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.

[GoRepGo]

Several acrylic red fibers, blue fibers, green fibers present on sheet...a multi-colored item could have comtributed to the fiber evidence a "constellation" of colors...constellation in MH "no", SUV, "no"...could have come from a common source....

[UCANSEE2]

Hmmmmn...and the blue/gray fibers are nylon - not likely to be a towel either - when I think of nylon I think of exercise clothes and windbreakers and gym bags and such - what else is nylon?

I don't know, maybe CARPET in a BLUE VAN?

[Rheo]

Glennie is the one who said black so maybe they weren't but he still could have been wearing them...Feldman needs to produce them, I guess.

[jacquej]

Hey, Fresno! How many Freepers does it take to stuff DAW into Danielle's closet?

[Jaded]

No prosecution. I won't go there.

[Spunky]

Thanks. I have never been good at figuring out initials.

[Mrs.Liberty]

Re prints...

Rheo...do they know whose prints they are, and are not being allowed to testify as such? Or are the prints just being identified as ...unidentified?

[GoRepGo]

fibers most likely to come from something knitted....a blanket, shirt...

[BunnySlippers]

Maybe his boots weren't black. Just dark boots? I missed after break this afternoon.

DW's good friend (the Danish lady) testified that he wore that uniform (jacket, shirt, jeans and black boots) when he ran into her frequently at the other place. Stone Lodge or something.

[Mrs.Liberty]

Hey, Fresno! How many Freepers does it take to stuff DAW into Danielle's closet?

LOL. Three. One to stuff, the other two to hang out in the garage, smoking dope and ..swinging.

[Rheo]

They have just never said one way or another...just that 5 prints were taken from the back of the SUV..no info to follow....Jaded might know more

[Rheo]

lol!

[Jaded]

Defense is not entitled to the evidence, just the reports. They have to pay for their own testing. Defense doesn't own the money pit, Prosecution does.

[spectre]

Ahhh, those rumors again? See, they just can't seem to nail his donation down...just like they can't analyze the old vacuum cleaner bag the Damon threw away before he put the new one in...it's all gone!

Maybe BVD gave a few of her clothes away to Goodwill too? Heck, when you do a total carpet replacement, and paint all the walls, you got to clean out those closets too :~)

OK...we wait.

sw

[NatureGirl]

Multi-coloured socks! Like the ones on sale at this link:

Powerpuff Girls

Just the thing to go with Powerpuff Girls pyjamas!

[Jaded]

He told Redden he found his outside garage door open Saturday afternoon when he came back.

[Rheo]

Feldman is asking about a multi colored acrylic blanket...maybe he will get to the dog bed soon!!

[GoRepGo]

1 1/2" orange fiber from necklace....fiber is not available to Feldman..wants her to produce fiber for them to see...
Ms. Shen is excused....

[mommya]

Carpet does seem like something that would shed tiny fibers very easily.

[Spunky]

Feldman was finally able to get the prosecution witness to state that a muticolored blanket would not shed just orange fibers.