BREAKING: BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH WESTERFIELD: (Modern Day Westside Story?)7-9-02 Trial Watch

KFMB ^ | July 9, 2002 | KFMB

[FresnoDA]

WITNESSES SAY BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH DAVID WESTERFIELD

(07-08-2002) - Three defense witnesses testified Monday that Brenda van Dam and David Westerfield, the man accused of murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, danced together the night before the girl was discovered missing.

"Mr. Westerfield and Mrs. van Dam were dancing," said Patricia LePage, describing the scene at Dad's Cafe and Steakhouse the night of Feb. 1.

Since the prosecution introduced hair and fibers found at the defendant's house and motorhome, the defense has tried to show the evidence could have been transferred in some other way, such as dancing.

The 50-year-old defendant would face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and killing Danielle van Dam, who lived two houses away in Sabre Springs. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography.

In testimony near the beginning of the trial, Brenda van Dam told the court she did not dance with Westerfield.

But LePage said van Dam rubbed her hips and chest against Westerfield during several dances together, recalling the movie "Dirty Dancing." That was just part of what LePage described as "frisky" behavior exhibited by van Dam that night.

LePage said she was in a smoking lounge at Dad's with her daughter, Cherokee Youngs, when van Dam came in and struck up a conversation with the younger woman.

"Well, she did ask my daughter if she liked girls," LePage said when asked to describe the conversation. Van Dam, she said, asked Youngs if she wanted to come to her house for a party later that night.

Youngs testified about the encounter last week.

Duane Blake, a fisherman who said he goes to Dad's a couple times a week, said he caught a glimpse of the defendant dancing with van Dam.

Blake confirmed an interview with the District Attorney's Office, in which he described their dancing as, "huggy, huggy." He testified he even thought Westerfield might be trying to pick up on van Dam.

Earlier Monday, another woman testified she saw Westerfield dance with Danielle's mother.

Glennie Nasland, who began her testimony last week, said she was on the dance floor and saw the pair turn toward each other while dancing with other people.

Nasland, who described herself as a friend of Westerfield, said she watched them for 20 seconds before they turned away again.

In other testimony Monday, Dave Laspisa said that going to the desert to look for friends, and without bringing an all-terrain vehicle, was not an unusual activity for Westerfield.

The witness, a self-employed Poway man, said he's known the defendant for 15 years and has camped with him near the Imperial County community of Glamis for 10 years.

The witness was one of several people who testified as the defense began to move away from what happened at a Poway night spot the night before Danielle was discovered missing Feb. 2 to Westerfield's weekend wanderings.

Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman asked Laspisa to explain why someone would avoid Interstate 8 while taking a motorhome to the desert. Laspisa said high winds and black ice were common on that route, which traverses altitudes over 4,000 feet.

Heather Mack, a security guard at Coronado Cays, testified that she saw Westerfield drive his motorhome into the exclusive neighborhood in the afternoon or evening hours of Feb. 3.

Mack said Westerfield smiled and waved at her as he drove past her security kiosk, but she never saw him again.

The witness told Dusek that she originally told a police officer that she "vaguely remembered" seeing the defendant's recreational vehicle.

Glen Seebruch, an engineering manager at Nokia, testified earlier that Westerfield called him the morning of Feb. 1 and told him he planned to go to the desert that weekend.

Feldman, told Judge William Mudd that his case may be completed by the end of the week.

Insect expert David Faulkner is expected to testify about how long the victim's body may have been in the East County before volunteer searchers found it on Feb. 27.

Feldman has said Westerfield would have had no opportunity to dispose of the body because he was under constant police surveillance from Feb. 4 until his arrest Feb. 22.

[Rheo]

Sell all items...go nekkid.

[GoRepGo]

Feldman crxm: bringing up possibility of cross-contamination....'dirty-dancin' and huggy-huggy BVD...getting objected to

[UCANSEE2]

I don't know how right he is though.

If I were you, I wouldn't turn my back while a CTV commentator was in the room.

[Rheo]

just butting in here....BVD's clothes were not compared..even her orange sweater..

[Freedom2specul8]

I guess the procedure will be to hold off on closing arguments until all tests are done, right?

[GoRepGo]

Dusek is having fun objecting to everything Feldman brings up...

[Spunky]

compared w/necklace, SUV and MB pillowcase

I have a hard time with initials. What does MB stand for? Do you mean MH, Motor Home?

[Rheo]

Master Bedroom

[Mrs.Liberty]

I don't know Kim. Feldman has indicated he may rest at the end of this week. If so, closing args should begin Monday. Dusek can make his a really loooooooooooooooooooong closing arg, or bring in a truckload of rebuttal witnesses if warranted, in roder to get more testing done.

[John Jamieson]

Feldman's team couldn't afford to do all the analysis that should have been done by the myopic LE labs.

[Rheo]

Except court is out all next week..wouldn't be until the 22nd....that is a whole week of jurors being subjected to media

[UCANSEE2]

Did BVD have the blue van at Dad's?

NOPE, not that night, anyway.

[cyncooper]

I believe the fibers aren't from the towels, but on.

[jacquej]

Aging DH would die laughing at the sight of aging DW, running around the house, rolls balumphing, as she dries herself au naturel...

then aging wife would be accused of "humor murder" of dearly beloved DH, who remembers her when there were no rolls to balumph...

and DH is kind enough to remind her of that daily, when she gets down about how mean aging can be to the formerly reasonably beautiful...

of course DW reminds DH in turn, that she still sees him as the handsome full-haired young man she fell in love with, and loves even more this day, becauses his soul is more handsome than his young body ever was, and he was a real "hottie"... (do we call men that?)

[Mrs.Liberty]

A stroke of luck for the prosecution, then. An extra week to frantically get more testing done and subject the jurors to more media misinformation.

[Krodg]

Was Keene one of the first to search the motor home? At one point he testified that there was not a blue towel on the motor home floor and yet later pics show there was a towel. Did someone maybe take one of Dw's towels, sipe it around the MH and then throw it on the floor?

[GoRepGo]

opening evidence envelope....slides..multiple fibers....muffled voice, hard to make out what she is saying

[BunnySlippers]

She processed a pair of brown boots in the MB closet..only pair of boots found in house (there was boots in SUV)...did not find black cowboy boots...oh boy

Does anyone else wonder if Feldman will be able to produce the missing black boots? Could be an OJ glove moment! ;-)

[cyncooper]

MB=Master Bedroom

[spectre]

Feldman may be saving the best for last, that is, Faulkners testimony aka, The Bug Man.

And then, there's "Barb"?

If Faulkner can convince the jury (and us) that DW couldn't have possibly ditched the body, then how can they convict?

We wait.

sw