VAN DAM CASE New Evidence: Danielle was sexually assaulted, her hair found in motor home!!

Court unseals Westerfield documents today

Documents add to evidence against Westerfield: Danielle's hair found in his motor home

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 6, 2002

Hair from 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was found inside David Westerfield's motor home, and prosecutors believe the girl was sexually assaulted before she died, according to court documents made public today.

The documents also refer to other evidence that Westerfield's lawyers label "explosive," but the nature of that evidence remains secret from the public for now.

Westerfield papers

Documents in Adobe PDF format.
More will be added today.

PRE-TRIAL MOTIONS
	Response to motion
	Motion to exclude irrelevant evidence
	Motion to limit questions re: drug/alcohol experience A detailed analysis of the documents will be published in tomorrow's San Diego Union-Tribune.

In all, court officials today released more than two dozen pre-trial motions and other court documents that have been filed by prosecutors and Westerfield's lawyers in the past few weeks.

In one of the motions filed by the District Attorney's Office, prosecutors say they believe Westerfield kidnapped his Sabre Springs neighbor as a way of gratifying his sexual fantasies.

"The defendant kidnapped a seven-year-old girl from her own bed," prosecutor Jeff Dusek said in a document filed April 18. "He killed her, then dumped her nude body in an isolated location. The conclusion is inescapable ... she was sexually molested prior to her murder."

Citing pornography found on Westerfield's computer, Dusek added: "The computer images fed the defendant's fantasies, which he ultimately acted upon.

The documents unsealed today address numerous legal issues in the case, including whether the pornography should be admitted as evidence at trial, whether the jury should be sequestered, and whether Westerfield's lawyers can grill Danielle's parents about their drug and alcohol use.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd is scheduled to begin hearing oral arguments on these motions tomorrow. Jury selection is scheduled to start May 17. Westerfield is charged with kidnapping and murdering Danielle and is facing the death penalty.

Other motions remained sealed on the judge's orders. The sealed motions discuss other potential evidence in the case, including evidence that Westerfield's lawyers label in court documents as "nearly as explosive as a confession." The lawyers didn't specify the nature of this evidence.

Westerfield's lawyers want to keep these sealed motions secret from the public through Westerfield's trial and until all his post-trial appeals are exhausted if he's convicted, according to documents made public today.

The documents unsealed today contain some information that hadn't yet become public in the case. Among other things, prosecutors say Danielle's hair was found inside Westerfield's motor home.

At Westerfield's preliminary hearing in March, law-enforcement witnesses testified that Danielle's blood and fingerprints were found inside Westerfield's motor home, which the twice-divorced engineer kept parked several miles from his Sabre Springs house. Nothing was said then about the girl's hair.

Elsewhere in the documents made public today, prosecutors say Westerfield admitted to police that he was responsible for downloading the pornographic images onto his computer and disks. At his preliminary hearing, Westerfield's lawyers suggested that his teen-age son might have downloaded the images.

"The images were organized, categorized, and labeled so the defendant could easily locate the images he desired," Dusek wrote in the motion. "The images depicted very young nude girls, young girls involved in sexual acts with adult men and other young girls, and young girls involved in sexual acts with animals."

Westerfield, 50, "has admitted to the police that he was solely and personally responsible for downloading, categorizing and maintaining the images," Dusek stated. "Contrary to the insinuations attempted by the defense at the preliminary hearing, neither the defendant's son nor anybody else was responsible for this huge collection of computer images."

In one motion unsealed today, Westerfield's lawyers say the pornographic images are irrelevant to the murder and kidnapping charges and should be excluded as evidence from Westerfield's trial.

Westerfield also faces misdemeanor charges of possessing child pornography. Westerfield's lawyers have filed a separate motion requesting that Westerfield receive a separate trial on the misdemeanor charge. That motion, too, was unsealed today.

Also unsealed were the responses filed by prosecutors, who say the pornographic images help prove motive in the case and thus should be admissible as evidence.

PING..) ) )

Fry him. But the porn - what is "young girl" to the prosecutors? They don't say "minors."

Any news on Jahi?

