Private Lives-Public Trial:Are Sexual ?'s Relevant In The Van Dam Trial? (TRIAL THREAD-BARB WATCH)

When asked on the witness stand why he didn't initially tell police about his activities the night Danielle disappeared, Damon van Dam answered, 'It didn't seem relevant'

Stolen From Their Homes: How Often Are Kids Kidnapped?

Tuesday, June 11, 2002

This is a partial transcript from The O'Reilly Factor, June 10, 2002. Click here to order the complete transcript.

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BILL O'REILLY, HOST: The Impact segment tonight, the terrible kidnapping murder of Danielle Van Dam in San Diego and now the kidnapping of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City have one thing in common. Both girls were taken right out of their own homes. Very frightening.

Question, how often does this happen? And can anything be done about it?

Joining us now from San Francisco is Dr. Loren Brooks, an expert on kidnapping who's currently a senior consultant with the Leadership Consulting Group, a firm specializing in threatening situations and potential violence.

I feel so sorry for the family of Elizabeth Smart and the good people of Utah mobilized and everybody's out looking and all of that.

Are these cases, and it's between 200 and 300 children each year in America that are kidnapped by a nonrelative, non-family member, are these cases usually sexually driven?

LOREN BROOKS, PH.D., KIDNAPPING EXPERT: Usually the motivation, Bill, either is sexual predation, or sometimes the abductor feels like they actually have the right to integrate the individual into their own family system.

O'REILLY: Is there money involved in many of them?

BROOKS: Not that often. Not in this country. Ransom is usually not the motivation that we see over here in the United States. Sometimes internationally, you see that more frequently.

O'REILLY: Yes, I don't think there's been any ransom in the Elizabeth Smart case that I've heard of, have you heard anything to the contrary?

BROOKS: No, I haven't.

O'REILLY: All right.

BROOKS: Usually it is sexual predation situation that you see.

O'REILLY: OK. How unusual is it for somebody to just to break into somebody's house and snatch a child, particularly a 14-year-old child, you know, and Danielle Van Dam was 7? These kids can put up a fight. They can scream.

BROOKS: Yes, it's quite rare. You know, there are about 800,000 individuals that go missing each year, and of those, about 85 to 90 percent are juveniles. And of those, about 200 to 300 are stranger-abducted, sometimes taken off the street. But the out-of-the-home abduction only occurs about 45 to 65 times a year, so it's a low-frequency event, but it's extremely traumatic, of course, for families and communities.

You know, it's difficult for the family to stop thinking about this until they can find their little girl.

O'REILLY: But, but not only that, every American with children right now watching this broadcast is saying, Is my house safe? You know, if I'm asleep at 3:00 in the morning, can somebody climb up through a window and grab my kid without me knowing it?

That's why that a case like Elizabeth Smart has galvanized everybody, because they put themselves in the position of the parents. I mean, there they are. And in this case, it was actually another girl in the room who was so petrified that she didn't say anything for an hour.

BROOKS: Absolutely. This will certainly have an effect on her siblings and her family severely. And you're absolutely right, it does have a ripple effect throughout the community and throughout the country.

The other thing is, usually in these cases there is someone out there who knows what happened. And if you are that person and if you're watching this program, I would strongly invite you to make a difference, set this right, contact the FBI or the National Association for Missing and Exploited Children.

O'REILLY: But, you know, the family has gone on and the relatives and friends have gone on almost every program now and everybody in the United States knows who watches any kind of television news knows what the situation is.

But once they abduct a child like this, I mean, it's very hard, particularly if they're, you know, sexual perverts who just want to damage the poor little girl. Anyway, part of the problem of doing stories like this is that it just sends a chill into the whole society all across America, people are now even more vigilant, almost paranoid about their kids. Good or bad thing?

BROOKS: Yes. Well, it's hard not to be. You can't really stop yourself from being very concerned, and I think the best thing to do is to try to educate your children in a reasonable way, not to frighten them too much, but make them aware of the dangers that exist in the world, and have a good line of communication with them, have an open relationship in which they can tell you things they observe and things that are going on.

O'REILLY: What about the home protection, is there anything that all parents should do? I mean, it's summertime, lot of people leave their windows open, they don't have air conditioning, and not everybody has that. You know, what can they do?

BROOKS: That's a tough one. You know, I think the best thing to do is just to take the average precautions with regard to home safety. And again, make people in your home alert about what's going on. And maybe set up some kind of an agreement in the family with regard to what will occur if there is some kind of crisis situation.

