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.

[truth_seeker]

"That leads one to conclude that that person's whole deductive reasoning capabililty is flawed. Big Time."

Desriptive of a profile, of which several have been displayed on this months-long topic.

We seem to be down to the "bitter-end" with most of them acquiring "sudden-muteness syndrome," concurrent with the tapes.

But alas, perhaps my "nasty" tone will russle the feathers of a few, so we can hear the "deductive reasoning" about the latest revelations.

[Jrabbit]

LOL-please explain "russle". By the way, those of us still interested in this sad case are not mute. We just don't join in banter with the likes of you anymore. It's more fun that way. Not to say that you aren't entertaining! The amusement that you and your soul-mates provide is priceless!

[cyncooper]

RR program just started and tapes playing again. DW still speaking with the female officer(s). Refers to Denise as "the little girl" with Brenda at Dad's (and describes her).

[cyncooper]

..this sinus infection has me wiped out.

Ouch!

[Freedom2specul8]

Thnx cyn..I think all the lost sleep from it caught up with me today.

[cyncooper]

RR just back and gave a disclaimer that some material aired later today will contain sexual discussion. Warning for anyone with kids around...

Right now DW is explaining to the female officers how he got stuck in the sand.

[cyncooper]

DW telling how he got stuck a second time.

Floundering for times and route--keeps amending.

[cyncooper]

Update on the tapes being played:

The tone is beginning to shift as (Parga?) the female officer starts to pin DW down on some of his details. He had continued to state and then retract and amend his route regarding his travels of the weekend. She was just asking about the van Dam kids recently being in his house.

Roberts just said when they come back DW tells the officers what he says Brenda told him about her daughter, and other things he says she told him.

Roberts also says they will get into DW's life and that this is the subject matter not appropriate for young ears.

[EllaMinnow]

Please keep posting what you hear.

[cyncooper]

DW pegs the break-up with Susan on the Friday the week before the Friday in question--so only one week before.

He tells about them going to the Strand for the 4th of July and he got drunk.

DW says he did not feel that Brenda was coming on to him. He says she acted like a neighbor who is getting to know another neighbor.

He repeats that he thought a babysitter was at the home and "lo and behold her husband was at home"...then he says he read that in the paper.

[cyncooper]

DW tells how Brenda talked about the father/daughter dance and getting an outfit for Danielle.

The officer asks him if Brenda talked at all about Damon being angry at Danielle or upset. DW says no (by saying um-mm).

[BunnySlippers]

Does anyone know whether the tapes that are on RR will be available through another venue?

[cyncooper]

Now she (the officer) asks what DW thinks of a wife who goes to a bar "every week", after DW says everybody needs time out with their friends. Officer trying to elicit if he disapproves, approves, neutral. He says he wasn't attracted to Brenda or Barbara.

He just said he ran into Denise on the street Saturday. He said Denise has a Jersey accent.

Questions coming up re: Susan. Susan part Japanese/part white. Size 3 (!) and 5'4".

Being asked if she was into abnormal things sexually.

[cyncooper]

I don't feel comfortable relating this particular section. Though it's pertinant to what they wanted to find out.

[cyncooper]

I don't know, but would think the UT site would have them, too.

[BunnySlippers]

Thanks, cyn. I appreciate your listening for us.

[cyncooper]

Now he's talking to a male officer about how he doesn't understand why he failed the the polygraph. This is not Redden because the male referred to "Paul".

DW said he failed in the 99 percentile on two questions re: Danielle (he must have forgotten the 100% failure on "did you have anything to do with the disappearance of..."). At any rate, he is professing bewildermant.

Whoever he is talking to was with him at the house that morning (I did not get the name) and they are now reviewing the timeline starting Saturday morning.

[BunnySlippers]

Yes, DW (as he admitted) was emotionally fragile.

On another note, since I detest Bill O'Reilly, I tuned into Connie Chung tonight ....she had Uri Gellar who thrilled Connie by bending spoons (again).

I suppose to reach out to the unbeliever (me) he asked viewers to immediately get a broken watch. Just by chance I had a long broken gold watch in my entry hall that I was to take to the jewelers tomorrow morning. He asked viewers to clutch the watch (I did) and that it would begin ticking (it didn't).

I will let you know if anything changes. Connie is a pushover!

[cyncooper]

Remember we learned during some earlier unsealing about the witness who told police he for sure saw the MH on the street around the corner from DW's? Time would show this witness was wrong, but the police hadn't had time to investigate it thoroughly yet, so with this information they confront DW with it. DW is telling them that is wrong and so they're going back and forth regarding this.

[cyncooper]

Dang on the watch thing not working! You could have saved yourself the trip and the cost of repair. Ah, well, back to planet earth...