Posted on 01/08/2003 9:24:19 AM PST by 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.
I'm not surprised to find that was a misrepresentation.
River is now going to report on some more docs released, referred to in the article you posted.
DW broke down and cried at Glamis.
Keyser says DW told about a vision of Danielle being picked up out of her bed by a figure in black and DW told Keyser he tried to tell Redden about this. River points out this is before police knew about what type of clothes Westerfield wore Friday night and before the black clothes were picked up at the drycleaners.
Speaking of the drycleaners, the receipt referred to earlier that was dated before that weekend does not pertain to the jacket that was picked up by police with Danielle's blood on it. The reference made by someone was a misunderstanding of the evidence or a deliberate mischaracterization (again).
(2)Does your statement apply only to DW or would it apply to the LE's, the VD's ?
Either someone doesn't understand that she is just reporting on what the records show, or they are hostile to any messenger delivering a message hostile to Westerfield.
The paragraph above, You state that the receipt does not pertain to the jacket. Better go back and check your facts.
I challenge anybody to find evidence that the receipt for the drycleaning brought in the week before and picked up before that weekend was ever even testified to. It was mentioned by Feldman in his closing and has nothing to do with this case.
Once again someone is lying or failing to understand the facts of the case.
The reason I said she is full of crap is this:
She is not just reporting on what the records said. (did aliens take over cyncooper's brain?)
She qouted what DW said, and then stated, "THIS MEANS THAT.....". That is not fact. That is her personal opinion but she is trying to pass it as fact, because their are tons of listeners that are SURE DW did it, that HATE HIM, and SUCKER UP to anyone that spews opinions of what things mean as long as they fit what that person believes also. (Like you).
She did it twice. She qouted fact, then spewed her opinion as fact. IF YOU MISSED IT, no wonder you act the way you do.
and DW responded "You know I can't tell you, my attorneys told me not to, now".
Paraphrase
Is it possible that is what he was referring to?
River wants you to believe he is guilty because he knew where the body was.
A complete weekend of interrogation and he doesn't tell. When he finally gets a lawyer and is told not to talk, that is taken as proof of guilt.
"We were this close", River said. Just like the story about DW offering a PLEA BARGAIN DEAL. That appears to be an outright lie by whomever leaked it and misinformation by the media to the public.
Is is possible that DW's actual statement was slightly different, but that is the way River remembers it?
(This is most likely the case).
The reason I am suspicious of her latest comment is that it doesn't fit the pattern. If your lawyer told you not to talk, and you knew where the body was, you certainly wouldn't make the statement to a member of the media, in that way. Leaving an open interpretation of guilt. Either that or you are an idiot and love prison.
Well, I really have to go now. So, good luck, keep listening and keep us informed, and GOOD TIDINGS to you and Cyncooper. I don't hate you or anything, Cyn. Hopefully you all will be correct, and the right man is in prison.
Good night, and God Bless you both.
Yes, it is in the docs. But, as I stated, it was not testified to by the drycleaning personnel or the detective. It was collected in the vehicle along with the 2/4 receipts. The only items collected at the drycleaners were the items brought in on 2/4. the 1/26 items were no longer there so obviously had been picked up by DW prior to the weekend.
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