O'REILLY: Yes, that's in, that's a good advice. Because if the little girl had known, and as soon as the abductor got out of the room, she ran into her parents, that would have helped this case dramatically.

BROOKS: Right.

O'REILLY: So that's very important that each parent should have a discussion with their children about not only that but fire and any kind of a thing in the house.

Doctor, thanks very much.

BROOKS: Right.

O'REILLY: And, of course our prayers are with the Smart family. We'll keep you posted on that investigation.

Van Dam Friends Take Stand; Westerfield 'Creepy'

Second Week Of David Westerfield Trial Resumes

Posted: 7:55 a.m. PDT June 10, 2002
Updated: 6:44 a.m. PDT June 11, 2002

SAN DIEGO -- Friends of Brenda and Damon van Dam who were at their home in the hours before their daughter Danielle was reported missing, took the stand Monday in the David Westerfield trial.

Denise Kemal (pictured, right) started the day in court and testified that Westerfield bought drinks for her, Brenda, and another friend, Barbara Easton on Feb. 1 at Dad's Cafe, but then stood off to the side and did not speak to them.

"He was very quiet and weird. He was creepy. He didn't say anything at all," Kemal said.

Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. The divorced engineer has pleaded not guilty. He could face the death penalty if he's convicted.

His attorney, Steven Feldman, objected to Kemal's characterization of his client and a judge ordered the remarks stricken from the record.

Feldman has sought to portray the van Dams' lifestyle as "risque" and has suggested that other potential suspects were in the home the night of Danielle's disappearance.

Under cross-examination, Kemal, a divorced flight attendant, admitted that she, the van Dams, and Easton smoked marijuana in the van Dam's garage hours before Danielle vanished from her bedroom.

Kemal also said that in October 2000 she had sex with Damon, while Brenda had sex with Kemal's husband.

But she admitted that, initially, she did not disclose that fact to police when questioned about Danielle's disappearance.

"Our encounter was nearly three years ago," Kemal said. "I didn't think that had anything to do with it."

Kemal also testified that she was called by Damon van Dam the next day and told Danielle was missing. On her way to the house, she ran into Westerfield, who lived two doors down and across the street, as she pulled up to the van Dam home.

"He said, 'I can't believe what happened,"' Kemal testified. "I said, 'I know."'

"He said, 'Well, I left at 9 o'clock."' Richard Brady

Next to take the stand was Rich Brady (pictured, right). He allegedly provided marijuana to the van Dams.

Brady conceded that he gave Brenda an envelope containing a small amount of marijuana. The drug was smoked by the Brenda, Kemal and Easton, on two occasions the night of Feb. 1.

Keith Stone -- one of five people at Dad's Cafe in Poway that night -- was also called as a prosecution witness Monday.

Stone denied ever asking Brenda to "make something happen" with Easton.

Last week, Brenda said "yes" when asked by Feldman if Stone had indicated he was "hyped up and excited" and really wanted to be with Easton.

"I had an interest," Stone confirmed. "There was some bantering going back and forth between us."

He added that, when the women went outside the restaurant to smoke marijuana and listen to music, he kissed Easton once or twice.

He denied having taken Viagra, saying the subject came up during "barroom banter."

"You don't recall telling Brenda you were sexually excited because you took the little pill," co-defense counsel Robert Boyce asked.

"I did not tell Brenda I took a little pill," Stone replied.

"Did you tell Brenda she had to make it happen with you and Barbara that night?"

"I don't recall."

"You don't recall that Brenda invited you back to her house and you, maybe, could hook up with Barbara?"

"That did not occur," Stone insisted. "That conversation did not take place."

Both the prosecution and defense have concentrated on the outing to Dad's Cafe in an attempt to either build or destroy the credibility of Brenda and those who were with her.

Westerfield's friend Garry Harvey, and Harvey's friend, Yvette Wetli, also testified about the Feb. 1 "girls' night out." The day ended with testimony from Wetli, who said Easton acted in a sexually "aggressive" manner toward her.

The prosecution said it expects to wrap up its case by the end of the month. Testimony is scheduled to resume Tuesday morning at 9 a.m.

Kemal also said that in October 2000 she had sex with Damon, while Brenda had sex with Kemal's husband.

But she admitted that, initially, she did not disclose that fact to police when questioned about Danielle's disappearance.

"Our encounter was nearly three years ago," Kemal said. "I didn't think that had anything to do with it."

Couple of questions....

Denise states that she and the VD's were last intimate in October of 2000!! So for nearly three years, they have remained celibate amongst each other?

Yeah, right Timone!!!!

As stated before....the more the VD's friends speak, the more contradictions they utter!!!

