Jury begins deliberations -Prosecutor says victim has pointed to her killer (keep it civil)

UNION-TRIBUNE signonsandiego.com ^ | August 9, 2002 | Alex Roth

[dread78645]

Jurors in the David Westerfield trial began deliberating yesterday after hearing a final statement from the lead prosecutor, who beamed a photo of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam onto the wall and urged the jury to focus on the physical evidence.

Finishing closing arguments in the two-month murder trial, prosecutor Jeff Dusek called a blood spot on Westerfield's jacket the "smoking gun." And Dusek imagined what Danielle might tell the jury if someone could bring her back to life "just for a moment" so she could answer the question, "Please tell us who did this to you."

"I've already told you," Dusek said the girl would tell the jury. "I've told you with my hair and where you found it. I've told you with the orange fiber that you found on my choker, and where you found it.

[fatima]

Must be quick for we know how fast they kill,bump

[John Jamieson]

I just mapped it. It's only 6 hours to Mexico. If he took them at 5:30am he would have made it before the alarm even went out. Darn.

[It's me]

If you read the transcripts from Denise's testimony, you will see that they all left together not Brenda leaving first and then her getting the girls....

[Jrabbit]

I think Bren and DW did the nasty in the parking lot at Dad's. Probably BVD's SUV was used. I think DW told the LE about it in the interviews that were obtained illegally. The only way to get it in testimony was through DW. He didn't testify and Feldman didn't ask BVD about it because she would deny it or the judge wouldn't let him. My other theory is Barb and DW. And I think Barb lawyered up so no use in calling her.

[fatima]

Hail Mary full of Grace the Lord is with you,blessed art you amoung women and Blessed is the fruit of thy woumb Jesus,Holy Mary,Mother of God,Pray for these Sisters now and at the hour of our death ,Amen,We just lost a 6 year old here in Philly,rape,murder.

[John Jamieson]

It was DW's SUV, orange fibers in the back seat. Unidentified (on purpose) fingerprints.

[fatima]

Your guess or do you know,have to go to bed I am EST Night

[the-gooroo]

Interesting you say that because I was reading the testimony of Cherokee Youngs a couple of hrs. ago and she claims she saw them all leave together also. She said they all went out together and even had to turn the corner to get to the car. ... I don't know why Brenda is saying something different, maybe it happened but not at the time she thought. I found this info from 2nd day of trial.

[The Other Harry]

SO who do you think will vote how in the jury? Why?

That's a fair question. First, let me re-state my (newly revised) premises:

Profiling us...

I may be wrong here, but in following these threads for the past week or so (yes, I'm a Johnnie-come-lately), one of the things I've noticed is that those of us who are most in favor of acquittal usually seem to fall into one of two groups:

- Males whose ages and life situations are similar to DW's (this includes me)

- Females who are very analytical and who are over about the age of 30

He does not seem to do so well with younger people of either sex, or with older married males. Nor does he do so well with people who tend to be trusting of authority, regardless of whether they are liberal or conservative.

Given all that, here are my current wild guesses:

---

Juror #1 in the pool. A woman who works as a welfare-eligibility worker for San Diego County. During jury selection, she expressed concerns about the behavior of Brenda van Dam, the victim's mother.

Guilty

---

Juror #51 in the pool. A Hispanic father of four who has two granddaughters, ages 10 and 2. One of his children works in daycare. He was drafted into the Army as a young man and believes in the death penalty.

Guilty

---

Juror #65 in the pool. This 83-year-old white male retired from a 32-year military career as an Army colonel. He has a 7-year-old granddaughter, and takes medications for back problems, blood pressure, and arthritis. He expressed concerns about the death penalty because he has a mentally handicapped son, and knows some states execute regardless of mental capacity.

Guilty

---

Juror #34 in the pool. An older white female born in Germany, she is a supporter of the death penalty. She takes care of her husband, who is ill, and works at a German cultural center. She has a friend who is a retired prosecutor.

Not Guilty

---

Juror #33 in the pool. A white female who takes the anti-anxiety drug Paxil. She listens to conservative talk radio, including Rush Limbaugh, and believes in the death penalty.

Guilty

---

Juror #85 in the pool. A white male who studied theater arts and now works as an insurance claims adjuster. He says he considers his position of the death penalty a five on a scale of one to 10, and says that if someone is arrested, there must be facts to support it.

Guilty

---

Juror #61 in the pool. An older white woman who works as a county probate examiner, she has served on two juries previously and also worked for a criminal defense attorney at one point. She supports the death penalty.

