In day 5 of Westerfield deliberations, more waiting
KIMBERLY EPLERStaff Writer
SAN DIEGO ---- Jurors in the murder case of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam spent a fifth day Wednesday deliberating the fate of her accused killer, David Westerfield.
Since receiving the case a week ago, the panel of six men and six women has asked to rehear a taped interview Westerfield gave to police two days after Danielle disappeared and to see a transcript of that interview.
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They also asked to view pornographic images taken from Westerfield's home computer along with a picture of teen-ager Danielle L., the daughter of Westerfield's ex-girlfriend, lounging in a bikini.
All the notes were signed "Thanks, Juror 10." He is an accountant with a young child.
Westerfield, 50, faces the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and murdering Danielle. The little girl lived two houses from the twice-divorced design engineer. She was reported missing Feb. 2. Nearly four weeks later her nude body was discovered by volunteer searchers under an oak tree in rural East County.
Westerfield also faces a misdemeanor charge of possession of child pornography.
Jurors heard eight weeks of testimony from almost 100 witnesses and viewed 199 exhibits, which now sit with the panel in a secluded room at the downtown San Diego courthouse where they meet each weekday. There is no timetable for them to reach a decision.
While there was little movement in the case Wednesday, a continuous flow of letters were still being sent to the courthouse. The correspondence is kept in court files several inches thick.
Many of the letters praise Judge William Mudd.
"First, I want to thank you for running an excellent trial in the Westerfield case," wrote a Valley Center resident. "I can imagine it is difficult and taxes your patience and concentration."
Another was from someone who claimed to be psychic and was convinced Westerfield was not guilty.
"My ESP is always right," the person wrote.
Others were from people offering their opinions on the case. A few sent pictures.
One woman wrote a poem after apparently being a little bothered by the judge's phonetic pronunciation of prosecutor Jeff Dusek's last name.
"Aya 'Captain' Judge Mudd, you run a tight ship, your rulings are fair, your humor's a pip. But something's amiss, your honor ---- Oh heck. Isn't Jeff's surname pronounced as Doo Shek?"
The authored signed the note to Mudd as "Your fan."
A closed-door hearing on a motion submitted by Westerfield's defense team is scheduled to be heard this morning.
Contact staff writer Kimberly Epler at (760) 739-6644 or kepler@nctimes.com.
8/15/02