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.

[small_l_libertarian]

That's them. These guys are all over the place. Krodg told me to look out for Wray, too.

[mommya]

We know that Ott and Keyser were in the MH - cuz they are the ones who retraced the road trip with DW on the 5th - it was just after that that the SUV and MH were impounded - wasn't it? When did Peer collect the evidence?

[dread78645]

You would think Mudd would be more lenient towards the defense..after all, a man's life is at stake here.....innocent til proven guilty...at least it used to be that way, in the USA.

Yepper. Most judges allow the defense much more lee-way than the state.

Mudd seems to be an exception, at least in this case.

[The Other Harry]

We know that Ott and Keyser were in the MH - cuz they are the ones who retraced the road trip with DW on the 5th - it was just after that that the SUV and MH were impounded - wasn't it? When did Peer collect the evidence?

If you don't mind, please catch me up on what's being discussed here. Contaminated / planted evidence in the MH?

[small_l_libertarian]

Annette Peer was in the motorhome Feb. 6, according to Karen LeAlcala's prelim cross. Check out the end of this exchange.

13 Q WAS ONE OF THOSE OR AT LEAST THAT OCCASION,

14 IF NOT ONE OF MORE THAN ONE OCCASION PRIOR TO

15 FEBRUARY 8TH, WERE YOU PRESENT WHEN A CRIMINALIST

16 NAMED ANNETTE PEER WAS ALSO IN THE MOTORHOME AT THE

17 SAME TIME AS YOU?

18 A YES.

19 MR. FELDMAN: SCOPE.

20 THE COURT: COUNSEL, YOU'RE PROBABLY RIGHT, BUT

21 I GAVE YOU LATITUDE, I'M GOING TO GIVE HIM LATITUDE

22 TO A CERTAIN EXTENT.

23 MR. CLARKE: THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

24 BY MR. CLARKE:

25 Q DURING THE COURSE OF YOUR PRESENCE IN THE

26 MOTORHOME, AND I'M SORRY, DID YOU SAY THE DATE, WHAT

27 THAT WAS? AND I'M REFERRING TO PRIOR TO

28 FEBRUARY 8TH.









Page 349

1 A I WAS THERE ON A COUPLE OF DIFFERENT DAYS.

2 Q THE OCCASION WITH ANNETTE PEER, WHAT WAS

3 THAT DATE?

4 A IF I LOOK AT MY EVIDENCE LIST, I COULD TELL

5 YOU THAT.

6 Q WOULD THAT REFRESH YOUR RECOLLECTION?

7 A YES.

8 Q WOULD YOU PLEASE DO SO.

9 A I KNOW I WAS THERE ON FEBRUARY THE 6TH AND

10 SO WAS CRIMINALIST ANNETTE PEER.

11 Q AT THAT TIME ON FEBRUARY 6TH, WERE YOU

12 AWARE WHETHER OR NOT MISS PEER HAD LOCATED A BLOOD

13 STAIN ON THE CARPET ON THAT DATE?

14 MR. FELDMAN: YOUR HONOR, ASSUMES FACTS NOT IN

15 EVIDENCE AND BEYOND THE SCOPE.

16 THE COURT: SUSTAINED. I GAVE YOU SOME

17 LATITUDE, BUT THAT'S -- YOU RAN OUT OF SPACE.

18 MR. CLARKE: THANK YOU, YOUR HONOR.

19 BY MR. CLARKE:

20 Q WITH RESPECT TO THAT DATE OF FEBRUARY 6

21 WHEN YOU WERE PRESENT WITH ANNETTE PEER, DID YOU

22 OBSERVE HER LOCATION OF A BLOOD STAIN?

23 MR. FELDMAN: ASSUMES FACTS NOT IN EVIDENCE.

24 OBJECTION. AND CALLS FOR A CONCLUSION.

25 THE COURT: IT'S BEYOND THE SCOPE AND I'M NOT

26 GOING TO ALLOW IT.

[demsux]

Anatomy of a Murder pg. 4 of 5

The Police

At 2:30 in the morning on February 5, homicide investigators from the San Diego Police Department are standing outside David Westerfield’s house, preparing to go inside and search it. Sergeant Bill Holmes is one of the cops.

“Sergeant Holmes, what are you doing here?” a reporter asks.

“We’re here to relieve robbery,” he says. Robbery detectives had also been assigned to Danielle’s case.

“At 2:30 in the morning? That’s some pretty high-priced talent.”

Holmes smiles. “That’s the way they want it,” he says.

Over the next several hours, Holmes and his crew search Westerfield’s house. It’s easy to track their progress. They take dozens of pictures before dawn, and the flash from the camera lights up the windows in each room.

“Sergeant Holmes, you weren’t here to relieve robbery,” the reporter says to him when he comes outside.

Holmes smiles again. “Well, we were. Kinda. Sorta.”

Police arranged to have search warrants in the case sealed by the court, so the media couldn’t find out what investigators took from Westerfield’s home. It was an extraordinary effort to keep the information confidential. And it was a spectacular failure.

Sources close to the investigation started talking about the van Dams’ lifestyle almost immediately. Then came reports of blood in Westerfield’s motor home, and child pornography on his computer.

The cops were furious, according to those same sources. The police department threatened to fire anyone who talked about the case. “They were after the leaks,” a source says.

