NERER OUT OF SIGHT: Effect Of Samantha Murder On Westerfield Case And Jury? VD Weekend Thread!

Union Trib ^ | July 20, 2002 | Jane Clifford

[FresnoDA]

Never out of sight

Parents, experts on children agree this is the rule of the day

 

By Jane Clifford
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

July 20, 2002

Carolyn Burke answered the question even before it was asked: "I never let her out of my sight."

It's the mantra of parents this week, following the abduction and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, grabbed outside her Orange County town house Monday.

It's also the mantra of child-development experts who say that no child under the age of 6 should be playing unsupervised. They simply are incapable of making all the right decisions at the right time. And when they don't, they are too small, too trusting, altogether too vulnerable to a predator who sees no adult around to stop him.

Samantha's case made that point all too clearly. One minute she was there, playing with a friend 100 feet or so from her house. The next she was grabbed and taken kicking and screaming to a car by a stranger.

Yesterday, just 100 miles south of Samantha's home, Burke's eyes scanned a playground in Balboa Park as she talked, following the movement of her 8-year-old daughter, Brittney. The park was full of kids and adults on this last day before a welcome break for students at year-round schools. Lots of people to keep an eye on.

"She knows not to go with strangers," Burke said, turning her head in the direction of Brittney's bouncing braids, as she ran from one play structure to the next, "but I think she could be lured."

Burke pauses briefly.

"She's a typical 8-year-old. . . . At this age, they want to believe the world is good."

That's it exactly, says Barbara Chernofsky, a child-development professor at Grossmont College.

"We need to be physically there for kids," she said.

She wants parents to understand the disconnect in young children's minds, to see why teaching them to be wary of strangers won't keep them safe.

"Once somebody smiles at a child and says, 'Hi, sweetie, how are you?' that person isn't a stranger anymore," Chernofsky says. "We need to get rid of the idea of 'strangers.' The message that parents want to give, and almost any child can learn this message, is 'You don't go with anybody, at any time, without telling the adult who is in charge.'

"Parents think children are much more mature than they really are. They expect them to behave in a manner much more grown up than they are developmentally ready to do. Whether it's impulse control or remembering the rules, these things need to be reinforced regularly and the child needs to have thinking maturity."

To illustrate her point, Chernofsky tells the story of a 5-year-old child who sees cupcakes on the kitchen counter.

"The kid can look at those cupcakes and know not to touch them," she said. "But he can't control his impulse not to take them."

She says parents need to remember those same principles are at work in other situations, sometimes dangerous situations. She reminds parents of television programs that have demonstrated how easily children – even teen-agers – picked up handguns, almost immediately after discussions about not doing so.

Parents are always stunned to see their children do things like this, Chernofsky says. She's equally stunned that parents would expect anything different from children – and not be around to protect them from themselves.

"We put a burden on children to take care of themselves, when that's still really the job of adults," she said.

Chernofsky warns against overreacting to the latest string of abductions. Paranoia isn't good for kids either.

"If we statistically measure (child abductions), it's an incredibly small number. And as we continue to build those boundaries of protection around children, we take away their childhood."

Burke says it does feel a bit like there has been an epidemic of child snatchings.

"I can't let my child out of my sight for five minutes, but I try not to make it feel to her like I have her under a microscope all the time."

So Burke is always there, but in the background. Like now, at this park. She's not keeping her child locked in the house. But she's not letting her ride her bike to a friend's house either. Not yet. And she's telling her daughter, little by little, why.

"I don't want her growing up thinking everyone's bad," Burke says. "But she needs to know that not everyone is good."

Nearby, Steve Karem is playing on the grass with his two sons. He and his wife moved from Colorado a year or so ago and he's edgy. He mentions Danielle van Dam, Jahi Turner and others. He's worried for Christopher, 3, and Luke, 20 months. But he's not going to change his twice-a-day trips here from North Park.

"I just never take my eyes off them."

He's so paranoid – "every parent is" – that he quips the family's next move will be to Mars.

"I don't know," he says, his voice trailing off. "You want to do everything you can."

But he knows, as Chernofsky says, that there are never any guarantees.

"Much as we'd like to pretend we live in Pleasantville, we don't," she says. "These sick, evil people have changed the way we live our lives. . . . We have to change our mindset; we have to accept that these are the times we're living in today."

Burke thinks, this week especially, many more parents accept it.

"Next week it's going to be different," she says, ruefully. "But parents need to keep their children's safety in the front of their minds all the time."

 

 

[FresnoDA]

North County parents relieved at arrest

JO MORELAND and DAVID STERRETT
Staff Writers

The news Friday that a Lake Elsinore man had been arrested in connection with the slaying of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion brought some relief to concerned North County parents.

