Posted on 08/01/2002 10:25:00 PM PDT by FresnoDA
Frustrated prosecutor swats at final bug expert |
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SAN DIEGO David Westerfield was sitting in the defendant's chair, but forensic entomology was on trial Thursday. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek, whose seemingly unshakeable case against Westerfield for the murder of Danielle van Dam has been jostled by this tiny, somewhat obscure scientific field, poured out his frustration on the last of three insect experts to testify for the defense. Like his colleagues before him, forensic entomologist Robert Hall of the University of Missouri told jurors that the age of bugs decomposing Danielle's remains suggests Westerfield could not have dumped the 7-year-old's body along a roadside last February. Dusek, with sighs, long stares at the ceiling and a tone that often mixed disgust with disbelief, railed against Hall's methods and the inexact nature of the field, in which experts given the same bug samples and weather data can differ in their conclusions by days and even weeks. In one exchange, Dusek asked bitterly, "If you give an X-ray of a suspected broken arm to four qualified experts, would you expect them all to read it the same?" "I don't know. I'm not a radiologist," replied Hall, whose mild-manner and stammering answers contrasted sharply with the prosecutor's intensity. Three of the nine certified forensic entomologists in North America have testified in the case, as well as a local expert who is well-respected but not certified. They each offered slightly different ranges for the first arrival of insects at the death scene. Most placed them in mid-February. "How can everyone come to different numbers in your field?" Dusek demanded. Hall said "biological variation" in the insects led to some differences in results, but he claimed there was an overwhelming and unusual "concordance" among the experts that Danielle's body was first infested in mid-February, when Westerfield has an air-tight alibi. "My conclusion would be the estimates are more consistent than inconsistent," said Hall. "Are you saying close enough for a murder case?" Dusek shot back "No ," Hall uttered before Judge William Mudd ordered him not to answer the question further. Some of the jurors, who have heard days of testimony about maggots, blowflies and puparia, seemed bored by the exchange while others continued taking detailed notes. One male juror seemed to sympathize with Dusek and shook him head in agreement as the prosecutor became impatient with Hall's long-winded answers. Hall may be the final witness the panel hears. Westerfield's lead attorney, Steven Feldman, said the defense will decide this weekend whether to call one more witness, a forensic anthropologist to testify briefly about the time of death issue. If the defense does not call that expert, lawyers will deliver closing arguments Tuesday. If they do, he will testify Tuesday and arguments will begin Wednesday morning. Westerfield, a 50-year-old engineer who lived two doors from the van Dam family in the upper middle class suburb of Sabre Springs, faces the death penalty if convicted. Someone snatched Danielle from her canopy bed during the night of Feb. 1. Searchers found her body Feb. 27 on the trash-strewn roadway about 25 miles from her house. Her body was too badly decomposed to determine when or how she died, but prosecutors theorize Westerfield raped and suffocated her and then dumped her body during a meandering 560-mile road trip in his recreational vehicle the weekend after her disappearance. The trial initially focused on significant trace evidence implicating Westerfield, including Danielle's blood, fingerprints and hair inside his RV, and on child pornography on his computers. But the insect testimony has dominated the later part of the trial. Dusek called his own bug expert Tuesday, but that entomologist made basic math errors in his calculations and ultimately gave findings that did not neatly fit the prosecution's theory. Hall estimated that the first flies colonized Danielle's body, a process that can happen within minutes or hours of death, occurred between Feb. 12 and Feb. 23. Police began round-the-clock surveillance of Westerfield Feb. 5. Hall also dismissed the prosecutor's suggestion hot, dry weather in February quickly mummified the exterior of Danielle's body, making it initially inhospitable to bugs. A forensic anthropologist testified for the prosecution last week that the flies and maggots may only have arrived after scavenger animals opened her body, skewing the insect evidence found at the scene. Hall, however, said such a scenario was unheard of in forensic entomology. "I'd expect fly activity to occur almost as soon as the body presented itself," said Hall, whose father, also an entomologist, wrote the textbook "Blowflies of North America. " "Partial mummification has little or no effect on blowfly colonization," he added. During his cross-examination, Dusek alternated between dismissing the field outright and delving into the most minute details of forensic entomologist's work. He quizzed Hall about each of the different formulas the scientist had merged to determine the growth rate of maggots and pointed out that one approach, when taken alone, indicated Danielle's body could have been dumped in early February when Westerfield's whereabouts are unaccounted. Hall acknowledged Dusek was right, but said taking into account the other data sets yielded the most accurate result. Dusek also grilled Hall about the lack of insect activity in the head area. Hall and the other entomologists said bugs are usually drawn first to the ears, eyes, and mouth, but Danielle's remains showed infestation primarily in the chest cavity. The prosecution contends this supports their mummification theory, and Hall admitted he could not explain why the insects stayed clear of the head. Westerfield seemed to follow the testimony intently, leaning close as his defense lawyers conferred on questions for Hall. Brenda and Damon van Dam, Danielle's parents, sat in what have become their usual seats in the last row of the small courtroom. |
Never forgot it.
John, you're an eng. every client asks you to
doit cheap.
doit right.
doit myway.
I think Goff tried myway first, but on cross-exam he got forced to "doit right".
Yep, one of the truths.
I still think Goff hurt the profession.
Pillow time, good nite all !
