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Prosecutor: Westerfield Guilty 'Beyond Possible Doubt'(Many Still Find Van Dam's Culpable)
Court TV ^ | August 7, 2002 | Harriet Ryan

Posted on 08/06/2002 8:53:49 PM PDT by FresnoDA

Prosecutor: Westerfield guilty 'beyond possible doubt'

Photo
Lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek traced the fingerprint, blood and fiber evidence linking defendant David Westerfield to a murdered girl.

SAN DIEGO — Calling the murder of Danielle van Dam an "evil, evil crime" that shattered notions of suburban safety, a prosecutor urged jurors Tuesday to convict her neighbor, David Westerfield, of capital charges.

Before a courtroom filled to capacity for closing arguments, prosecutor Jeff Dusek said the 50-year-old engineer snuck into the second-grader's bedroom last February, snatched her from her canopy bed, killed her and then "dumped this 7-year-old child naked in the dirt like trash for animals to devour."

"He's guilty of these crimes. He's guilty of the ultimate evil. He's guilty to the core," Dusek told jurors at the end of a closing studded with drama despite its three-and-a-half-hour length.

Dusek shouted and jabbed his finger at the defense table when he discussed Westerfield and the child pornography the prosecution says reveals a motive in the killing. But when he mentioned Danielle's death, his voice dropped to a whisper, forcing jurors to lean forward when he said, for example, of the moments before her killing, "This was not an easy time. This was not fast."

 

Westerfield listened to the prosecutor's closing argument Tuesday.

At one point, he slammed his hand again and again on the jury box rail to simulate, he said, Danielle's head striking Westerfield's headboard as he raped her. The image was too much for Brenda van Dam, Danielle's mother. She leapt up from her seat at the back of the courtroom and ran to the door in tears.

Westerfield's lawyer, Steven Feldman, began his closing late Tuesday afternoon. He is to conclude Wednesday morning and then Dusek will have one final opportunity to convince the panel to convict Westerfield of felony murder, kidnapping and child pornography charges.

The six women and six men who have heard evidence in the two-month long trial appeared to pay close attention to Dusek's summation, which focused on the forensic evidence connecting Westerfield to Danielle's disappearance and problems with his alibi for the weekend she vanished.

A spot of her blood on a jacket Westerfield took to the dry cleaners, Dusek said, "in itself tells you he's guilty beyond a reasonable doubt. That alone. But it doesn't stop there."

He also listed fiber, fingerprint and hair evidence linking Westerfield to Danielle and said, "all of it comes back to his lap." Of two blond strands found in the defendant's recreational vehicle and genetically matched to Danielle, he said, "Proof beyond a reasonable doubt? Proof beyond a possible doubt."

Dusek pointed to an autopsy photo showing Danielle's badly decomposed remains and ticked off the fiber and hair evidence technicians gleaned from her body.

"From Danielle herself, she helps to solve this case," he said.

Westerfield gazed straight ahead, and in the back row of the courtroom, Brenda and Damon van Dam held hands and stared at the floor. A row in front of them and three seats to their right, Westerfield's sister, who was attending the trial for the first time and was in the company of her husband and son, stared at the image.

Dusek also attacked Westerfield's claim that he spent the weekend Danielle vanished on a 560-mile solo road trip in his recreational vehicle.

"He gives us a bogus story that just doesn't wash," said Dusek, referring to his account of driving from his home to the beach then to the desert then to another part of the desert before returning to the beach.

He said Westerfield spent that weekend sexually assaulting Danielle and then after killing her, searching for a place to dump her body.

The prosecutor listed other potential suspects, including the van Dams, their friends, Westerfield's teenage son and even "the bogeyman," but said each was investigated and cleared.

He criticized what he said were defense attempts to implicate Westerfield's son, Neal, in the crime and said testimony about the van Dam's risque sex life, which included swinging, was irrelevant.

"All the sex, the alcohol, who's doing this, who's doing that. That's got nothing to do with her kidnapping," Dusek said.

