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.

[Jaded]

That was Douglas Pierce. www.mcf.tv. Don't mention his name too loudly here, some people go absolutely ballistic. It's strange that this man and his claims keep surfacing, IMO. Even odder was that before he was allowed in to the Van Dam home he was check out by SDPD and cleared for addmittance. Hmmm.

Pay no attention to the man behind the curtain..

[demsux]

For Sale or trade for 1. suspnesion fork/stem, 2. light system 3. STI/Ergo leavers 4. decent cassette road wheels. 5. something interesting. Cash can make up the difference in eigther direction. Bridgstone Mile 112 for sale. Looks collectable to me. 55cm C-T, white with red headtube. New condition except where noted. Bike has VERY few miles on it. One small nick on the top tube (from a bike rack/hanger). All cleaded and shiny. All Sakae parts except Shimano 6-speed SIS shifters and derallurs. White Bridgstone saddle and bar tape are perfect. Brake levers are non-aero. Brakes are screened "Bridgstone". Tubular wheels are Mavic and tires are Wolbar kevlar. There is some surface rust on the headset, but it and all other moving parts are perfectly smooth. Shimano toe clip pedals. One black cage and 2 Bridgstone bottles (I dont think they where ever removed from the cages). New condition top tube pump. The bike is from Japan and incudes everything as new. It is a "travelers" bike with tools, covers (for tubes and gears), straps, and a soft carring bag. Also included are original rust compound and polishing compound, Cateye headlight, a large seatbag and small shoulder bag, and the original manual and recipt/registration (both in Japinesse). None of these items have ever been used. This looks like a great deal for a collector or someone who travels and dosn't want to buy/ride a Bike Friday, etc. $325 >>>>OBO<<<<. ***or trade*** email or call Damon at (214)684-4189, Dallas. more details... Frame: - 54cm c-c seat tube - 56cm c-c top tube - Lugged with angled dropouts with adjusting screws (looks hand built) Wheels: - Sansen 5345 hubs - Mavic Spectale Sport rims - Wolber Strada 80 tires (kevlar) - Tubulars Etc: - SC Bridgstone brakes - Bridgstone seat - Sakae Bars, Post, SX cranks, SP-250 pedals (toe clip) - Diacompe leavers (non-aero) - Shimano Light Action SIS shifters and derallurs still more details... It is a full sized (700c wheels) road bike with a soft case, tube and ring covers and straps, and tools. You take the wheels, pedals and stem off wrap the tubes and rings, secure everything in the soft case, zip it up and have a shoulder pack the size of a frame with forks turned backwards. So it's a bit harder to transport than a Bike Friday but it's a real road bike. p.s. I have 5 adults, 2 childrens, and one tow along bike in the garage. (Actually 6 but just sold one) My wife WILL kill me soon and you will get to buy this bike and the others in an estate/memorial sale. You'll get a better price but won't you feel guilty ;-) Damon

Just another one of DVD's usenet posts when he was trying to sell a bike...

[mommya]

Done. How in the world did the jackals add so many votes?

[John Jamieson]

Poway California (pop 48,000, area 40 sq miles)

"Poway is conveniently located in the center of San Diego County, Poway enjoys a sunny climate, clean air, a pristine lake and ecological reserves. Poway has carefully planned for balancing growth with the good life, offering an ideal place in which to prosper. It's the way California was meant to be. A family-oriented community, Poway offers a wide variety of housing, shopping and recreation opportunities."

ALSO AN INTERNATIONALLY FAMOUS CHILD PORNOGRAPHY PRODUCTION RING, and a computer nerd with dirty pictures on his computer. The computer nerd is soon to be fried, and the Child Porno Ring will probably get away with murder.

[Krodg]

Probably a hung jury. There might be some who saw the bloodstains or the porn and decided guilty. People of that mindset are not easily swayed. There may be some like me who saw reasonable doubt and now see not guilty. The evidence has been presented (well, as much as Mudd would allow) and nothing convinced me of his guilt. If the evidence and testimony didn't convince me, I don't think another juror's opinion would.

Personally, I think it would be very difficult to change the mind of a person who has already seen reasonable doubt.

[John Jamieson]

Feldman should have but didn't:

Tested a jacket to see if DNA could make it through the drycleaning process.

Made a big deal of the dog hair everywhere.

Called Brooke L. Rowland to the stand.

Pointed out that the BLOOD was never conclusively tested.

