Posted on 07/12/2002 7:06:01 AM PDT by MizSterious
By Kristen Green
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
July 12, 2002
Denise Kemal was fired June 28, more than two weeks after her nationally televised testimony, because the company has a zero-tolerance drug policy.
Losing her job has ruined her life, Kemal said yesterday. "I've always wanted to fly," she said. "It took me years to get my job."
She said she is appealing the dismissal because smoking marijuana "wasn't an everyday thing." While she waits for an answer, Kemal, 28 and recently divorced, watches the Westerfield trial from the couch of her new Florida apartment.
Kemal was called to the witness stand by the prosecution June 10. She was at the van Dam home Feb. 1, the night 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was last seen, and spent the evening with Brenda van Dam, the girl's mother.
The two had become friendly through their husbands, who both work at Qualcomm. A spokeswoman for Southwest confirmed that Kemal had been fired, but declined to elaborate. She said company policy states that the "illegal use of drugs, narcotics or controlled substances off duty and off company premises is not acceptable and may result in termination because it can affect on-the-job performance and the confidence of our customers in the company's ability to meet its responsibilities."
Kemal said she was just answering questions posed to her during Westerfield's trial because "I want to make sure he gets convicted."
"Because of him, it's just ruined everyone's lives," she said.
Kemal testified that she went out with her Tierrasanta neighbor Barbara Easton and Brenda van Dam to Dad's Cafe & Steakhouse in Poway two Fridays in a row, Jan. 25 and Feb. 1. They were celebrating Kemal's upcoming move to Baltimore, where she had been transferred for work.
The second night out, Feb. 1, she was introduced to Westerfield, whom she has described as "creepy." Westerfield is charged with kidnapping and murdering Danielle. If convicted, he could be sentenced to death.
Kemal said the three women first celebrated her move Jan. 25. Kemal and Easton, who lived in the same apartment complex, shared a bottle of wine before driving to the van Dams, Kemal testified. She said she smoked some marijuana in the van Dams' garage before they left for the bar.
The next week, the three women decided to spend that Friday night partying at Dad's again after Damon van Dam canceled plans to go out of town and agreed to stay home with the couple's three children.
On Feb. 1, they smoked pot in the garage a second time, Kemal testified, and she and Easton shared a beer. Later in the evening, they partied at Dad's, where they ran into Westerfield. At one point in the night, they went to van Dam's sport utility vehicle to smoke marijuana again.
Kemal said her supervisors learned that she had smoked pot because customers mailed newspaper articles about her testimony.
She had never had problems at Southwest before the trial, she said. In fact, she regularly received letters of commendation from airline passengers since she was hired in November 1998.
Once, a Texas couple she had met on a flight sent a box of candy to her home. Kemal, in turn, shipped them a set of candles for their living room.
Kemal said that even after Sept. 11, she didn't have any reservations about flying.
"I did it because it's my job, and I love my job," she said. "I get to travel and meet different people. I like to serve the public."
You are correct..denial and projection are two of the major defense mechanisms in addiction (sex, drugs, gambling)..She is text book!
Ok then do you think that elimates a "stranger" abduction?
I have real big problems with the very first moments of this and of course, it just expands from there. But.......
How normal or believable are the first moments of the van Dams in this case ? There are a number of convenient circumstances that just magically (cough, cough) fell into place for them.
1. In spite of various indications of open doors, etc., no one ever looks in on the child ?????
2. All items in the house must have shown no sign of being disturbed ?????
3. Danielle's absence is undetected until 9:00 am ?????
4. Call to 911 is almost immediate ?????
5. Although it is well into daylight and others are awake in the house, BvD and DvD never think that maybe Danielle walked outside on her own and went to a neighbor's ????? They tell the 911 operator that they haven't checked with neighbor's before calling ?????
6. The supposed kidnapper/murderer keeps the victim in his house until daylight, never knowing at what time she may be discovered gone ?????
NONE of this passes the smell test.
I can't think of anyone who would find his/her child's bed empty at 9 in the morning and not at least look outside and in the vicinity of the home. Who would call 911 and report her "missing" immediately when other possiblities were much more likely ?
I think the van Dams should have been deemed suspicious and remained so from day one. Their behavior was much more peculiar and unusual than a stupid hose stretched across a lawn.
Then when it was learned that they regularly "entertained" unsavory people in their home, the delving should have been intense.
I believe it never was more than a superficial scan and Diane Halfman quickly sent LE on their way.
If one stops to really contemplate the activities in those first hours and then consider the strain to make DW be the guilty one, it is really disturbing.
The idea of a frame-up and/or manufactured evidence starts to become more and more feasible.
Y'know, I hadn't put two and two together like that, but considering there was no evidence--bruising, lacerations, etc. of the wrists--of her being bound, that does seem possible, doesn't it?
I guess it's also possible someone killed her in her room and then carried the body out to Dehesa--but if she's dead, and the perp isn't caught, why would he want to carry around the evidence of what he'd done?
This is a good point, and makes one of the pizza partiers or Damon much more likely, doesn't it?
Yep and add the fact that we now know (and LE knew early on) that Barb is an aggressive bisexual who paws on anyone she feels like and same Barb went directly upstairs at the VD house on Pizza night.
Maybe she never did really crawl into Damon's bed. We've only heard that story from known liars.
Maybe Damon wasn't even home.
And just why was the mood so grim late that evening ??????????
I'm thankful you are staying off Southwest...means one less filled seat for Non-rev...:~)
sw
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