Mudd Letters Opened To Public: Van Dam Jurors Continue to Mull and Ponder Westerfield's Fate! 8-15

Union Trib ^ | August 15, 2002 | Union Trib

[FresnoDA]

Letters to judge opened to public

SIGNONSANDIEGO

August 14, 2002

The judge in the trial of David Westerfield today allowed reporters to see court log entries of notes from jurors, as well as letters to the judge from the public about the murder of Danielle van Dam.

The letters from the public included a variety of theories about the case.

Jurors ask to review pictures, interview

One letter-writer sent the following theory to Judge William Mudd: "Danielle van Dam killed herself.''

A nearly illegible postcard with a Spokane postmark alluded to at least one ex-wife "with a drinking problem (who) lives in Spokane.''

 

DAN TREVAN / Union-Tribune

Some of the folders of documents made public by Judge William Mudd.

The writer failed to indicate whether the reference was to ex-wives of Westerfield – who has been married and divorced twice – or someone else connected with the case.

The postcard was unsigned.

Another missive came from a man who referenced another high-profile murder trial – that of O.J. Simpson.

"The O.J. Simpson case was a miscarriage of the state's justice mainly because Judge (Lance) Ito was too lenient with the actors defending O.J.,'' the man wrote.

There was no news Wednesday afternoon about the status of deliberations, but Mudd announced he was holding a sealed hearing 9:30 a.m. Thursday to consider an unspecified defense motion in the case.

Wednesday was the fifth day of deliberations. The prosecution concluded its closing arguments last Thursday.

Westerfield is accused of kidnapping 7-year-old Danielle van Dam from her Sabre Springs home and killing her.

He could face life in prison or the death penalty if convicted of murder with special circumstances.

He has also been charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography.

The log entries show that on Friday, the jury requested ``all available evidence of pornographic images'' and a photograph of a teen-age daughter of the defendant's ex-girlfriend.

[spectre]

I think it's wishful thinking.

sw

[ican'tbelieveit]

Oh I know, but wishful thinking on my part.

But you have to admit, if they sue him, they are going to be ripped to shreds.

[Jaded]

Prayer Ping....

If anybody wants to join me in praying for the jury during deliberations, I'm going to set aside some time every day. The two or more gathered together principle, don't ya know.

I'm thinking the jury deliberations, since they're not going to be sequestered, may begin daily around 9:00 Pacific Time, which would be 10 am Mountain, 11 am Central, and noon Eastern time. So that's when I'll be praying. Noon my time. You are all welcome to join me.

---

The Prayer

---

Lord, grant these twelve jurors great wisdom to understand all the testimony they have heard over the past two months, and the clarity of mind to separate the wheat from the chaff.

Give them strength to endure, and fill them with a sense of honor and integrity, and the desire to do what is right.

May You shine the light of truth into the darkness of their confusion, that the jurors will discern honesty from those who bear false witness against their neighbor.

Although You say "Justice is Mine," may You see fit to allow justice for Danielle here on this earth, that her death may not lead to the death of other innocents.

We pray that truth will prevail, and that the sword of justice will weigh heavily on those who would use it falsely to bring glory to themselves.

May Your will be done, in Jesus name.

Amen.



Pray for strength and guidance for all of the friends and families involved in this ordeal.

[ican'tbelieveit]

Did you see the other question about keeping the jury members identities private. Not sure what they were thinking with that question. Before...after?

[Rheo]

Amen.

[spectre]

LOL, basscleff.

Didn't the jurors take some of that FREE BROCOLLI the Rick Roberts/Van Dam fan club is handing out...outside of the courtroom to symbolize the mentality of the Jurors? What an insult!

Why waste good Brocolli?

sw

[UCANSEE2]

Go there, RIGHT CLICK on Image. Pick properties. Where it shows ADDRESS, do a copy (CTRL-C).

Come back to FR , in your reply, put "<" (leave off the "'s) followed by IMG SRC="

Then do a PASTE (CTRL-V), then put another ", then put a few words describing the picture, then put "<" and /A and ">" (without the "'s) .