Witness: That wacky and zany 180-Frank, a.k.a. Jim Frazee
Date of testimony: June 26
Date testimony is discussing: February 6 (police impound lot)
SABRE SPRINGS ---- An optimistic Damon van Dam spent more than eight hours Saturday meticulously searching barren desert dunes and posting fliers at small businesses throughout east San Diego and Imperial counties in the hope of finding his missing 7-year-old daughter.
A search team from the San Diego County Sheriff's Department will look for Danielle van Dam in an area of Poway today.
On Saturday, shortly after dawn and well into the twilight hours, Damon van Dam and a high school friend drove a blue van across large sections of sun-dappled desert in areas such as Glamis, Ocotillo, Borrego Springs and Brawley. They handed out scores of fliers seeking help in finding Danielle, a Creekside Elementary second-grader who police say was last seen by her father Feb. 1 when he tucked her into bed at the family's home on Mountain Pass Road.
Police have said they believe the girl was abducted and that detectives have focused their investigation on a neighbor who lives two houses away. No arrests have been made, nor have any signs of Danielle surfaced.
Meanwhile, nearly 170 volunteers from the Danielle Recovery Center spent the day scouring the same desert locations for clues into Danielle's disappearance, coordinators said. The search efforts were being orchestrated from several locations, including the Glamis Beach Store, the Ocotillo Volunteer Fire Department and Christmas Circle in Borrego Springs.
"Although we are searching out here in the desert areas, I don't want people to stop searching San Diego," said Damon van Dam, who also spent part of Saturday recruiting more people to help search for his daughter.
Members of the San Diego County Sheriff's Search and Rescue Team will search a northern area of Poway close to the van Dams' Sabre Springs home today, police officials said Friday.
The region, bordered by Espola and Poway roads, has not been searched, and police said last week that they have information that a search in that vicinity will be useful. They have not said why they waited until today to search that area and San Diego police Capt. Ron Newman declined to comment further on the planned search.
Damon van Dam was advised by police not to search the desert himself because crucial evidence discovered may be tainted as a result of his involvement with the case, his wife Brenda, 39, said Friday.
But Damon van Dam said Saturday he was traversing the desert with information about Danielle because it was an opportune time to reach throngs of people who are in the desert for the three-day Presidents Day weekend.
A neighbor of the van Dams, David Westerfield, 49, told reporters and police that he was in the desert the weekend Danielle disappeared. The neighbor has been questioned repeatedly by police, and investigators have impounded his motor home and taken several items from his house for analysis, police have said.
The number of volunteer searchers Saturday had dwindled substantially since last weekend, when the Danielle Recovery Center was established at the Double Tree Golf Resort in Carmel Mountain Ranch, coordinators said.
About 170 people are searching this weekend, a little more than half of the center's goal of 300 searchers. Last weekend, more than 400 searchers participated in the hunt.
"We are at the mercy of whoever walks through our doors," said Fiona Oberrick, a deputy director of the center. "We are so grateful for all of the selfless generosity of the hundreds of volunteers and donations from local businesses."
Oberrick said people returning to work last Monday and those with travel plans this weekend contributed to the decline in the number of searchers.
Marc Klaas, founder of the Polly Klaas Foundation, said the public may lose interest in the case if media coverage gradually declines.
Klaas said he believes people will be sympathetic to Danielle's disappearance and want to help if they see the little girl's face in the media frequently.
"We need to create an effort to encourage people to come back on a regular basis (to volunteer)", said Klaas whose 12-year-old daughter, Polly Hannah Klaas, was kidnapped from her Petaluma home in 1993 and later found murdered.
Those wishing to volunteer in the search for Danielle can call (858) 485-4185. Anyone with information about the case can call San Diego police at (619) 531-2000 or speak anonymously to Crime Stoppers at (619) 235-TIPS.
Contact staff writer Kenneth Ma at (760) 740-3524 or kma@nctimes.com.
2/17/02
Van Dam also raised concern when he asked detailed questions about how deputies transported Westerfield to and from the courtroom, said Sheriff's Deputy C.K. McKenzie.
"That raises a bunch of red flags. It suggests he might try to do something," said McKenzie, one of several deputies providing security for the high-profile trial.
Van Dam and his wife, Brenda, have been a constant presence in the courtroom since they finished testifying early in the proceedings about their daughter's disappearance.
Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. He could face the death penalty if he's convicted.
Throughout the trial, the van Dams could be seen glaring at Westerfield, a twice-divorced engineer who lived two doors away from the couple until his arrest in February.
Danielle was reported missing from her bedroom on Feb. 2. Searchers involved in a massive volunteer recovery effort found her nude body on Feb. 27 along a rural roadside east of the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.
Brenda van Dam, who was not barred from the trial, said she was unable to comment, citing the judge's gag on all parties involved in the case.
San Diego Swings: Van Dam trial brings "swinging" into the spotlight!
Thank you for your great coverage Fresno...Let's see if the jury can pull the right decision out of it's collective hat...
The main problem of viewing this as a puzzle is that it is not one puzzle, but 20 puzzles all tossed into one big box; and the box doesn't have a picture on the top showing what the puzzle is.
Everyone who attempts to puts the pieces together sees a different picture, and every time you connect two pieces and form a clearer picture another player comes along and tries to steal one of your connected pieces. LOL
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