Posted on 08/13/2002 10:12:33 PM PDT by FresnoDA
SIGNONSANDIEGO STAFF
and WIRE SERVICES
August 13, 2002
The fourth day of deliberations in the David Westerfield trial has ended with no conclusion by the jury. The jury will resume deliberations Wednesday morning at the San Diego County Courthouse. Earleir today, jurors asked to hear Westerfield's only recorded explanation of what he was doing the weekend 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was kidnapped.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd said he was granting a request from the jury for a tape recording and transcript of the taped interview Westerfield gave to police interrogation specialist Paul Redden on Feb. 4, two days after Danielle's disappearance.
During the interview, Westerfield makes a reference to "we" as he describes his meandering trip through San Diego and Imperial counties on Feb. 2 and Feb. 3.
"The little place we, we were at was just a little small turnoff-type place," Westerfield said.
Westerfield, 50, could face the death penalty if convicted of murder, kidnapping and a special circumstance allegation that the killing of Danielle van Dam occurred during the commission of kidnapping.
He is also accused of the misdemeanor possession of child pornography.
Jurors are in their fourth day of deliberations.
Mudd's disclosure came during a 10 a.m. open hearing on a request from KFMB-AM 760 to let River Stillwood, an assistant radio producer for talk show host Rick Roberts, back into the courtroom to cover the trial.
"She's out and will remain out and will not be permitted in for any live proceedings... because she is the representative of an individual who takes great glee and delight shoving it in this court's face," Mudd said.
Mudd ejected Stillwood from the courtroom on Thursday after asking her to tell him who told Roberts about the details of a Wednesday exchange between Mudd and the attorneys in the case during a sealed hearing.
Stillwood told Mudd that she didn't know who gave Roberts the information. On the air, Roberts later said he had received a call from a source in the courthouse.
The court is conducting an internal investigation, but cannot compel Roberts and Stillwood to name their source, Mudd said.
Stillwood can still sit in the pressroom and watch the video feed of any court activity, Mudd said.
KFMB was welcome to send someone else to sit in the courtroom, so long as the person was representing the radio station and not Roberts, he said.
KFMB's attorney Joann Rezzo argued that the disclosure did not violate the defendant's right to a fair trial. She also argued that Stillwood didn't give him "the source of the leak" because she didn't know who it was.
Before Mudd made his ruling, he invited comments from prosecutor Jeff Dusek, who managed only a wry remark.
"My inclination is to comment, but on advice of counsel, I I will submit," Dusek said, gesturing to his fellow prosecutor, Woody Clarke.
Defense attorney Robert Boyce told Mudd he was concerned about the integrity of proceedings. "They broadcast it, they knew what they were doing," Boyce said.
He called it "just another effort to sensationalize these proceedings."
Mudd told the media attorneys he welcomed the opportunity to make a "full and complete record" of his decision to eject Stillwood.
In his comments, Mudd made it clear he was still angry with KFMB television's decision to include a high school yearbook photo of Neal Westerfield during a telecast of the son of the defendant's testimony. Mudd had ordered that no television or print images of the adult, who is now 19, be transmitted.
The judge's inclination was to ban both the station's radio and TV representatives from the trial.
"Frankly, they seem to be the two networks in this community that just don't seem to get it," he said.
However, after his wife advised him to "sleep in it, " he gave the matter "serious thought," Mudd said.
He quoted a line from a Supreme Court decision in 1976 involving a press restraint issue in Nebraska.
" The extraordinary protections afforded by the First Amendment carry with them something in the nature of a fiduciary duty to exercise the protected rights responsibly--a duty widely acknowledged but not always observed by editors and publishers," Mudd said. "It is not asking too much to suggest that those who exercise First Amendment rights in newspapers or broadcasting enterprises direct some effort to protect the rights of an accused to a fair trial by unbiased jurors. "
Mudd said he was troubled by the host's decision to broadcast the information, knowing it was from a closed hearing.
The judge wasn't impressed by the host's justification that the general public was already aware of the issue, and that Stillwood was ignorant of the source.
He said the host wasn't conducting a search for the truth, but a grab for ratings. He also took the opportunity to lash out at "idiots from LA talk stations," who broadcast an afternoon program from a media compound outside the County courthouse. He said the members of the talk station were "acting like teen-agers" in front of the courthouse.
The judge acknowledged he could not control such behavior but could control his own courtroom.
