Johnson returned to the house, wet and muddy, and said he had been swimming in the nearby river. Police began questioning him soon after he returned.

The man who killed this six year old girl -- what clues did he leave? Certainly his prints were all over the house. After all he had been invited in for a drinking party. Sound familiar?

Damon, Brenda and all the partiers -- they were cleared in 24 hours. Does that sound reasonable?

The situtation in the San Diego suburb could very reasonably be like the situation in the Saint Louis suburb. Someone in that house that evening took Danielle.

That is far more likely at this point than Mr. Westerfield having done so.

[ItsOurTimeNow]

As the saying goes, "If you lay down with dogs, don't be surprised if you get fleas."

I truly hope justice is served today, and DW walks.

Perhaps the SDPD will persue the case further? Maybe they'll take a look at all the unidentified evidence? Doubtful. I don't think their ego's will allow them to admit any wrong-doing.

Meanwhile, DW's life is ruined, the true killer is still roaming the streets, and the VD's will continue to blame DW until the bitter end.

And another day in America rolls on.

Hoo-freakin-ray.