URL: http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2002/09/16/national1647EDT0642.DTL
(09-16) 13:47 PDT SAN DIEGO (AP) -- A jury decided Monday that David Westerfield should die for killing 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam, the little girl who vanished from her bedroom in the first of a string of high-profile child abductions across the country this year.
Westerfield, a 50-year-old engineer, had faced either execution or life in prison without parole for killing Danielle in February. He was also convicted of possessing child pornography.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd can impose the death penalty only if the jury unanimously recommends it. He also has the option of reducing the sentence to life without parole.