SOME PRETRIAL MOTIONS MADE PUBLIC IN WESTEFIELD CASE

(05-06-2002) - Legal documents, unsealed today, show that David Westerfield is asking for two separate trials; one for Danielle van Dam's kidnapping and murder and the other for possessing pornography.

The reason is simple. Westerfield's attorneys don't want those pictures shown during his trial.

There are 14 different motions detailed in some 150 pages of documents that were released by Superior Court Judge William Mudd Monday morning.

Westerfield's attorneys also want to sequester the jury, keeping them in a hotel during the trial, which begins next week. They say it's the only way to keep jurors free from outside influences during the trial. If this is granted, they say they will not ask for a change of venue.

A third motion asks to exclude pictures from Danielle's autopsy and from the scene where she was found.

Westerfield's attorneys say they are graphic and could "inflame the passions of the jury."

Prosecutors are fighting all of the motions, plus they filed several of their own.

They want jurors to take a tour of Westerfield's motorhome. They're trying to prevent any mention by the Van Dams that Danielle was once punished for opening the side gate at her home, and they want to limit the defense's opening statement to only what they can prove in trial.

Also in these motions, both sides are upset with each other when it comes to turning over information. They accuse each other of moving slowly.

Westerfield's attorneys are asking for a lot of background information on the jurors and witnesses involved with the trial.

Hearings on these motions start Tuesday, and the trial is still set to begin May 17. Mudd said portions of the hearing could be held behind closed doors, because of their nature. He'll rule on that issue on a motion-by-motion basis.

The motion hearings could last two weeks.

Last week Judge Mudd ruled that pretrial motions regarding the defendant's statements to police and those dealing with the lifestyle of his alleged victim's parents will remain sealed.

Mudd also ruled that autopsy photos of the victim and photographs of her bedroom would remain sealed until he has a chance to hear arguments on their admissibility at trial.

Mudd said his decision to keep some documents sealed weighed heavily in favor of Westerfield's right to a fair trial as well as "the people's right to a fair hearing."

The judge said the release of motions pertaining to "lifestyle issues" involving the victim's parents would "excessively invade the privacy of Mr. and Mrs. Van Dam. They will remain under seal."

Brenda and Damon van Dam discovered that their daughter was missing from her bed the morning of Feb. 2. Volunteer searchers in the East County found her body on February 27, along a road in Dehesa.

Westerfield, who lived two doors down from the Van Dams in Sabre Springs, was arrested on February 22.

Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek has announced that his office will ask for the death penalty if Westerfield is convicted.

The trial is scheduled to begin May 17.

Swingers say their clubs offer a lot more than sex

Upcoming trial may put spotlight on the lifestyle

By Jeff McDonald
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

May 5, 2002

No last names, and not much is exchanged in the way of personal information – at least among newcomers.

In the closely guarded circles of swingers clubs, "no" means "no" and guests who behave disrespectfully are shown the door. Sex is plentiful. So are food, dancing, conversation and other garden-variety forms of recreation.

People who have been swapping partners for years say the sex can be a small part of the experience. They liken the parties to social clubs, and point out that the vast majority of swingers are highly educated and happily married.

Others, not surprisingly, are far less certain.

Local debate over the practice of consenting adults trading sexual partners in group settings has never been louder than in the three months since 7-year-old Danielle van Dam disappeared from her Sabre Springs home.

During a preliminary hearing, attorneys defending the man accused of killing the girl tried to raise the issue that her parents may have engaged in a swinging lifestyle. The couple's activities are likely to be called into question at the upcoming trial of David Westerfield, who could face the death penalty if he is convicted of the girl's kidnapping and slaying.

There are numerous swing groups in the area. With names like Club Exchange, La Villa and Club CB, they host parties almost every weekend in Oceanside, San Diego, Encinitas, Escondido, Fallbrook and elsewhere. There are two clubs in Temecula, a tract-home community of 67,000 people.

Some have operated for years; others come and go. Sometimes they lure dozens of couples to large, private estates. Many parties are smaller, with three or four couples meeting inside someone's home.