Defendant's ex-brother-in-law on his side

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 12, 2002

Of all the spectators who have crammed into a San Diego courtroom to watch the David Westerfield trial, apparently only one person is there on Westerfield's behalf. alt

Johnny Neal is the brother of Westerfield's second wife, and he has known Westerfield for more than 20 years. He says Westerfield is a normal guy who likes to drink beer, talk politics and watch the Chargers on television.

To say that Neal has become obsessed with the Westerfield case is an understatement. He has posted more than 1,000 messages on various Internet forums. He says he has taken a leave from his job as a software engineer so he can follow the case full time.

At his Oak Park home, where he lives with his wife and two teen-age daughters, Neal sat at his computer last week and scanned the Internet message boards where he has spent hundreds of hours sharing information about the case with people around the country.

He said Westerfield would be "on the top of my list" of "people who would not do something like that."

Westerfield is the kind of guy who, as a younger man, used to have Playboy magazines lying around in his bathroom, Neal said.

"He likes older women, you know?" Neal said. "He likes adult women. He showed interest in adult women always, just like the rest of us, just like all the guys."

Neal is the first relative – current or former – of the 50-year-old design engineer to grant an interview to the media and provide background on the man accused of kidnapping and killing Danielle van Dam. He is convinced Westerfield had nothing to do with the slaying of the 7-year-old Sabre Springs girl.

Neal, 48, who sports a shaggy beard and usually wears a Padres cap, has sat quietly in the courtroom next to several friends and family members of Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam.

At first he received a guaranteed seat, just like the van Dam kin. Then one of the bailiffs found out he was a former rather than current relative of Westerfield. Now he waits in line with the rest of the public.

Neal says he plans to attend every day. He was there all day yesterday.

"I'm the only one there, as far as I know, on Dave's side," he said.

Neal's sister was married to Westerfield for 17 years before they divorced in 1996. The couple have an 18-year-old son and 21-year-old daughter.

Neal said he met Westerfield in 1977 when Westerfield began dating his sister. Westerfield was working as an engineer for an electronics manufacturing company, he said.

Neal has had sporadic contact with Westerfield since Westerfield and Neal's sister divorced. But before that, Neal said, he and his family took countless vacations and trips with the Westerfield family. Not once did Westerfield act inappropriately toward any of the children, he said.

Westerfield also frequently had the family over for barbecues and other gatherings, Neal said. If Westerfield has ever had an "adult" party – one with some sort of sexual theme – Neal is unaware of it.

He described Westerfield as a staunch Republican who did well for himself designing products for which he holds patents and who spent a lot of money on his "toys" – a pool table, a boat, dune buggies. He once owned a 1982 Porsche.

One distinct trait of Westerfield's, Neal said, is that he is obsessively organized and neat – the sort of person who would complain if someone didn't wring all the water out of a sponge after washing dishes.

Neal talked about how Westerfield's family was in "total disbelief" when he was arrested.

Reached by telephone, Westerfield's son was asked whether he agreed with his uncle's statement that the Westerfield children believe their father is innocent.

"I agree with him totally about that. . . . We're all very supportive of him and we all believe he's innocent," the son said. "That's all I can tell you."

The son declined further comment.

Uncoiled hose aroused suspicion, police testify

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

June 12, 2002

Outside David Westerfield's impeccably landscaped house, police searching for Danielle van Dam noticed a garden hose stretched across the grass, and it made them suspicious, according to testimony yesterday. alt

"That told me that whoever left that hose out was in a hurry," San Diego police Detective Maura Mekenas-Parga testified during the fifth day of Westerfield's trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the 7-year-old girl.

The detective said she and her partner noticed the hose Feb. 3, but no one appeared to be home. A day earlier, Danielle had been reported missing from her Sabre Springs home two doors away.

Parga and her partner, Detective Johnny Keene, also testified about their first encounter with Westerfield in his driveway the morning of Feb. 4. He told the detectives he had just returned from a meandering weekend journey of several hundred miles in his motor home.

Sweating profusely despite the cool weather, the self-employed design engineer gave a detailed account of his whereabouts and let the detectives search his house and motor home, according to the testimony.

Parga said she smelled bleach in Westerfield's garage near his sport-utility vehicle, a black Toyota 4Runner, which looked "like it had just been through a carwash."

Piled on his washer and dryer was a load of laundry, including a comforter with dirt on it, she testified. Westerfield said it was laundry from his weekend trip to the desert, she said. Parga also testified that in the master bedroom, a comforter was missing from his bed.

