Judge Mudd Refuses Sequester Plea: Westerfield Jury Verdict In Sep? (Aug. 16th Verdict Watch)

Union Trib ^ | August 15, 2002 | Jeff Dillion/Steve Perez

[FresnoDA]

Judge denies defense motion to sequester jury

By Jeff Dillon and Steve Perez
SIGNONSANDIEGO

August 15, 2002

Arguing that media coverage was creating a "lynch mob mentality" that could pressure jurors to return a guilty verdict, the defense attorney for David Westerfield today asked the judge yet again to sequester the jury.

While the jury completed its first week of deliberations without a verdict, Superior Court Judge William Mudd denied the request and a related motion to "pull the plug" on television and radio coverage of the courtroom proceedings, but agreed to set aside a private room for jurors to take breaks. Defense attorney Steven Feldman had argued that reports suggested jurors felt like they were under siege, unable to leave their deliberating room, go to lunch or walk home without being watched or followed.

"We have no assurance that they are not be intimidated ... by the presence of the media," Feldman told Mudd during a morning hearing. "We can think of only one fair resolution to that: Get the jury out of harm's way."

 

'Broccoli heads'

He cited an incident earlier in the week in which radio talk show hosts from KFI-AM 640 in Los Angeles broadcast from outside the courthouse, waving stalks of broccoli around and reportedly calling jurors "broccoli heads" for being unable to return a quick guilty verdict.

Westerfield, 50, could face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping 7-year-old Danielle van Dam from her family's Sabre Springs home on Feb. 2 and killing her. Jurors are in their sixth day of deliberations.

Lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek disagreed with Feldman's interpretations of the jury's complaints.

"Whether or not any guilty verdict in this case would be based on a siege mentality or the meida I think is pure speculation and utterly false in this case," Dusek said.

What the jurors had complained about was being watched all the time, he said.

"That hardly equates to being under siege," he said.

 

Trust in the jury

Mudd dismissed most of Feldman's concerns, saying that the jurors had only asked a bailiff to keep reporters a little bit farther away, though an alternate juror reported that he or she had been followed to his car.

Media coverage has diminished since the jurors began deliberating, the judge said.

"The synopsis programs on the two local TV networks are not in place," he said. "The talking heads are doing nothing but speculating about what the jury may or may not be thinking."

Mudd said there were no signs that jurors were being harassed by the public, especially since their names and faces haven't been publicized.

"We've all sat here and picked this jury, know their makeup and know their dedication to this cause," Mudd said. "I would prefer to think that any verdict they make in this case would be based upon the evidence."

Sequestering the jury also wouldn't protect them from any public reaction to the verdict, Mudd said.

 

'The activities of a few'

"The tragedy is, the majority of the people in this courtroom are abiding by the court's orders and working very hard to insure they, meaning the media, do not cause something to occur that is going to cause a mistrial," Mudd said. "Not all of them feel that way as is very apparent with the activities of a few."

Mudd took aim at two radio program hosts from Los Angeles who he previously described as "idiots."

"I suppose it's entertainment out of LA. I hope it stays in LA," he said. "The shows those two gentlemen put on made the court incredulous as to what they were attempting to do."

Mudd also announced:

 

• The jury asked to review the recall testimony of prosecution witness Jennifer Shen, a criminalist with the San Diego Police Department.

  On July 9, Shen's testimony interrupted presentation of defense witnesses. Shen, a San Diego police criminalist, testified about re-examining a group of fibers she had collected from Westerfield's 4Runner in February.

  The orange acrylic fibers, found in various places inside the SUV, were the same color and fabric as a fiber tangled in a plastic necklace that Danielle was wearing when authorities found her body in a hollow off Dehesa Road, Shen testified at the time.

  All the fibers looked identical under a microscope and appeared to have the same chemical makeup when tested using infrared technology, she said.

  Shen said the fibers seem "most likely to have come from something that was very loosely knit," such as a sweater or blanket.

   

• Reporters will no longer be allowed to ask questions of the court's bailiff and clerk.

  "You folks are going to deal with my PR person. You're going to leave my bailiff and my clerk alone," Mudd told reporters in the courtroom. "One statement leads to 60 questions that they're not going to answer and neither am I."

  Mudd decided to turn the daily updates over to the court's public information officer after deciding that an informal system set up to have a bailiff or court clerk provide updates had failed.

  "There was a simple note that they started at 9, they left at 4 left you chomping on bit to get copies," He said. "You're welcome to them, they'll be available as soon as we gett the minute order."

  Reporters and members of the public will not be informed immediately about notes passed by the jury, Mudd said. The judge said he had procedure to follow, that includes notifying the attorneys involved in the case about the note and determining the appropriate response.