"Swinging is not just sex," said Robert McGinley, president of The Lifestyles Organization, an Orange County company that offers travel and other services to swingers.

"Obviously, it's sexual interest that brings people together, but it is a social activity," McGinley said. "People feel free in what they say ... They are accepted as a person, rather than an occupation."

The practice of sharing sex partners dates back centuries and crosses dozens of cultures, swingers say. In the 1960s and '70s, it was called wife-swapping. Today it is better known as swinging. Practitioners simply refer to it as The Lifestyle.

A handful of sex clubs, like Thad's east of downtown San Diego, have been targeted by police and politicians, even though courts have repeatedly upheld the rights of adults to meet in groups for sexual purposes.

More often than not, attorneys who defend club operators say, cities and local governments lose the cases based on constitutionally protected freedoms. San Diego, for example, agreed in 1998 to pay $148,000 to settle a years-long legal dispute with Elbert "Thad" Poppell.

"The Lifestyle community makes an easy target," said Paul Murray, a San Diego lawyer who counts the club owner among his clients.

"If you get a politician who decides to bring a campaign against indecency, he's going to get air time and, in his mind, he's going to get votes," Murray said.

The typical swinger

There is not a lot of definitive information about swinging available, although the clubs are extensively promoted on the World Wide Web.

A trade group called the North American Swing Club Association said 15 percent of couples in the United States have experimented with swinging at one time or another. More conservative estimates hover between 2 percent and 4 percent.

Several researchers concluded that about 90 percent of swingers are white; three-quarters hold college degrees and almost half regularly attend services in a traditional church.

Three out of four swingers are married and half of the others say they are in committed relationships, according to sociologists at Bellarmine University, a Catholic liberal-arts college in Louisville, Ky.

Nine out of 10 respondents in unhappy marriages said their relationships were happier after swapping partners. Less than 1 percent of the couples said the experience made their marriage less happy.

"Swinging may be one creative solution to the problem of habituation – it provides sexual variety, adventure, and the opportunity to live out one's fantasies as a couple without secrecy and deceit," their survey of more than 1,000 swingers concluded.

However, the same poll found that swingers are far more likely than non-swingers to approve of children 14 to 16 having sex.

Reservations required

With the Internet, information about get-togethers in almost any city is only minutes away. Reservations and invitations are traded electronically. Before the Web, swingers relied largely on personal ads in adult publications.

Investigative journalist Terry Gould spent years researching swing clubs, then wrote a book on the subject. He estimated that 4 million Americans swing – most of them middle-and upper-middle-class professionals.

"Essentially, what they were doing is trying to eroticize their own relationships," Gould said from his home in Vancouver, Canada. "There was less sex going on there than you would think."

Each of the 400 or so clubs across the United States operates under different rules, but many of the protocols are familiar.

Reservations are required, and participants usually go through an interview or screening process a day or more before the weekend parties. Some clubs, like Thad's, act more like a business and allow single men but charge for membership and individual visits; others only invite couples and request donations strictly to cover the cost of food and other expenses.

No alcohol is served, although guests are welcome to bring their own. Drugs are not permitted or tolerated. Condoms are encouraged, often mandatory. Some clubs require men to undress before entering and allow women to wear lingerie or nothing at all.

Once inside, members generally socialize like they might at any other club or party. They congregate, exchange banter and, eventually, may seek to interest one another in sex.

"It works the same way it works anywhere else," said Murray, who said he does not engage in the practice himself. "You usually try to start up a conversation, enjoying each other's company."

Ethical hedonism

The overriding credo, swingers say, is one of ethical hedonism – have fun, but harm no one. When someone wants sex with another guest, they ask politely. If that person declines, the conversation is over.

Many couples attend parties for weeks or months before choosing to have sex with someone other than their partner, swingers say. Sometimes groups engage in sex at the same time; others pair off in couples.

"These are sunny suburbanites," said Gould, whose book, "The Lifestyle: A Look at the Erotic Rites of Swingers," is in its fourth printing. "There's not that dark side to it you might expect."

Even so, the practice worries some experts. San Diego State University sociologist Phillip Gay said swingers may tend to dehumanize their partners.

