(07-01-2002) - Prosecutors in the trial of accused child killer David Westerfield should know by the end of Monday whether they will be able to call one final witness before the defense begins presenting its case.
One of the witnesses seen entering the courtroom Monday for a closed-door hearing outside the jury's presence was Oliver Ryder.
He is an adjunct professor of biology at UCSD and works for the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species at the San Diego Zoo.
Ryder, who has published articles on mitochondrial DNA diversity in gorillas, also is the associate editor of the Journal of Heredity.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd has told defense attorney Steven Feldman to be ready to call his first witness Tuesday. Feldman has indicated he should be able to conclude his case by July 15.
Feldman told the judge he plans to call insect expert David Faulkner to the stand to try to pinpoint the time of Danielle's death.
In his opening statement, Feldman said the child's nude body could have been placed off a road in Dehesa as late as Feb. 16, a dozen days after his client came under 24-hour surveillance by law enforcement.
Prosecutors theorize that 50-year-old Westerfield, a twice-divorced father, killed the Sabre Springs second-grader and dumped her body at the East County site shortly after she disappeared Feb. 2. Volunteer searchers found the girl's decomposing body on Feb. 27.
Westerfield was arrested Feb. 22.
Westerfield is charged with kidnapping, murder and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in the disappearance and killing of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. The self-employed design engineer could get the death penalty if convicted of the felony charges.
Posted: 9:31 a.m. PDT July 1, 2002
Updated: 11:58 a.m. PDT July 1, 2002
SAN DIEGO -- The judge presiding over the David Westerfield trial will conduct a closed-door hearing Monday to determine whether prosecutors will be allowed to call one more witness before concluding their case.
Westerfield, 50, is charged with kidnapping, murder and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in the disappearance and killing of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. The self-employed design engineer could get the death penalty if convicted of the felony charges.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd told defense attorney Steven Feldman to be ready to call his first witness Tuesday. The attorney said he could be done with his case by July 15. Feldman told the judge that he would call a forensic entomologist to the stand if prosecutors don't.
The specialist -- who studies the interaction between insects and cadavers -- could be called on to pinpoint the time of Danielle's death.
In his opening statement, Feldman said the child's nude body could have been placed off a road in Dehesa as late as Feb. 16, a dozen days after his client came under 24-hour surveillance by law enforcement.
Prosecutors theorize that Westerfield killed the 7-year-old and dumped her body at the East County site shortly after she disappeared Feb. 2. Volunteer searchers found the girl's decomposing body on Feb. 27.
Westerfield was arrested Feb. 22.
A volunteer handler testified last week that two search dogs alerted several times while sniffing in Westerfield's motor home four days after the victim was reported missing.
Jim Frazee, who helps the San Diego Sheriff's Department, said that his dogs searched the 1997 Southwind motor home Feb. 6 at a vehicle storage facility on Aero Drive.
The first dog, Hopi, was sent in to search specifically for Danielle's scent, Frazee said. Hopi went into the galley area, the witness said, "and turned around immediately and came back."
Frazee explained earlier that Hopi was trained to return to his handler as soon as he found a scent. Hopi was sent back inside several minutes later.
"He jumped up on the sofa on the driver's side," Frazee testified, and remained there about five seconds.
His other dog, Cielo, showed considerable interest in an exterior storage compartment behind the passenger-side door, Frazee said.
Cielo, trained to find human remains and bodily fluids, sniffed a shovel and lawn furniture in the compartment for about 15 seconds, according to Frazee.
Frazee said that when he tried to take Cielo to another compartment, the dog sat down and barked, which is his alert signal.
Under cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Boyce, Frazee conceded that he did not report the dogs' reactions because his supervisor was watching them.
Mitchell Holland, the laboratory director of the Bode Technology Group, said a blood stain from the motor home carpet and a hair found in the bathroom sink were compared to a known sample from the 7-year-old victim.
Regarding the hair, Holland said the chances are "one in 25 quadrillion" of selecting a person at random from the Caucasian population who would have the same DNA.
When asked about the blood stain, Holland told prosecutor George Clarke that the chances were "one in 660 quadrillion" of selecting a person at random from the Caucasian population who would have the same DNA.
"Is this an example where samples match?" Clarke asked.
"Yes, it is," Holland answered.
The expert testified that he performed mitochondrial DNA testing -- different from "nuclear" DNA testing -- on hairs found on clothing in Westerfield's washing machine, dryer and sheets from his master bedroom in Sabre Springs.
Holland said that he could not exclude Danielle van Dam as the donor of the hairs in question.