If I put them without the "'s on here, they won't show up when you read this. . TRY IT.

[UCANSEE2]

So, it is GTsign IMG SRC="(paste url/address here)" LTsign TITLE/DESCRIPTION OF PIC GTsign SLASH A LTsign.

[Jaded]

In this one they probably should unless the jurors have specified otherwise. As I understand it, a number of people have had death threats.

[Green]

If you are trying to confuse me....consider it done. LOL!

[wonders]

Good post. Yes, the dentist himself seemed to think the teeth naturally fell out as the body decayed, which often happens. He also said the particular shape of Danielle's teeth made it easier for her teeth to fall out.

He also said children whose teeth are shaped like Danielle's tend to get a front tooth knocked out more easily in playground accidents and the like. But he said that if Danielle's teeth were knocked out, it would have to have been a very peculiar glancing blow which would not harm any of the soft tissues of her upper lip or the delicate structure which holds the teeth in the bone. If one looks at the physics of peculiar glancing blows, it would take more than one such glancing blow to knock out those two particular teeth. (I guess the pool players at Dad's could reason that out!) So the chances of such a thing are VERY remote, IMHO, and it's most logical to go with the most reasonable explanation: they fell out due to decomposition.

Dusek just wants to make everything look as dramatic and violent as he can. Perhaps he's concerned the jury will question this whole stranger-abuction/rape scenario, as the ME could find no signs of violence whatsoever on the body. Some jurors might find it extremely odd that this huge, strange man could rape and kill that poor little girl and leave no mark on her at all, not even a pressure bruise on her chest or shoulders from forcibly holding her down or anything. Especially as there were no indications she had been bound.

[ThinkingMan]

I think I sprained something in my cranium reading that post!

[ican'tbelieveit]

Exactly. I would not want anyone to know I was on a specific jury until it is over. And I assumed it was private, other than a coworker or someone knowing.

Point being, what a vague question to ask. Of course the jury info should be private. The question should be about after the trial should it remain private.

[connectthedots]

The prosecutor could not be sued in this case. The SDPD could possibly be sued if the affidavits used were perjurious or not based on personal knowledge. The most likely cause of action would be malicious prosecution, but based on the divisive nature of the debate concerning DW's guilt, that would be extremely difficult.

A DW lawsuit against the VDs could possibly succeed if it turns out later that they were involved someway in Danielle's death or knew who was. It it turns out that way, DW could prevail in a malicious prosecution claim against the VDs.

[Eva]

The pictures of Danielle, looked to me as though she had already lost her incisors, and that the laterals were still small primary teeth. Like I said before, it is a natural process for the roots of primary teet to resorb, leaving little bone attatchment. So, the laterals would have been hanging by a string at age seven and the canines would have just begun to loosen.

[connectthedots]

No way would DW have a RICO claim against anyone. CTD knows RICO!

[bvw]

You don't think it looked like peg teeth?

[fivecatsandadog]

"Danielle was wearing pajamas when she left the house. Brenda said she bought an identical set of pajamas for Danielle's sleep over guest that was still in Danielle's room. Given that the two sets are identical, fibers identical to the second set should be in DW's house, SUV and motor home. If these fibers were not found, DW is not guilty."

Just wondering, was an analysis ever run on the "second" pair of PJs to test for Danielle's DNA? Or did investigators just take Brenda's word that they're for "guests"? Seems like receipt(s) could have proven whether or not two identical sets of PJs were purchased. So Danielle was wearing the original pajamas when she was "taken" from the house that night? Did they ever find them? My feeling: that "extra set" Brenda refers to is the ONLY set, worn only by Danielle. I think she knows what happened, and she's covering for him.

[sawsalimb]

That's pretty much how I sized it up. And now,of course,Westerfield will either be:

a)Destitute,or
b)in jail

so the powers-that-be are probably safe. I bet they sleep like logs,too.

[bvw]

Yeah ... that was a very bad post on my part. Not good advice at all. I don't even like the RICO concept. Sorry.