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Testimony costs flight attendant her job
SignOnSanDiego ^ | July 12, 2002 | Kristen Green

Posted on 07/12/2002 7:06:01 AM PDT by MizSterious

Testimony costs flight attendant her job

Airline fires witness for admitting pot use

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."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: 180frank; danielle; denisekemal; kidnap; michaeldobbs; vandam; westerfield
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To: Southflanknorthpawsis
Most people--yes, but this site has gotten so liberal, that no one thinks there should be consequences. It's the "victim culture" and it's kinda sick--but more common than it used to be.
41 posted on 07/12/2002 8:03:16 AM PDT by MizSterious
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To: MizSterious
Thanks. I've only been able to find one warrant on the home phone numbers and it doesn't specify who's number it is.

I'm wondering why if they believed this to be a kidnapping, they waited until the 12th for the 'trap & trace'. Also, the 'pen register' (calls from that number) start on the 17th.

Like I said, I'm confused!

42 posted on 07/12/2002 8:04:04 AM PDT by Krodg
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To: pyx
Good questions, and one can wonder about dot connections--such as the rumors that Damon and Brenda are splitsville--maybe Damon's taking up with Du Knees and planning on moving to FL once all this is over?
43 posted on 07/12/2002 8:05:40 AM PDT by MizSterious
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To: MizSterious
And the War on Drugs keeps marching on, taking yet another casualty..
44 posted on 07/12/2002 8:07:17 AM PDT by FormerLurker
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To: MizSterious
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.

Sooooo, she's just mad because got caught BREAKING the company rules and the law. It's Westerfield's fault she smoked maui-waui because?

45 posted on 07/12/2002 8:08:07 AM PDT by Jaded
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To: Krodg
Police seemed a day late and a dollar short on a number of things. They didn't collect Danielle's closet doors until almost three weeks after she disappeared, they didn't fully process the house as a crime scene EVER, although they did come back an about 2 weeks to do more searching (after the evidence could have been removed, tampered with or ruined). Stinky case.

46 posted on 07/12/2002 8:08:10 AM PDT by MizSterious
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To: MizSterious; All
My post from the other thread.......

Today's edition of the North County Times is not yet on their website, but I am a subscriber.

I will type/post two paragraphs from today's article titled "Affidavits Detail Remarks from Westerfield". I found it interesting.

Westerfield also attracted suspicion because in conversations with detectives he mentioned that Damon van Dam and Danielle were going to an upcoming father-daughter dance.

"Only Danielle van Dam could have told him about the dance and only after she had been abducted," police write in one of the affidavits.

This is a good example of their wish to pin everything on him. What a foolish deduction !!!

We have now heard that perhaps Brenda van Dam told DW about it. So how could police have decided that the ONLY way he knew it was from the child herself.

This is another example of customizing interpretations to fit the suspect they want it to fit. It's very disturbing, IMO.

47 posted on 07/12/2002 8:08:36 AM PDT by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: MizSterious
Well, I'm sure you'll find someone here who will insist he did. Not only that, but he held them at gunpoint and forced them to swing!

I once had a client that came into a session drunk as a skunk..she said she had not been drinking someone stopped her on the street and poured it down her throat against her will...

Addicts (sex, gambling and drug) all think alike..they are all victims..

Remember her indignation when it was suggested that she and BVD had lesbian sex? .OH no it was more of a swap. As if she was discussing having DVD mow her lawn

BTW is any reason given for the split?

48 posted on 07/12/2002 8:09:01 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: MizSterious
Yeah she likes to serve... never mind.
49 posted on 07/12/2002 8:09:27 AM PDT by Jaded
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To: Southflanknorthpawsis
Most people I know would not be worrying about themselves while trying to help police find their missing little girl.

From what I know of you south you do NOT have any "friends" like this..

50 posted on 07/12/2002 8:11:06 AM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: MizSterious
I think that Southwest should re-hire Denise.She did the RIGHT thing(her testimony)!!!
51 posted on 07/12/2002 8:12:29 AM PDT by bandleader
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To: crypt2k
Please note, this theory is tamer than those theories noted about..ie:barbara suffocating danielle..

He may not have known how easy it would be for him. He probably believed that there was a babysitter that night, per his conversatin with brenda. I'm sure he didn't expect the babysitter to know the alarm codes...that might have been sheer luck on his part. (btw It is possible that bvd's conversations in their entirety with DW isn't known because mudd could have limited the release of htat info)

WRT: the computer....maybe he thought he wouldn't get caught...wouldn't surprise me. There is speculation that his son neal collected the illegal child porn and stored it in his dad's home office...automatically assuming that neal's the killer and not DW.

52 posted on 07/12/2002 8:12:53 AM PDT by Freedom2specul8
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To: crypt2k
"She doesn't get it - if she had been at home where she belonged that night she would still have a job."

LOL...yep women belong at home. What did she think she was doing, leaving the house like that?

53 posted on 07/12/2002 8:13:01 AM PDT by monday
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To: RnMomof7
From what I know of you south you do NOT have any "friends" like this..

You're sure right about that......... : *)

54 posted on 07/12/2002 8:13:35 AM PDT by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: RnMomof7
Hey -- I was just thinking about rats. Actually about barking dogs, or rather a city I was in for a while where there were hardly any barking dogs. Eventually I figured out why. It was all the rats. The dogs would go out in the twilight and feast on rats. Well fed dogs don't bark.

Somehow that seems related to San Diego ...

55 posted on 07/12/2002 8:14:46 AM PDT by bvw
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To: MizSterious
A child was missing by force, that's evidence...and he's a member (or was) of mensa. I'm sure he figured out how to put on gloves and get rid of shoes.

Maybe HAZMAT DAVE was carrying a plastic sheet to wrap Danielle in or he owns a big @$$ed PLASTI-WRAP machine ?

56 posted on 07/12/2002 8:16:21 AM PDT by pyx
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
I think it's really neat the way some people ignore evidence that is not convienent. Really. WHAT ABOUT THE UNIDENTIFIED FINGERPRINTS AND DNA?
57 posted on 07/12/2002 8:16:56 AM PDT by Jaded
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
The same logic was used by Glennie Nasland for not telling LE that David was drunk. Sorry, I forgot Glennie is obstructing justice, while DvD and DK are filtering out the unnecessary.
58 posted on 07/12/2002 8:18:37 AM PDT by Jaded
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To: bvw
San Diego....????Makes me wonder how many of the jurors
1. Approve of swinging
2. Approve of a little "POT"
3. Are MH enthusiast
4. Are family people

DO we have any kind of profile of the jury?
59 posted on 07/12/2002 8:18:40 AM PDT by hoosiermama
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To: pyx
Well, like my dad used to say, that's one of the benefits of free speech: when even the fools are permitted to speak out, it brands them for what they are so that we may avoid their company.

What bothers me, though, is that some of these might one day sit on a jury.
60 posted on 07/12/2002 8:21:20 AM PDT by MizSterious
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