Keene said Westerfield gave him a detailed account of his travels from the previous Friday night to the time of the interview. Westerfield never mentioned dropping off a load of laundry at a Poway dry cleaner, Keene testified.

Prosecutors have evidence that Westerfield went to a dry cleaner and dropped off several items, including a jacket with the girl's blood on it, according to testimony at a March hearing.

Westerfield also told Keene about his encounter with Danielle's mother at Dad's Cafe & Steakhouse the previous Friday night. Keene testified that without prompting, Westerfield said: "I could have sworn she had a baby sitter. I didn't know her husband was home with the kids."

Prosecutors believe Westerfield, 50, sneaked into the van Dams' house after leaving the bar that Friday night, kidnapped and killed the girl, then dumped her nude body off a rural road east of El Cajon.

The van Dams testified last week that Danielle's father had originally planned to be out of town on a snowboarding trip with his older son. Brenda van Dam said she told that to Westerfield when she and her daughter went to his house selling Girl Scout cookies the Tuesday before Danielle disappeared.

Damon van Dam's plans changed, and he was home the night his daughter vanished, according to the testimony.

Keene said Westerfield told him he left Dad's bar at 11 or 11:30 p.m. Feb. 1 and went straight home to bed. He told the detective he knew Brenda van Dam "in passing" and saw her in the bar that night.

Keene said Westerfield gave the following account of his subsequent weekend:

He woke up the next morning at 6:30 a.m. and decided to drive to the Imperial County desert. He drove his sport-utility vehicle to his motor home, which was parked eight miles away in Poway, then returned in the motor home, stocked it with supplies and left about 9:50 a.m.

When he realized he had forgotten his wallet, he drove to Silver Strand State Beach near Coronado instead. After paying for three days, he decided the weather was too cold and decided again to go to the desert.

He returned to his house that afternoon to look for his wallet, which wasn't in the house. By this time Danielle had been reported missing, and after a neighbor told him what happened, he checked his back yard to see if the girl had fallen in his pool.

Finding nothing, he got back in his motor home and drove eight miles to his SUV, where he found his wallet, and headed to the Imperial County desert 160 miles away.

He arrived in Glamis by 10 or 10:30 p.m., got stuck in the sand, slept the night in his motor home, was dug out the next morning by a stranger and drove scores of miles to several other spots, at one point getting stuck again in Borrego and digging himself out.

By that time it was 6 p.m., and he decided to head to Coronado. He doubled back, arriving at the beach by 7:10 p.m. and found the gates closed. He parked in a nearby lot, slept until 4 or 4:30 a.m., drove off, then slept for an hour in his motor home in Poway before retrieving his SUV and heading home.

He said he got back to his house at 8:30 that morning – about 50 minutes before Keene arrived for the interview.

Keene said Westerfield allowed police to search his entire house and his motor home that morning. The detective described Westerfield as "overly cooperative," pointing out places that the officers had neglected to look.

Westerfield's house was "immaculate," Keene testified. In the master bedroom, the only thing amiss was the lack of a comforter on the bed, Keene said.

"Mr. Westerfield apologized profusely for the room being such a mess," Keene said.

Westerfield attorney Steven Feldman raised the possibility that the two detectives or other officers might have inadvertently carried fibers from the van Dam residence to Westerfield's house and motor home.

He asked Parga whether she wore the same shoes the day she searched Westerfield's property as she did the day she visited the van Dams' house. Parga said she didn't think so but wasn't sure.

Prosecutors say blood, hair and fiber evidence link Westerfield to the girl's disappearance.

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Stolen From Their Homes: How Often Are Kids Kidnapped?

Van Dam Friends Take Stand; Westerfield 'Creepy'

Second Week Of David Westerfield Trial Resumes

Couple of questions....

Denise states that she and the VD's were last intimate in October of 2000!! So for nearly three years, they have remained celibate amongst each other?

Yeah, right Timone!!!!

As stated before....the more the VD's friends speak, the more contradictions they utter!!!

Defendant's ex-brother-in-law on his side

Uncoiled hose aroused suspicion, police testify

Could you imagine Bill Clinton with this crowd!!

WOW, these are my kind of people...It Depends What you mean by the word, ORGY you honor!

SEX PARTY? I don't call a group of four a SEX PARTY...any reasonable swinger knows that a PARTY is six players or more!!! Geezzzz

PAGING BILL LIBBY

PAGING BARB EASTON

Would you please come to the Bailiff's Station, thank you!

Seems that we are missing just ole BARB...and by Sabre Swings Definition....

WE HAVE A PARTY!!!!

(Either that, or welcome to Sabre Swings version of Hollywood Squares)