"It's a way of divorcing sex and love," he said. "People can have sex with each other without becoming emotionally involved . . . It's the ultimate in reducing a person down to a sex object."

Clairemont marriage counselor Karen Gless said many couples who wed at an early age grow curious, as years pass, about expanding their sexual history history. Experimenting with others can enhance relationships, build trust and deepen friendships, she said.

"The negative side is that people who have been swinging for a lot of years tend to get kind of hard to the world," Gless said. "They have more trouble with intimacy because their focus becomes more sexual."

Business side

Nonetheless, the activity has become big business.

The Lifestyles Organization hosts conventions that attract thousands of couples every year. An event this summer has sold out every one of the 2,001 rooms at the Reno Hilton, hotel officials said.

Besides running that Orange County company, McGinley is president of a national swing trade group. He said his members' economic might is only now being tapped by mainstream businesses such as travel and cruise industries.

"Once a person or organization starts making their income off that lifestyle, all of the sudden that lifestyle becomes acceptable," he said.

At many of the all-inclusive tropical resorts advertised on the Web, thousands of couples swim, dine, play water sports and swap partners for a week at a time or longer.

"When they went to Jamaica, the tourist bureau met them at the airport and rolled out the red carpet," author Gould said.

And to think that there are tenured professors publishing books and papers claiming that adult sex with children does no harm to the children.

The ancient Israelites, following the Torah, would have taken both the perps and their syncophants out to the edge of the settlement and stoned them both to death. I'm having a difficult time seeing why that would not still be a good idea.

The Other Van Dam Story

—Thomas K. Arnold

Talk show host Rick Roberts made headlines with his KFMB-AM radio show about Damon and Brenda van Dam’s allegedly swinging lifestyle. But he wasn’t the only radio personality—or media outlet—to cast a critical eye on the backstory of the Danielle van Dam kidnapping case.

John Kobylt and Ken Chiampou, whose John and Ken Show airs weekdays from 3 to 7 p.m. on Los Angeles station KFI-AM, devoted three shows to the case, even traveling to San Diego to broadcast from the van Dams’ Sabre Springs neighborhood. The week before that, they were the first to cast aspersions on the van Dams, a full day before the Roberts broadcast.

The Millennium Children’s Fund had just announced a $10,000 reward for information leading to the safe return of Danielle. Fund administrator Douglas Pierce had visited with the van Dams, and the next day he called a press conference in Los Angeles at which he voiced suspicions about the couple’s behavior. For an hour, Pierce blasted the van Dams for their apparent lack of emotion and general rudeness to him.

“I don’t know how much was true and how much was hysterical, but that’s what made it fascinating. We tried to unravel it on the air,” Kobylt says. “In retrospect, I think he did peg their personalities very well—the lack of emotion, the detachment, the obsession with the media message—and perhaps he got the vibe that they live a different life than most people.”

As soon as Pierce finished on-air, John and Ken introduced their next guests: an angry Damon and Brenda van Dam, who lambasted Pierce as a nut case. “We had scheduled them in advance, but when they heard Doug was on the show, they canceled, only to change their minds right before show time,” Kobylt says.

After the interview, John and Ken picked apart the conversation and spoke critically about the van Dams’ lack of emotion and their defensiveness about questions pertaining to their own behavior and actions the last night Danielle was seen. The next day, the swinger story broke in The San Diego Union-Tribune—furthered that evening on San Diego radio by Rick Roberts.

“It’s a very dramatic story,” says Kobylt. “Everybody got obsessed with it pretty quickly... We have a pretty fair audience in San Diego—we’ve even made it into the top 10 on occasion—and we started getting calls from people who live in the neighborhood and know the van Dams. As a result, it might as well have been in L.A. I tend to look at the whole [Southern California] area as the same, anyway.”

(By press deadline, the van Dams could not be reached for comment by San Diego Magazine.)

While the van Dam case has been duly covered by most of the mainstream media, the Star tabloid stoked the flames of controversy with a front-page banner that screamed, “The new JonBenet—what Danielle’s mom and dad are hiding.” Inside was a two-page story headlined, “Tragedy of little Danielle—and the dark sex secrets her parents are trying to keep hidden.”