The judge said officials from KFMB must be taking "great glee in shoving it in this court's face."
Fred D'Ambrosi, news director for KFMB-TV and Radio, said his television station showed only a high school yearbook photo of Westerfield's son.
"We didn't shoot him in court, which was the judge's order," D'Ambrosi said.
Regarding River Stillwood, D'Ambrosi said the issue was important because of the First Amendment and a free press. He added that he was not in charge of the Rick Roberts program.
"We're just trying to report the news and uphold the First Amendment," D'Ambrosi said. "If (Mudd) can ban River Stillwood, he can ban anybody." The news director suggested that the judge was angry because he didn't like the story that was reported.
D'Ambrosi said he had never spoken to Mudd, and called his reading of the situation "totally inaccurate."
Mudd said he had done a 180-degree turnaround on the issue of allowing cameras and reporters in the courtroom since deciding to allow Court TV to cover the trial live.
However I agree with DEMSUX on this.
When BB said what he did, all I could think of was "THE DISRUPTOR SQUAD". BB sounded just like Greg Weston ,SinkSpur,Poohbah,DEFIANT. You know, the HIT AND RUN SQUAD.
And BB did just like they do. Come on the thread, spew hate and ignorance, then run off.
As much as I like/respect B.B. he did make a poor showing.
I am here late to the case but Westerfield didn't testify.
And the expert wasn't sure the stain was blood. Much less who's it was. Also no blood was found on the comforter.
Why didn't the investigators find any of the little girl's fingerprints anywhere in the house she lived in?
As I said, I am new to the case and have not been reading about it except for yesterday and today.
If I am wrong about anything I said, please correct me.
Somebody slap that young man up side his head with a Playboy or tell him to pull his head out of his...
When asked about how illogical things were in the case? How logic showed DW couldn't have done it.
THe persons' response was something to the effect of "well, why use logic with such an illogical person as DW".
Here's the Prosecution's whole case.
To find him guilty of murder, you must find that he kidnapped her. To find him guilty of kidnapping you must find that he killed her.
She is dead, therefore he killed her. THerefore he is guilty of kidnapping. Therefore he is guilty of murder. Oh, and we threw in the PORN cause we just wanted an excuse to see it legally.
But it is much harder to accept the insinuation that a child would be curious and play in a motorhome.
No blood on comforter..none of her DNA or trace found in shower drain...or mattress pad
No dogs hit in his house or MH or SUV.
All of the unidentified prints in the house..bannister..garage door..slider door..patio table....desk NEXT TO HER BED!
Unidentified 7cm coarse dark brown hair found under her body that WAS NOT run thru the offender database.
The blood in VD garage that was unreportable for DNA...was it bleached??
All the unidentified hairs found in the MH and only the one hair of hers in the sink DRAIN TRAP..anybody checked theirs after moving into a house..(sick)
Too many dESPERADO sNACKS in my keyboard!
Actually, from what I understand, CAPS mean you are SHOUTING! Sometimes, from the way people seem to have a hard time seeing the obvious, I begin to think they didn't HEAR me, SO I YELL! (gonna have to get a new kbyd soon, this one sticks.)
MR. FELDMAN: LOOK TO DAVID WESTERFIELD'S STATEMENT TO PAUL REDDEN. LOOK TO DAVID WESTERFIELD'S STATEMENT TO JOHNNY KEENE. WE KNOW THE KIDS WERE IN THE GARAGE. I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE TOLD KEENE. I THINK THAT'S WHAT HE TOLD REDDEN. TAKE A LOOK. MR. DUSEK INVITED YOU TO DO SO. I ENCOURAGE YOU TO DO SO. LISTEN TO THOSE TAPES, PLEASE. BECAUSE ONE THING THAT WILL SCREAM OUT TO YOU IS THE DEMEANOR OF MR. WESTERFIELD ON TAPE IS COMPLETELY INCONSISTENT WITH ANY NIGHTMARE YOU MAY HAVE ABOUT A PERSON WHO WOULD DO SOMETHING LIKE THIS. THE KIDS ARE ALL OVER. AND THERE'S THE TRACE. AND WHEN THE LAUNDRY GETS DROPPED DOWN, IT'S NO SURPRISE IT GETS PICKED UP AND POPPED INTO THE LAUNDROMAT.
Feldman literally begged the jury to listen to the tapes.
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