  "This is a capital case and you go by steps," Mudd said.

   

[KnutCase]

Don't stretch things...103 !!

[L,TOWM]

IMHO, the mummifiction guy lost his thunder when his time of death figure had a corpse selling Girl Scout Cookies in Sabre Springs.

Also fascinating is the attempted demolishing of Faulkner, local guy that has used Bug Evidence in several SAN DIEGO cases producing a figure that the prosecution did'nt like.

BTW, what's your cut for the concessions/gate at Qualcomm?

[IrishRainy]

What day was it that showed someone accessing DW's computer while he was actually at the station being interviewed? I thought it was around 4 or 5 pm on the 4th but could be wrong. Also, this a.m. on CTV they were replaying some of BVD's testimony. She was describing the time right after Danielle was reported missing and said something about checking the house to see if anything had been taken, which was a negative. Then she said she wished THEY had taken something but left her daughter. Nobody on CTV jumped on that...what did she mean by "they," especially since BVD KNOWS it was DW who did this. Of course, when DW inadvertantly uses the word "we" in his interview, it means something very sinister. Give me a break!

[Jaded]

You mean Miss Airbags? Anna Nicole Smith, the new talk show hostess.

[wonders]

Correct, her skin was mummified, her brain was intact, the body simply did NOT decompose normally.

Not picking on you... but I wanted to clear something up, and this post reminded me. I think her body DID decompose normally. In my experience, it's common for the skin, extremities, etc., to mummify, but NOT for the brain and internal organs to mummify. From what I read of the ME's testimony, this is exactly the way Danielle's body was.

The only thing I find abnormal is the lack of any fluid under the body.

[clearvision]

Didn't someone suggest he kept her on the roof (lots of airflow) there. Hey what are those vultures doing on your roof?.....

[pinz-n-needlez]

sounds like the hot version of frost bite, wonders. Especially in terms of progression.

Thanks for going over this info and adding your experience with the phenomena.

[Freedom2specul8]

The testimony:
Here's the news article about it
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/20020726-9999_1n26david.html

"Testimony from William Rodriguez, a private consultant, provided several scenarios to explain why, as the defense has argued, insects didn't reach the girl's body until two weeks after her parents reported her missing. "

"Taking into account all that information, Rodriguez determined that the victim could have been dead four to six weeks when her body was discovered Feb. 27.

But he said it's not an "exact science." He said there's no way to determine precisely when someone died, although he has spent his career searching for a methodology. "

"Dr. Brian Blackbourne, the county medical examiner, testified that the girl could have been dead from 10 days to six weeks when her body was discovered. "

"Flies aren't attracted to mummified bodies because adult flies can't chew and need soft places to feed, he said. When the eggs hatch into larvae, they also need something soft to eat, he said. " (Rodriguez)

---

don't forget that in testimony, he stated that if a rodent or animal chewed through the mummified skin, the bugs would be lying in wait..and would have entered once the skin was open as long as there was still moisture.

[KnutCase]

Would lack of fluid under the body indicate that it had not been there long?

[Jaded]

Thanks. Want some rice?

The point is her whole body was not mummified.

[the Deejay]

Someone suggested he had her on the roof of the RV and
that's why the dogs didn't "hit". Frazee didn't take
the dogs on the roof.

[Freedom2specul8]

Yes, but I think that was from the animal activity. I think everyone on both sides agreed that animal activity did occur, but "when" it occurred appears to be in dispute.

[small_l_libertarian]

But he's crazy! He thinks she was dead before she was missing, so why on earth would I believe anything else he said? Seriously.

[small_l_libertarian]

And there are PLENTY of moist, natural openings on the human body, especially that of a naked girl. No animals required.

[wonders]

Didn't someone suggest he kept her on the roof (lots of airflow) there. Hey what are those vultures doing on your roof?.....

LOL!!! Someone actually suggested that?

[the Deejay]

"He thinks she was dead before she was missing."

Right there! As a juror, I would have to toss out all
of his testimony.

[John Jamieson]

That's IT! DW dressed her in the green coat and took her to Twin Peaks (music please) to be DRY CLEANED!

[the-gooroo]

I know I'm changing the subject but I've been thinking about the teeth. Didn't the guy who found Danielle say that he thought it was her because of the space in her two front teeth? Did the ME say the two front teeth were there or missing at the autopsy?

[wonders]

don't forget that in testimony, he stated that if a rodent or animal chewed through the mummified skin, the bugs would be lying in wait..

...but not the green bottle fly!

[the Deejay]

"Someone actually suggested that?"

They sure did, I do think it was facetiously though.
As in National Lampoon Vacation. (When they put the
dead aunty on top of the car.)