In taped interrogation, Westerfield tells police 'my life is over'

San Diego Union Tribune ^ | January 7, 2003

[TomB]

In a videotaped interrogation with San Diego police detectives four days after Danielle van Dam was kidnapped, an exhausted David Westerfield says "my life is over," seemingly coming close to an admission that he murdered his 7-year-old neighbor.

"As far as I'm concerned my life is over, the life that I had, the life that I was living is over," Westerfield says in the interrogation conducted the evening of Feb. 5, 2002. Danielle was last seen the night of Feb. 1.

"But you can't blame anyone but yourself, Dave," answers one of the police detectives.

"And I have no problem with that," Westerfield replies.

In the tapes released Tuesday, Westerfield admits "unusual" sexual encounters with his wife, denies anything improper about his alleged use of binoculars to watch neighbors and says the child pornography found on his computer was simply something he downloaded along with a lot of other pornographic images and that he had no sexual interest in children.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd agreed Monday to unseal the videotape along with hundreds of pages of transcripts, documents and recordings in the Westerfield case, as well as transcripts of police interrogations and court hearings conducted in secret.

Some of the material – audiotape and videotape of Westerfield being interrogated during the early stages of the investigation – was released Tuesday afternoon.

The remainder of the material, which ranges from transcripts of closed-door court hearings to motions regarding potential evidence, will be released Monday, Mudd ruled.

The ruling Monday came three days after Mudd sentenced the former design engineer to death for kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, his neighbor in Sabre Springs.

Monday's court hearing came in response to a request by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has been seeking access to the information for months. The San Diego-based 4th District Court of Appeal has ruled that Mudd must release the information.

The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists made a donation to the legal costs.

Westerfield, who attended Monday's hearing, is scheduled to be moved within days to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco.

During earlier court appearances, Westerfield was always dressed in civilian attire, but he appeared in court Monday in a green jail jumpsuit. He sat in a holding area so he couldn't be filmed by a television camera.

[Valpal1]

John Neal on RR show, running commentary on Websleuths.

http://websleuths.com/forum/tm.asp?m=17888&p=1&tmode=1

[cyncooper]

DW states several times in the tapes to detectives he was told he failed 2 questions

Source?

[cyncooper]

Thank you for the notice.

[Valpal1]

I know red and cyn covered it too, I just saw some interesting comments.

[BARLF]

What I know about the van Dam behavior came from their testimony. Sure I read the articles from SD news papers and web site. But I took my facts from PH and later the trial testimony.

If some one has a problem with that I'm sorry. Where else were we to go to keep up with the trial? Did I believe all I read in the media? Of course not. Sworn testimony is different,is it not?

[cyncooper]

"On the tapes, officers remark that there "was a 100 percent probability of deception" by Westerfield regarding the questions about the missing child."

Well, Redden did say there was a 99-100% chance. Maybe to soften the blow?

Maybe when other officers spoke with DW and they referred to these results they exaggerated this figure and rounded up to the more guilty sounding "100%".

[UCANSEE2]

Boy, do you fit right in with that group. You even state it for all to see. "I don't have to prove anything, I don't have to answer, I don't have to respond to questions, but I can step in anytime I want and spew off".

Thank you for your input. See you later.

[cyncooper]

RR starting. The rest of the tapes to be played starting in just a minute or two.

[cyncooper]

The rest of the polygraph tapes are being played now. I think they are on test 2 or 3. Then they will play Redden telling DW.

I'm sure (I hope!) he'll say what questions and how many were failed.

(Redden just referred to the second test)

If you want the facts:
http://www.760kfmb.com/

[cyncooper]

I don't know if you are listening, but Westerfield just said to Redden: "I thought you were only going to test me three times" as Redden prepares him to get his fourth test.

There is the proof that he took the test four times.

They just went to break. When they return we will hear test #4 being administered.

[EllaMinnow]

Okay.
I've been taking notes.
He took the test the first time. Redden says, "Look, lets do it over. You might do better with your eyes open." DW says, "Yeah, my leg was shaking a little." Redden changes the questions a little and goes over them again with DW.

He takes it a second time. Redden says, "you were moving a little and taking deep breaths. It shows deception, so lets try again. Concentrate on the questions."

Tape of 3rd test up after ad.

[EllaMinnow]

Did I miss the first one?

[cyncooper]

The first test was played last night. They are playing the fourth and final test right now.

It's done. Results about to be discussed.

[EllaMinnow]

And Redden showed DW - the inventor of medical gadgets - how the polygraph worked, and showed him the chart.

[cyncooper]

Well, we know exactly what questions were asked because we heard the prep, the "dress rehearsal", and the first test last night. Today we heard 3 more tests and just what questions were asked. (All the same or very close to the same each time.)

Redden is explaining how the machine works (developed at John Hopkins Univ.) and Westerfield is impressed---until he is informed he failed.

Redden showed DW where deception probability is indicated on some questions in excess of 99%...

Except in the question of "Did you have anything to do with the disappearance of Danielle van Dam".

The "no" answer to that question registered deception at

100%

[cyncooper]

RR just announced that the media has received some previously sealed documents.

For instance, he has Brenda van Dam's statement to police.

He said they had planned to play the tapes complete and unedited, and they are back to the Redden/DW discussion, but it sounded like RR would like to take a break from the tapes to delve into some of these papers.

We'll see.

Redden indicating that all (more then two, that is for sure) questions related to Danielle showed deception.

[cyncooper]

Redden is going question by question and explaining how DW did.

(so much for the assertion that we would never know)

Good news. David Westerfield passed when he answered that his name is David.

[cyncooper]

Oops. Westerfield is being shown the chart as they talk and he says "what about that question" showing a reaction, and Redden says "that was a question about Danielle" and DW says "Oh, I thought it was..." Westerfield seems to understand how it works.

They are going over the chart in painstaking detail.

[EllaMinnow]

Precisely. So when the police mentioned that he had failed, they weren't lying to him...and he knew.

[UCANSEE2]

Your statement in response to my earlier post: "You didn't ask me a question. " Here is the post you were responding to. Where you say I didn't ask you a question.

To: wimpycat

"But you can't blame anyone but yourself, Dave," answers one of the police detectives. "And I have no problem with that," Westerfield replies.

I am interested in your spin of this statement.

Could this be the statement of an intelligent adult recognizing the reality of his situation? Most times a response like this also indicates a mature adult who feels responsible for his own actions and doesn't blame others. There are too few adults that are mature enough to even do this in today's world.

Or do you think this is a statement of guilt? If so, how so?

202 posted on 01/08/2003 8:58 PM PST by UCANSEE2 [ Post Reply | Private Reply | To 6 | View Replies | Report Abuse ]

I see three sentences with a QUESTION MARK at the end of them. These are known as QUESTIONS. I am sorry you do not recognize English. You are either uneducated, or a liar. And it is there for everyone to see.