Police acknowledge being angry over the leaks. “Yeah, we were pissed off,” says Steve Creighton, an assistant chief. But he says the leaks did not result in any large-scale internal investigation. “It’s not even a blip on the radar screen.”

Two police detectives, Michael Ott and Mark Keyser, made big news for the department when they arrested Westerfield. Then they made news again, in a rather embarrassing way. Ott and Keyser attempted to visit Westerfield in jail—without his attorney present. The police department reportedly reprimanded them.

Westerfield’s legal team started hammering Ott and Keyser, saying they had repeatedly violated Westerfield’s rights during the investigation. The lawyers released a memo from the district attorney’s office saying the two detectives made false statements during another murder investigation two years ago. Westerfield’s lawyers used that memo in a legal maneuver

to review the personnel files of Ott, Keyser and 10 other police officers involved in the case for any reports of misconduct during their careers. Judge William Mudd ruled the defense could have information from the file of one unidentified officer.

“I think it’s safe to say Ott and Keyser are the Mark Fuhrmans of the Westerfield trial,” says a court insider, referring to the rogue cop vilified by the defense in the O.J. Simpson case.

The pressure of such a high-profile investigation was getting to the cops. “The detectives are sick of it,” a source says. Others say there were even references to the case as “The Isle of the van Damned.”

Creighton says he had not heard the detectives were sick of the case. “But they’re tired,” he says. “It’s a long and involved case, with a lot of long hours.”

The San Diego Police Department continued to handle the case with the utmost of care. Chief David Bejarano himself went to the van Dams’ home to meet with the family when Danielle’s body was identified. Then he talked to reporters. But at a follow-up news conference downtown, it wasn’t the police chief running the show.

It was District Attorney Paul Pfingst, who is running for reelection.

[Jaded]

Thank you. I've had alot of contributions from others.

Yes, it kind of evolved from a series of sarcastic comments to a couple of VDAs. Hopefully it won't need to be up much longer.

[mommya]

I believe small_l_libertarian has been having a revelation of sorts and is looking for info to support that theory. She is trying to place Ott in the MH and other incriminating places. The talk of the dry cleaners began it all.

[The Other Harry]

Mudd seems to be an exception...

Mudd is an explicative that should have been deleted a long time ago. He's a powerful argument in favor of abortion.

[Jaded]

Oh yes. Some LE types were trying to say that he requested them. They'll go to any lengths.

[The Other Harry]

Well, whereever it came from and however it got there, I think it's really very good. I don't go around randomly blowing smoke up people's backsides, but you deserve some.

Now I'll move right along and try to find someone to insult.

[The Other Harry]

I believe small_l_libertarian has been having a revelation of sorts and is looking for info to support that theory. She is trying to place Ott in the MH and other incriminating places. The talk of the dry cleaners began it all.

Small=l is pretty good at this stuff. I want her on my jury.

[small_l_libertarian]

Annette Peer's direct testimony from the preliminary hearing:

10 Q. Can you tell us, first of all, what date that

11 was?

12 A. There were actually three dates that I was in

13 attendance at the motorhome. I believe it was

14 February 5th, February 6th and February 8th.


*** A little further down in her direct, it says that she found the bloodstain on February 6th. I am just now reading further down in her direct, and she states that there were fewer genetic markers available in the carpet stain than in the jacket stain. Would tend to support the "old forensic evidence in the MH" theory. ***

[paix]

yup...
http://www.howstuffworks.com/dry-cleaning2.htm
http://www.howstuffworks.com/dry-cleaning3.htm

[small_l_libertarian]

Maybe everywhere. I had a few Magnum moments today, and now I'm trying to back them up. Seems that Detective Ott (who has been previously reprimanded for falsifying facts in order to obtain a search warrant) turns up in every single place evidence was found. I have yet to find him in the VD house with access to Danielle's blood, fingerprints(?) and hair, but I'm trying to place him there. It's also important that he be in each location before the rest of the cops, which was true for the drycleaner - I'm trying to prove it for the motorhome. He was also on the team that was among the first to arrive at the body recovery site (per Detective Collins in the preliminary hearing).

It's been a really exciting day for me.

[small_l_libertarian]

If he was in the MH on the 5th, he was there BEFORE Annette Peer found the bloodstain. If I can find that in testimony, we're two for two (drycleaner and motorhome).

[sawsalimb]

Curiouser and curiouser. If Westerfield is innocent,and I strongly suspect that he is,this timeline means that-to my way of thinking-he'd been nominated for the fall guy position early on. That,or the samples that Peer took were switched or contaminated sometme between 06Feb and the time they were tested.

Interesting,because the accidental death scenario was plausible to me-but now I'm brainstorming about motives again. Assume that Danille died accidentally,or that she was killed accidentally. Why on earth would the cops be working so hard to find a fall guy? If memory serves,I don't think that the life insurance policy on that girl was particularly large,unless there are some other policies that aren't being talked about,so why all this work? (And I might add that it seems to be pretty sloppy work in some instances)

[small_l_libertarian]

Brenda seems to have pointed them at Westerfield early on. Remember about the cops "embellishing on statements provided by Brenda Van Dam" in order to obtain the search warrants?

[sawsalimb]

And if these two characters rode around in Westerfield's motor home wth him,and these two are such damn hotshot detectives,why didn't they notice these bloodstains and ask him about them?