Not Guilty -- could be elected the foreman

---

Juror #38 in the pool. A black female who suffers from stress. She believes pornography is "sick" and "immoral," and hopes to get a masters degree in Christian education.

Guilty

---

Juror #74 in the pool. An older black female who was born in Panama, she has one child and two grandchildren, ages 13 and 5. She has served on two juries in the past, including one that ended in a hung jury. She says she has never seen pornography before, but says, "I'm an old lady, nothing would shock me." She supports the death penalty.

Not Sure

---

Juror #95 in the pool. A male who has a 7-week-old child and works as a certified public accountant. He believes the death penalty is a deterrent in certain cases and a legitimate means of punishment.

Not Guilty

---

Juror #70 in the pool. A white male who is the father of a 9-month-old child and works as a software engineer. He spent some time in the military working in naval intelligence, and his father was a state trooper for 25 years. He believes this case is a big responsibility. He considers himself a strong supporter of the death penalty, was brought up Christian, and believes in "an eye for an eye."

Not Guilty -- another possible foreman

---

Juror #80 in the pool. A married male who has taken classes at a local college for business management. He expressed his desire to be on the jury and believes that a defendant should testify, but says he has an open mind concerning the case. He says the death penalty is fair and believes in an "eye for an eye."

Guilty

---

That's it, folks. It's too complicated to explain my reasoning in each individual case.

On my next run-thru (if there is one), I will try to tighten up more, and to take guesses at who I think the hold-outs for acquittal will be. But this is enought for now.

Feedback is appreciated.

[the-gooroo]

I just went back to find Brenda's testimony about leaving Dad's. ....June 6...Day3...page 3822...morning 2 session...If any body wants to look, it's at signonsandiego.com

[the-gooroo]

I just went back to find Brenda's testimony about leaving Dad's. ....June 6...Day3...page 3822...morning 2 session...If any body wants to look, it's at signonsandiego.com

[John Jamieson]

Just a guess, based on the evidence we were allowed to hear about, and some strange Feldman questions that were withdrawn.

[hoosiermama]

Interesting I agree with about half of yours...Guess that makes it a "HUNG" analysis!

[hoosiermama]

You might want to check out this thread.

[spectre]

Krodg, the little girl was around 14, wasn't she?

She lived with the father, and the New Girlfriend said "if not for his daughter" they might be able to have a life together, because the girl didn't like her.

The LE zerod in on the Father when he DESCRIBED, in vivid detail, the PJ's the daughter wore to bed. "ONLY THE KILLER" could have decribed what she wore to bed, they thought. It was the law of averages they were guessing at.

So he dumped her body in an area (like Danielles body was), covered lightly with twigs and leaves.

Yes, they put a "tracking device" on the man's car, and followed him directly to the site..(I can't remember how many weeks passed) where he had a shovel in his hand, getting ready to bury her.

The "girlfriend" was horrified, that he would have killed his OWN daughter, just so they could be together. He tried calling her from Jail, and she wouldn't answer her phone... and changed her phone number.

And to think...there are still people on these threads who swear FATHERS wouldn't kill their daughters.

sw

[small_l_libertarian]

That cracked me up! :-)

[jacquej]

Well, almost in the "geeezer" category here, as I am almost 59, a grandma, and am intuitive, but logical... I think you are right about women who have learned over the years to distrust purely "emotional" reactions when making judgements about people and events...

I notice that the women who are in the "hang Westerfield" camp are seriously "logic-impaired", and have real problems following the evidence.

They also make the mistake of believing most of what they hear and see in the media, and can't separate the wheat from the chaff...

Now, the men in the "hang Westie" camp are very confusing to me, probably because I have no life experience with men who operate on raw emotion... Most of the men I include in my life have better reasoning skills than shown by these morons.

And, in watching my four children grow beyond their 20's, I noticed that they really didn't stop reacting with emotion as the primary focus until after about 28, and it was a alow process, with turning 30 being pretty much the beginning of realizing that what they "felt" wasn't such a good way of making judgements and choices in life.

They are so much more fun to be around now that they are truly adult, and can figure out the difference between what they want and what they need...

[Politicalmom]

I assume you have donned your asbestos underwear??? : )

[jacquej]

I never take it off, LOL! (eeeewwww!)

[pinz-n-needlez]

You're so bad! :-)

You're beginning to sound like Fres. LOL

But that doesn't mean that you're not right! Hahaha.