But people who were interviewed at random about the case said they will continue to keep their children within sight and teach them how to protect themselves from harm.

Samantha was abducted by a man Monday while she was playing with a friend in front of her Stanton condominium complex in Orange County, authorities said. Her body was found Tuesday afternoon off Ortega Highway in Riverside County.

"It is heart-wrenching to hear about that, and it is hard to believe someone would do that to a child," said Diana Kressin of Fallbrook, who has two children, ages 4 and 7.

Kressin, visiting Live Oak Park in Fallbrook, said she had a long talk with her children, telling them what happened "and how bad people can be."

"We decided if anything happens that they should scream and grab whoever was with them so they were not by themselves," Kressin said. "We keep our gates closed, doors locked, windows shut ---- it is sad what this world has come to."

At Buccaneer Beach in Oceanside, Michele Giesing of Escondido and Robin Utter of Valley Center were pleased that someone had been arrested in the case.

"I hope that they know without a doubt that he is the one that did the deed," said Utter, whose children are 1 1/2, 4 1/2 and 9. "I'm very, very, very grateful, if he is, that they caught him."

Giesing has two daughters, Madeline, 3 months old, and Claire, 6.

"That's why it hit so close to home," said Giesing, looking at Claire. "My husband and I talked about it and we decided we weren't going to let her out of our sight when she's out front playing in the front yard. It's especially scary after what happened to Danielle van Dam, and now this."

Seven-year-old Danielle was kidnapped from her Sabre Springs home in February and slain. A former neighbor, David Westerfield, is on trial for murder in that case.

"We've talked with Madeline about not going to strangers," Giesing said. "She knows to yell 'help' and to yell 'fire.' We have a little saying: 'If I can't see you (Madeline), there's a problem.' And Madeline doesn't go anywhere without me."

Watching her 8-year-old son celebrate the end of summer school with other children at a barbecue at the Boys & Girls Club in Oceanside, Vivian Harrison of Oceanside said she would never let him have the freedom his adult brothers were allowed.

"I wouldn't let my son stand at a bus stop with other kids," Harrison said. "She (Samantha) was with another kid."

Joseph Werwage of Carlsbad, sharing pizza with his wife and their three daughters, ages 9 months, 2 1/2 years and 8 years, at That Pizza Place in Carlsbad, said child kidnappings happen, but not as often as they did.

Still, he said, their children aren't out of their sight or their grandmother's and the Werwages prefer that the girls' friends play at their house.

Fallbrook grandmother Britta Bonte said she stays with her grandchildren when she is with them, including out on the sidewalk.

"I was already very cautious with my grandchildren because this is a different world than when my children grew up in the 1970s," Bonte said. "If neighbors watch out for each other's children, maybe we could change it."

 

Contact staff writer Jo Moreland at (760) 901-4085 or jmoreland@nctimes.com.

[FresnoDA]

Per DEMSUX request...PING)))

[MizSterious]

Never let them out of sight...except, of course, while you run out to get pizza...or maybe at the mall...or when locked inside the garage doing whatever...

[John Jamieson]

Isn't it strange that every TV program you turn on about the Westerfield trial talks about all the BLOOD found.

Isn't it strange that all that BLOOD really amounts to a small drop in the motorhome and a smear on Mr. Westerfields jacket.

Isn't it strange that neither of these spots was ever proven to BE BLOOD. The Tech used Hemostix which even they admitted on the stand was not a conclusive test for BLOOD. Serology tests are used to determine if something is human BLOOD. They did NOT DO THEM.

Isn't it strange that these stains did contain Danielle's DNA, but were not proven to be BLOOD.

Isn't it strange that there was exactly ONE spot in the motor home, not TWO, or THREE, OR NONE. Exactly ONE.

Isn't it strange that although the jacket contained 4 stains, exactly ONE had had Danielle's DNA in it. Not two, or three, or four, but exactly ONE.

Isn't it strange that these two stains matched Danielle's DNA perfectly, a 150 quadrillion to one chance. All 22 factors were perfect. Not just say, 18 matches for a 1 in a million match but, PERFECTION.

Isn't it strange that dry cleaning a jacket wouldn't damage atleast some of the factors producing a less than perfect match.

Isn't it possible that someone had a very small amount of Danielles DNA, but no BLOOD to smeak around. One drop for the motorhome and one smear for the jacket?

I wonder.

[mamaduck]

And as we continue to build those boundaries of protection around children, we take away their childhood."

On the contrary, those boundaries are what *creates* the safe environment of childhood.

Otherwise good article!

