In taped interrogation, Westerfield tells police 'my life is over'

San Diego Union Tribune ^ | January 7, 2003

[TomB]

In a videotaped interrogation with San Diego police detectives four days after Danielle van Dam was kidnapped, an exhausted David Westerfield says "my life is over," seemingly coming close to an admission that he murdered his 7-year-old neighbor.

"As far as I'm concerned my life is over, the life that I had, the life that I was living is over," Westerfield says in the interrogation conducted the evening of Feb. 5, 2002. Danielle was last seen the night of Feb. 1.

"But you can't blame anyone but yourself, Dave," answers one of the police detectives.

"And I have no problem with that," Westerfield replies.

In the tapes released Tuesday, Westerfield admits "unusual" sexual encounters with his wife, denies anything improper about his alleged use of binoculars to watch neighbors and says the child pornography found on his computer was simply something he downloaded along with a lot of other pornographic images and that he had no sexual interest in children.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd agreed Monday to unseal the videotape along with hundreds of pages of transcripts, documents and recordings in the Westerfield case, as well as transcripts of police interrogations and court hearings conducted in secret.

Some of the material – audiotape and videotape of Westerfield being interrogated during the early stages of the investigation – was released Tuesday afternoon.

The remainder of the material, which ranges from transcripts of closed-door court hearings to motions regarding potential evidence, will be released Monday, Mudd ruled.

The ruling Monday came three days after Mudd sentenced the former design engineer to death for kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, his neighbor in Sabre Springs.

Monday's court hearing came in response to a request by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has been seeking access to the information for months. The San Diego-based 4th District Court of Appeal has ruled that Mudd must release the information.

The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists made a donation to the legal costs.

Westerfield, who attended Monday's hearing, is scheduled to be moved within days to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco.

During earlier court appearances, Westerfield was always dressed in civilian attire, but he appeared in court Monday in a green jail jumpsuit. He sat in a holding area so he couldn't be filmed by a television camera.

[Freedom2specul8]

Wasn't the trap put in their after the call was made?

[Freedom2specul8]

oh my gosh..now I know where CW got the jerry springer reference.

The prosecution accused the defense of wanting to get a "jerry-springer" emotional type of reaction from the jurors. So CW should be yelling at the defense.. :)

[EllaMinnow]

I know you've always been disgusted by the van Dams.
My question is, do you finally see DW for what he is?

[EllaMinnow]

I was interested in every ping and link you posted last night.
Thanks.

[cyncooper]

Wonder if they'll ever tell us why Mudd suppressed it, or where the call was traced to?

I am curious to, as far as who would be cruel enough to do such a thing.

It hit me yesterday, that the police knew by 2/5 that poor Danielle was dead. Listen to them talk to DW. They speak in terms of "her body". I suppose they didn't let the parents know what the most likely scenario was at that point, and let them have hope, as they didn't have the physical proof, yet, like the forensic tests. But as soon as they knew as a fact that DW was guilty (the trip, the interviews, the polygraph), they knew she was dead.

[cyncooper]

"to" should be "too".

[Valpal1]

If you read the link you will see that the first trace and trap order had expired (LE oversight)so they had to get a new order. It is not clear that this call was actually traced. I'm going to assume it was, because they company does have the records. Results are not in these documents.

I would really like to know who was responsible for such a dispicable act, (a DP clone for sure).

[cyncooper]

Maybe this is their road to Damascus.

I really hope so. I like to think they did change.

I do not think Brenda's statement revealed anything we didn't already know via her testimony and media. In fact, RR exaggerated what was known. (Perhaps RR was only going by his source, who should be ashamed of himself.)

I also agree with redlipstick, I found it very sad.

[Jaded]

All of them are disgusting in their amoral behavior. All includes DW.

[Freedom2specul8]

WRT:Brenda's statement..This is the first I had his dad dying and his sudden "change". So the swinging was damon's idea according to brenda. It just amazes me how some women will do anything to keep their husband and marriage together.

[Freedom2specul8]

I'll reread it when I get back online.. Thanks Val.

[Valpal1]

Experience pretty much dictates that if you don't find a missing child alive within the first hour, the chance of live recovery is in the miraculous act of God category.

So sad.

People continue to fault the LE behavior, when it's pretty obvious that they were very restrained under the circumstances of a missing and believed to be dead child.

[Freedom2specul8]

Just read this over at the UT forum..Yikes! CLICK
"Did anyone else hear it? FOX news just quoted Dave from the trnascripts as saying ..."I did it"..."Take me away"...I'm worried about my rights now"... "

Is this true?

[EllaMinnow]

It says on my computer that it was posted at 10:28 last night...I don't know what time zone. I know the UT is PT, but I may have adjusted my settings on it to ET, like I have FR.
I'll check last night's FOX transcripts, but I have to go pick up my daughter first.

[Freedom2specul8]

Thanks red..I'm going to have to rest..this sinus infection has me wiped out. Cya after awhile.

[CW_Conservative]

The phrase "gets off on" also means "excitement, or thrill of the adventure"--it does NOT always mean sexual gratification.

Thanks for the expanded definition, but I don't think you were taking about the "thrill of adventure" in your post, which I have copied below.

Posted by ~Kim4VRWC's~ to CW_Conservative On General Interest 01/09/2003 9:39 PM PST #440 of 494

If you're insinuating that the info gets freepers off you are frickin crazy.

[Freedom2specul8]

If we are going to debate, we are going to have to have a sense of trust. I did not mean sexual gratification. If you think I'm lying about that, so be it. However to assume that I have some motive, or no motive to lie to you...It pretty much ruins any future debates correct?

[Freedom2specul8]

For the jerry springer types...

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/documents/SCN_20030109152845_001.pdf

Page 87

westerfield has pics of himself getting a blowjob..and he has pics of little girls giving adult males blow jobs.

[Freedom2specul8]

scuse me..YOUNG LOOKING girls giving adult males blow jobs.

[Freedom2specul8]

I wonder if he had a tripod of did he have someone taking the pic for him.. hmmm?