Posted on 06/08/2002 3:33:44 PM PDT by MizSterious
Westerfield trial TV coverage lures viewers with lurid details
Remote Control
Robert P. Laurence
June 7, 2002
TV is about pictures, and the David Westerfield trial has not been a pretty picture.
Carried live on four local stations, and on cable's Court TV, the trial's pictures have been drawn in words, words like "sexual penetration" "putrefaction," "animal activity" and "decomposition" used in describing what might have happened to the body of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam before and after her death.
To many, the pictures, again drawn in words, of adults engaged in spouse-swapping, group sex and pot smoking have been nearly as repugnant.
But just as many are finding the whole spectacle of kidnapping, murder, kinky sexuality and everyday middle-class suburbanites pursuing a lifestyle usually associated with memories of hippies of the 1960s morbidly fascinating. (Some may be looking at the folks next door with new curiosity.)
Decisions of local TV stations have varied according to the expected newsworthiness of whatever witness has been on the stand. All carried the testimony of Damon and Brenda van Dam, Danielle's parents, Wednesday and yesterday.
KUSI/Channel 51 has been the most dedicated, carrying all the testimony live, and airing a nightly hour-long wrap-up of the day's activities at 9 p.m. For viewers who don't subscribe to cable, KUSI has been the only place to watch the entire trial.
KGTV/Channel 10 has aired most of the testimony in the first three days of the trial. The coverage airs sometimes on Channel 10, and always on KGTV's all-news cable outlet on Channel 15. KFMB/Channel 8 and KNSD/Channel 39 have been choosier, often skipping the testimony of technical experts.
Wednesday's ratings favored KGTV and KUSI, and Nielsen totals of how many people have been watching TV during the day were up as much as 12 percent compared to last week.
Some of the technical testimony has been the most gruesomely fascinating, including the descriptions of County Medical Examiner Dr. Brian Blackbourne of the condition of Danielle's body when it was found, and his listing of which body parts had been gnawed by animals and which had not. (Blessedly, the courtroom camera has eschewed close-ups of the pictures of the child's body. Those would be too ugly to bear.)
Just as fascinating in the context of the grisly scenario was Brenda van Dam's description of the now-painfully mundane routine of selling Girl Scout cookies, the route she and Danielle followed as they walked house to house through the neighborhood, and her statement that the home of defendant David Westerfield "was the last house we went to."
For those who have made up their mind that Westerfield is guilty, Court TV is the place to go. Anchors Nancy Grace and Sheila Stainback have all but declared themselves witnesses for the prosecution. Both have ridiculed potential defense arguments before they've been made in court, and Grace described Westerfield at one point as "looking pretty pasty right now."
Grace yesterday waxed long and righteously indignant because Damon van Dam wasn't allowed to stay in the courtroom while his wife testified, bemoaning that he wasn't being allowed "closure," but ignoring the fact that California courts don't allow witnesses to remain in court while other witnesses testify.
Local anchors have remained neutral and objective, but speculation has not been entirely absent. Lawyer Milt Silverman, analyst for KGTV, yesterday said he was wondering whether Westerfield had "figured out ways to defeat those locks" on the Van Dams' home.
Still, the most memorable pictures we've seen so far in the Westerfield trial were those of yesterday morning.
The first was the stricken look on Brenda van Dam's face when she was asked how many children she has, and her long pause as she deliberately decided to include Danielle: "Three."
The second was of Brenda van Dam, sobbing and daubing a tissue to her eyes as she listened to a tape of her first 911 call, and heard her own voice tell the operator, "My daughter's not in her bed this morning. She's only 7...
"Oh my God! ... I don't know where she could be."
CNN.COM 3/11/2002
Investigators say Danielle was killed by Daniel Alan Westerfield, a 50-year-old engineer who lived just two doors away. The motive was sex, they say. Searches of Westerfield's property revealed child pornography and spots of blood matching Danielle's DNA.
I thought the name match with both Daniel-le, the girlfriend's teenage daughter and Daniel-le van Dam was worth exploring. Especially since Brenda is a known swinger.
Westerfield was devorced in '96, could Brenda have been the other woman?
David Alan Westerfield DOB 2/26/52.
DW's another story. Born SD. Moved to Maine at the age of 4. MOved back to SD with parents, aged 16. Graduated 1970(ish) Madison HS. (Don't carve the HS, in stone though it's off the top)Married 1973, divorce 1979-80. Married again 1980, divorced 1996. Two kids. Likes Rum & Coke.
I have way too much of this information in my head, it scares me!!!
Example: Brenda starts blaming Damon for not checking on the kids after he found the open door (really I wonder about that too. Don't most parents check on their kids if they find the slightest thing wrong in the house? But I digress). This kind of thing can fester and if the marriage isn't strong to start with, it can break it apart, in my opinion.
No record of marriage in the state of Florida.
Interesting because I know I read they were married in Florida 13-14 years ago. I think it's in the transcripts. I admit I had the 'unkind' thought that maybe they were never legally married in the first place. It used to be called 'common law marriage'. hmmmm
Oops... in that case, please disregard my prev post too.
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