With Westerfield's mug shot projected on the courtroom wall next to a passport photo of Danielle taken the day she vanished, Dusek said, "I think at times we've lost track of the other person. We've lost track of Danielle, what happened to her, what he did to her."

The prosecutor downplayed bug evidence presented by the defense suggesting Westerfield was under surveillance when Danielle's body was dumped and therefore couldn't have been responsible.

"Everyone's different, has a different estimation, approximation, some might even say guess," said Dusek. He added, "This is not an exact science. This is not DNA."

The prosecutor told jurors repeatedly that he did not have to prove to them why Westerfield killed Danielle, only that he did, but he said he was certain jurors wanted to know, "Why would a regular, normal 50-year-old guy kidnap and kill a 7-year-old child?"

There was no answer, he said, just another question. Pointing to print outs of some 85 images of child pornography found on computers and discs in Westerfield's home, Dusek said, "Why would a normal 50-year-old guy have pictures of young naked girls?"

With some of the images of elementary-school aged girls, naked and exposing their genitals, flashing on the courtroom wall behind him, Dusek pointed at Westerfield and said, "These are his fantasies."

Westerfield stared toward the empty witness stand, never looking at the photos.

Dusek acknowledged that "if (Westerfield) is the guy, that destroys all our senses of protection."

"That's the scariest part — he was a normal guy down the street," said Dusek.

Defense lawyer Feldman promised jurors the heart of his argument Wednesday, but in a little more than an hour before the panel, he seemed to be hoping for a hung jury. He presented jurors with a list of "Jury Responsibilities," several of which seemed aimed at encouraging any panelist for acquittal not to cave to pressure from other jurors.

One "responsibility" read "All of you have the right to have your feelings respected."

Just before court broke for the day, Feldman held up a blank piece of posterboard and said, "This is the only evidence they have of David Westerfield in the van Dam residence."

He suggested the van Dam's swinging lifestyle endangered their children.

"You don't know what pervert is coming in the door when you're in the bar, drunk, making invites," he said.

 
Comprehensive case coverage


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To: Jrabbit
What Brenda's stunt? I missed about an hour or so.
1,101 posted on 08/07/2002 9:54:53 PM PDT by Jaded
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To: demsux
Dusek couldn't think of a word he wanted to say and so BVD prompted him from the audience. Feldman objected and Mudd told the audience to be silent. All staged IMO
1,102 posted on 08/07/2002 9:57:43 PM PDT by Jrabbit
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To: Jaded
Did duhhhhhhhhhhhhhsek ever address the fact that DVD withheld critical evidence for 17 hours?

I heard Feldi mention it, but didn't hear duhhhhhhhhhhhhhhesk rebut it.

1,103 posted on 08/07/2002 9:58:11 PM PDT by demsux
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To: Jrabbit
Please tell us more about what Brenda did. I have not heard of this.
1,104 posted on 08/07/2002 9:59:29 PM PDT by HoneyBoo
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To: demsux
Go Cardinals, sorry, a die hard fan...

That'll work. I'm an ABC fan myself

Anybody but Cowboys !

1,105 posted on 08/07/2002 9:59:40 PM PDT by dread78645
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To: Jrabbit
Dusek couldn't think of a word he wanted to say and so BVD prompted him from the audience. Feldman objected and Mudd told the audience to be silent. All staged IMO

You're kidding, right. Mudd never should have allowed either of the parents in the courtroom after the maddogging.

1,106 posted on 08/07/2002 10:00:27 PM PDT by demsux
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To: Jrabbit
Dusek couldn't think of a word he wanted to say and so BVD prompted him from the audience. Feldman objected and Mudd told the audience to be silent. All staged IMO

You're kidding, right. Mudd never should have allowed either of the parents in the courtroom after the maddogging.

1,107 posted on 08/07/2002 10:00:47 PM PDT by demsux
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To: dread78645
Anybody but Cowboys !

Amen, brother...

