http://www.kfmb.com/topstory.php?storyID=8134
(04-25-2002) - Prosecutors said Thursday they will seek the death penalty against David Westerfield, the neighbor accused of kidnapping and murdering seven-year-old Danielle van Dam.Westerfield, 50, is set for trial May 17.
During a court hearing, prosecutor Jeff Dusek said the decision to seek the death penalty had been made "after full and careful consideration.''
Prosecutors filed a statement detailing their reasons, but a judge ordered the document sealed. Lawyers in the case are under a gag order.
Westerfield's lawyers are pressing for speedy trial even though such serious cases usually require several months of legal preparation.
"I've never heard of a death penalty case in this or any other community going in 60 days,'' Superior Court Judge William Mudd said
Westerfield's lawyers are pressing for speedy trial even though such serious cases usually require several months of legal preparation.
"I've never heard of a death penalty case in this or any other community going in 60 days,'' Superior Court Judge William Mudd said
AND IN THE FUTURE SOMEWHERE ....... as it turned out, everyone in the community (the Van Dams, the police, the judge, the press, the registered sex offenders) were all members of various swingers clubs in the California area, and David Westerfield was the only person in the entire community that wasn't.