Quoting the proverbial unnamed sources “close to the probe,” the Star reported that later-arrested suspect David Westerfield “was aware of the van Dams’ sexual activities and had approached Brenda about hosting a sex-swap party in his house.” The Star said Brenda had admitted to police “that the couple belonged to a swingers’ club called Club CB” and that sources say she “flirted outrageously and danced with Westerfield” the Friday night Danielle disappeared. “He [Westerfield] knew that Brenda and her friends were sexually involved, and he wanted to be part of the action, but for whatever reason, he was not invited by Brenda to accompany her and her four friends back to her home that night for more partying and sex,” the Star says it was told by a source.

bump!

Club CB

..... A Couples Affair

RICK ROBERTS’ SOURCE, HIGH-PLACED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL’ TOLD RICK

The comments of Rick Roberts source (a high placed law enforcement official) are in bold type. Additional information from other sources (press, etc.) are in italics.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that the van Dams were involved in "swinging, lots of wife swapping."
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that before Danielle’s disappearance, the van Dam’s neighbor, David Westerfield "found out about the family’s (van Dam’s) swinging lifestyle and approached them to host an adult party at his house." "Westerfield told Brenda, I like to hold Adult Parties....you bring the salad, I provide the meat!"

David Westerfield has been quoted in the press as saying that he was a friend of the van Dams.

The van Dams have denied this, stating that their only contact with him was when Brenda and Danielle came to his home to sell girl scout cookies, and when they exchanged greeting as they passed by.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that on the night of Danielle’s disappearance, "Brenda van Dam was at a local Poway bar where she was grinding away "confirmed" on the dance floor and possibly ‘did’ a guy in the parking lot." "Could have been more than 2, since Brenda, Barb, Denise, Keith and Rich "spent some time in the parking lot" partying....

The bar has been identified in the press as "Dad’s Café and Steak House."

David Westerfield openly admitted that he was at the bar that night. He claims that he danced with Brenda van Dam. Brenda denies this.

Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "Brenda left the bar with 2 girlfriends and 2 guys and went back to the van Dam’s house." "From Brenda's own lips, she left with Barb, Denise, Rich(the dealer) and Keith"
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "One timeline given in police records shows Brenda coming home from the bar to find the light [on the alarm] flashing and a door open. [She closed the door]." "Brenda admitted in her testimony at the Pre-Lim, when I walked into the house, through the front door, I saw the alarm light flashing!"
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said that Brenda "‘gave’ one of the girlfriends to her husband Damon ‘as a present,’ and made sure to shut the doors on all the bedrooms so the kids wouldn’t be awakened by loud lovemaking. She did not look to see if the kids were in their rooms." "Brenda AND Barb both went upstairs...as Brenda stated in her testimony, but Barb stayed upstairs, and Brenda went back downstairs...Brenda came up later by her accounts, because the others, Rich and Keith were teasing about how long Barb had been upstairs!"
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "the adults locked themselves in the van Dam’s garage – they have special inside locks so the kids can’t come in – and started smoking marijuana and ‘fooling around.’ The adults in the garage were Brenda, Damon, 2 girlfriends, and 2 guys from the bar." "Brenda forgot to mention this part on the stand, but as presented, this means that Damon, Brenda, Barb, Denise, Keith and Rich went into the Van Dam LOVE SHACK in the garage....
Rick Roberts’ high-placed law enforcement official said, "after everyone had sex, Damon noticed the [alarm] light blinking and a door open. They were busy with their adult party, so they never checked on the kids." "Now, if after everyone, Brenda, Damon, Barb, Denise, Rich and Keith had "swung", and if then Damon noticed the light....then that would mean a light had been tripped, after Brenda arrived, (where she noticed the first light) and now there had been another entry/exit to the home.

.....people are so quick to forgive and be tolerant-chic, that they refuse to face the obvious.
- Brenda, Damon, Barb, Rich, Denise and Keith were IN THE HOUSE the night Danielle disappeared.
- Confirmed that they were using illegal drugs.
- Confirmed that they were polyamorous (!)
- Confirmed that the SEXTET were arriving and departing the VD home, while alarm lights were "by their description" going on and off.