1,108 posted on 08/07/2002 10:02:30 PM PDT by demsux
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To: HoneyBoo
It's in the article on the new thread. I think one or the other of the VD's have drawn attention to themselves every day of this trial.
1,109 posted on 08/07/2002 10:02:31 PM PDT by Jrabbit
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To: dread78645
Sorry misread your post...I HATE THE FOOTBALL CARDINALS...left us in a lurch here for quite awhile...Thank GOD for the RAMS.

Anyway, the St. Louis Cardinals BASEBALL TEAM is going all the way this year (in spite of La Russa managing the team).

1,110 posted on 08/07/2002 10:05:01 PM PDT by demsux
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To: demsux
I'll second that! And I live here!!!
1,111 posted on 08/07/2002 10:05:21 PM PDT by Jrabbit
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To: PoisedWoman
That is my concern also - but what if he doesn't get convicted? What will the community do? What will Damon do?

I'm more worried about that than I am of DW getting convicted. He will have a chance to appeal, and perhaps another jury will find the truth. Or, maybe in the meantime, more will be revealed about Damon and the appeal will break it wide open.

If DW was involved, it was possibly to help Damon and Brenda, and not to murder Danielle.
1,112 posted on 08/07/2002 10:05:24 PM PDT by CyberAnt
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To: dread78645
I like your posts.

What say you to a "gentleman's wager" on how long ddddddduuuuuuuusek babble's tomorrow???

I'll take til lunch...3 hours.

1,113 posted on 08/07/2002 10:09:50 PM PDT by demsux
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To: dread78645
I must say:

DUSEK - DOES SUCK

1,114 posted on 08/07/2002 10:12:33 PM PDT by demsux
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To: JudyB1938
? And I wonder if Danielle will show up on their tapes as one of the children they raped?

Perhaps she will. If DW is acquitted, which I doubt, investigation may be opened again and such things will be looked into. Even if he's found guilty, some enterprising investigator may follow up on other leads that were not presented in court. Where is Dominic Dunne when you need him?

1,115 posted on 08/07/2002 10:19:37 PM PDT by PoisedWoman
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To: PoisedWoman
The only problem is .... Westerfield has no money left to pay for that detective work. I read he even had to sign over his patents to Feldman. However, maybe he signed a special agreement with Feldman that allows for his defense through any and all appeals.
1,116 posted on 08/07/2002 10:25:46 PM PDT by JudyB1938
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To: PoisedWoman
Where is Dominic Dunne when you need him?

Or Mark Fuhrman.

1,117 posted on 08/07/2002 10:29:28 PM PDT by nycgal
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To: demsux
What say you to a "gentleman's wager" on how long ddddddduuuuuuuusek babble's tomorrow???

I'll take til lunch...3 hours.

Dusek will rest after the first break, but before lunch. He has to know that his voice is his worst enemy.

I put in $100.00 to FR every three months.
For a bet, I was on RANGERAIRBORNE for $500. He wimped out.

1,118 posted on 08/07/2002 10:29:44 PM PDT by dread78645
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To: UCANSEE2
How many markers are there?

Tens of thousands. Initial guesses were in the range of 60,000.
Lastest guessamites says under 20,000. Each "marker" is a combo of 4 nucletides (A,C,G,T) n^2 -n, or (4 x 4) -4 == 12 possible combinations.

That's how you get the one-in-a-quadrillion numbers.

Matching 12 in 13 is very stong, match 13 of 13 is a killer.

'course, None of this means anything if the samples were "salted" ...

1,119 posted on 08/07/2002 11:17:30 PM PDT by dread78645
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To: dread78645
How do you think those jurors with military experience will carry out their duties? In other words, does a military background help in discernment?

There's a CPA. If he's as detail-oriented as many are, hopefully he'll pick the prosecution's fantasies to pieces.

Then there's that gal who has been on a jury and has work experience in criminal justice. Surely, she will be able to figure things out.
1,120 posted on 08/07/2002 11:21:41 PM PDT by JudyB1938
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