[the-gooroo]

Hi all--Well, I was trudging around in the transcripts last night and I found this little tid-bit. Brenda testified that when the "girls" heard the last call announcement they decided to leave Dad's. She said she went out back to get the car--drove around to the front--got out of the car and knocked on the window to let Babs and Duh know she was there. She said they were in the smoking lounge/area.----- I'm wondering if she left the bar earlier than that to go do what she had to do with whomever she had to do it with. (DW?). The other two wouldn't know when she was "finished" until she knocked on the bar window. That might explain some of the fiber and hair transfer to DW. Any thoughts?

[crystalk]

try at mcf.tv and unposted.com

[John Jamieson]

Might explain all that orange fiber in the back of DW's SUV, don't you think? Just a quicky, but Brenda couldn't fessup to it.

I've always wondered how much orange fiber was in BRENDA'S SUV?

[John Jamieson]

I saw an interesting bit in her testimony too.

"The dog was edgy that night", but still never made a peep.

[crystalk]

Certainly prima facie this is a hung jury. With a majority favoring acquittal. But the judges and others who run the system hate hung juries so badly, that it comes down to who can be threatened, cajoled, or blackmailed to cave in. Often it is the erstwhile majority that is made to cave.

If we are dealing with people of conviction and who will stick to their views, we have a good chance here.

[MizSterious]

Dave, excellent advice. And, as someone else once wisely pointed out, you can't cure the irrational with the rational. Irrational people will never, ever, understand rational statements. A less flattering saying is, you should never try to teach pigs to sing--it won't work, and you'll only anger the pigs. And then there's the old saw about how arguing with fools makes you and the fools look the same. A lot of different ways of saying the same thing. We don't have an "ignore" button on FR, but we have that option even without one. Let's all try to use it.

[MizSterious]

"I don't see why it was locked."

Probably because one person got his/her noise out of joint and crybabied to the Admin Moderators. There are some AM pets here just like there were teacher's pets in school--remember those?

[demsux]

"I don't see why it was locked."

I don't think ChiefRon could take the heat.

[the-gooroo]

I always pictured the 3 girls walking to the car together. This scenario gives the opportunity for Brenda to be alone with DW. I didn't even realize she parked out back--why would she walk to her car alone? Feldman tried to get the message out during his closing that Bren And DW were "intimately" involved didn't he?

[demsux]

Ping...we're over here

[Kerensky]

The other two wouldn't know when she was "finished" until she knocked on the bar window. That might explain some of the fiber and hair transfer to DW. Any thoughts?

Was the van Dam vehicle ever searched for evidence of DW? Lots of hairs and dna evidence could have been distributed that way, at least proving that DW was with Brenda, which in turn would tend towards credence of an alternate transfer route.

[Granof8]

Thank you for the ping and the call to prayer.

My mama always told me not to get in a spitting match with a skunk as you come out smelling just as bad a he does. Many times I have wished I had heeded her advice. :)

Friday was "the girls' night out." Could it be someone was lonely?

For what it's worth, I believe David Westerfield is innocent.

[Kerensky]

If we are dealing with people of conviction and who will stick to their views, we have a good chance here.

It bears repeating that the Jury was paying VERY CLOSE attention to Feldman's closing.

[MizSterious]

Appeals court orders more warrant papers unsealed

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

August 10, 2002

Jurors in the David Westerfield murder trial went home before noon yesterday and will continue their deliberations Monday morning.

The panel of six men and six women began deliberating Thursday morning after hearing more than two days of closing arguments in the case. No reason was given for why the jurors left early yesterday, although the jury has previously used Fridays to take care of personal commitments such as medical appointments.

The jury spent the morning in the deliberation room without passing any notes to Superior Court Judge William Mudd. The day before, the panel sent the judge a note asking to deliberate five days a week rather than four. Mudd granted the request.

Westerfield, a 50-year-old design engineer, is accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, who lived two doors from him in Sabre Springs. He also is charged with possessing child pornography.

Meanwhile, a San Diego-based appeals court has ruled that more search-warrant documents in the case must be unsealed. The ruling Thursday by the 4th District Court of Appeal clarifies a ruling the appellate court made in May.

The documents, including police affidavits, relate to searches of Westerfield's house, motor home, sport utility vehicle and computers in February. Those documents were sealed, but the Union-Tribune filed a lawsuit seeking access to them.

The appeals court ruled in May that some of the material must be released to the public and some should remain sealed. In its latest ruling, the appellate court ruled that Mudd interpreted the court's May opinion too narrowly and didn't release enough material.

It was unclear yesterday when the additional documents would be released or what they contain.