TOOTSIE

Who is the original "Tootsie" The VD's "Consultant" or Dustin Hoffman???

"The defendant kidnapped a seven-year-old girl from her own bed," prosecutor Jeff Dusek said in a document filed April 18. "He killed her, then dumped her nude body in an isolated location. The conclusion is inescapable ... she was sexually molested prior to her murder." That is EVIDENCE???

Okay we know Danielle was in the motor home already. Her fingerprint was in there so it's not a stretch to find her hair in there too. Where's the evidence that she was sexually molested? Are there pictures, videos of this? I thought her body was too decomposed to tell? A lot of people believe she was molested but we need some physical proof.

Or is the SD DA simply trying to taint the jury pool before the trial?

"That is EVIDENCE???"

It sure is for some people on Free Republic. Let's hope it's not enough in a court of law, or we're all in trouble:

DA's Office: "This person committed the crime!"

Judge: "That's enough for me. I sentence this person to death!"

Plus, given the recent Supreme Court decision, Westerfield might claim all his downloded child-porn is cyber generated.

Make the prosecution proove it's real.

On "Crier Live" today a woman stated that when the body of a 7 year old girl was found but had not yet been identified as Danielle's, the Mrs. Van Dam, instead of rushing to the scene, went to get a massage (maybe also her hair or face done), and people could hear her laughing as she waited for word about the identity of the body. Strange behavior by a mother.

bump to slef

I haven't been following this closely lately but what happened to the gag order? Seems like here is an awful lot of prejudicial information here.

On "Crier Live" today a woman stated that when the body of a 7 year old girl was found but had not yet been identified as Danielle's, the Mrs. Van Dam, instead of rushing to the scene, went to get a massage (maybe also her hair or face done), and people could hear her laughing as she waited for word about the identity of the body. Strange behavior by a mother.

Wow...that was posted on the KFMB board months ago....a lot of people down played it...said it was Bravo Sierra...

seems the VD's are proving all of the "Urban Legends" TRUE...

HARD CORE SWINGERS, Members of several exclusive invitation only clubs in the San Diego area. (See Union Trib article, post 3)
BIG INSURANCE POLICIES ON THE KIDS ($100,000
New BMW, just days after Danielle was buried/cremated
Trip to Nordstrom's via LIMO for private sell with a bunch of gal friends for the Brenda

Unbelievable people.....

The GAG order is a joke...DW information flows freely, while the judge runs interference for the VD's.....fishy...

Court unseals Westerfield documents todayDocuments add to evidence against Westerfield: Danielle's hair found in his motor home

Swingers say their clubs offer a lot more than sexUpcoming trial may put spotlight on the lifestyle

The typical swinger

Reservations required

Ethical hedonism

Business side

The Other Van Dam Story

.....people are so quick to forgive and be tolerant-chic, that they refuse to face the obvious.

Brenda, Damon, Barb, Rich, Denise and Keith were IN THE HOUSE the night Danielle disappeared.

Confirmed that they were using illegal drugs.

Confirmed that they were polyamorous (!)

Confirmed that the SEXTET were arriving and departing the VD home, while alarm lights were "by their description" going on and off.

Who is the original "Tootsie" The VD's "Consultant" or Dustin Hoffman???

Wow...that was posted on the KFMB board months ago....a lot of people down played it...said it was Bravo Sierra...

seems the VD's are proving all of the "Urban Legends" TRUE...

HARD CORE SWINGERS, Members of several exclusive invitation only clubs in the San Diego area. (See Union Trib article, post 3)

BIG INSURANCE POLICIES ON THE KIDS ($100,000

New BMW, just days after Danielle was buried/cremated

Trip to Nordstrom's via LIMO for private sell with a bunch of gal friends for the Brenda

Unbelievable people.....

Court unseals Westerfield documents today

Documents add to evidence against Westerfield: Danielle's hair found in his motor home

Swingers say their clubs offer a lot more than sex

Upcoming trial may put spotlight on the lifestyle