[demsux]

Thanks Fres,

[demsux]

So watta we got comin up Monday???

Barb, Bill Libby, more bug guys???

Sheriff from Orange County???

[hoosiermama]

Certainly would like to see the sheriff from Orange CO!

Question: If eveidence was at the sight that would exhonerate DW, would the trial have to continue?

Any one know?

[dread78645]

So watta we got comin up Monday???

Barb, Bill Libby, more bug guys???
Sheriff from Orange County???

Definitely more bug guys, maybe Barbara, Nope on the Sheriff.

Expect the pros. to motion for mis-trial if any juror saw coverage of Avila's arrest ...

[hoosiermama]

"Expect the pros. to motion for mis-trial if any juror saw coverage of Avila's arrest ..."


They were only instructed to not watch or discuse anything about the DW trial...Nothing said about similar cases. Why would watching other news be grounds for a mistrial?

[dread78645]

Why would watching other news be grounds for a mistrial?

It introduces facts outside of the courts control, and possibly taints the jury. Dusek can't challege this "evidence". His only remedy is mis-trial.

[MizSterious]

Feldman might try, but my guess is that he won't succeed. Then again, I'm not an attorney, so perhaps someone who really knows the answer will chime in.

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

The kid can look at those cupcakes and know not to touch them," she said. "But he can't control his impulse not to take them."

Um, uh, neither can some adults..............

[Politicalmom]

IMO, Feldy should stick with this trial. I don't think a mistrial would help DW, and they can always appeal later.
There seem to be ample grounds for it.

[MizSterious]

Despite grim headlines, experts say abductions of children by strangers are rare and getting rarer

By David Crary
ASSOCIATED PRESS

July 18, 2002

From San Diego, Salt Lake City and Stanton, Calif., the grim news reports suggest an epidemic of child abductions. Yet experts say kidnapping by strangers ? the crime so dreaded by so many parents ? has always been rare and is probably on the downswing.

"Any child that's missing is one too many," FBI spokeswoman Angela Bell said Thursday. "But the media publicity that these cases are getting is making it seem like a big jump, and that's just not the case."

The FBI has offered its help to local authorities working on the case of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, who was seized outside her Stanton apartment building Monday, then sexually assaulted and murdered within 24 hours.

Her slaying follows the high-profile abductions of 14-year-old Elizabeth Smart in Salt Lake City and 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in San Diego. Danielle's body was found and a neighbor is on trial; Elizabeth is still missing.

Most abductions are carried out by relatives of the child as part of a family dispute. In other cases, the perpetrators are acquaintances of the child, acting out of various motives.

Statistics indicate abductions of children by strangers are declining.

Bell said the FBI opened investigations in 93 such cases last year, compared with 134 in 1999. Some abductions by strangers do not result in FBI involvement, but the National Center for Missing and Exploited Children estimates the total number of cases annually at 100 now, down from 200 to 300 in the 1980s.

"It's still a terrible problem," said Ernest Allen, the center's president. "But the good news is, these cases have been coming down. Cases like Samantha Runnion's, as outrageous as they are, are pretty rare."

Experts in the field say precise statistics on child abductions are elusive, in part because different jurisdictions define the crime differently.

"For a crime that gets as much public attention as it does, its pretty appalling that there are not better statistics," said David Finkelhor, a sociology professor who heads the University of New Hampshire's Crimes Against Children Center and has worked with the Justice Department to discern patterns in child abductions.

However, he agreed that the number of worst-case abductions, like the Samantha Runnion case, is probably declining.

"From the context of things ? including a decline in sexual assault and abuse ? I can't imagine there's been any increase," he said. "But you get a couple of these cases in proximity, which can happen at random, and all of a sudden it seems like an epidemic."

Finkelhor's research has found that the risk of abduction by a stranger is relatively low for preschoolers, and increases through elementary school to peak at age 15. Teen-age girls are considered most vulnerable.

The National Center for Missing and Exploited Children has been trying to call attention to some missing children whose cases have not attracted as much publicity as the Van Dam, Smart and Runnion cases.

In those three cases, the victimized family is white. Allen said the news media may sometimes be less interested in missing minority children, especially if they are from urban areas where crime is assumed, rightly or wrongly, to be a constant problem.

As an example, Allen cited the case of Laura Ayala, a 13-year-old Hispanic girl from Houston who disappeared in March after buying a newspaper at a convenience store near her home. "Her shoes and the newspaper were found on sidewalk ? that screams of foul play," Allen said.

But Allen also said the Van Dam and Smart cases generated intense coverage in part because the girls were seized from their bedrooms.

"If your child isn't safe in her own bed in her own home, where is she safe?" he said. "It sends a message of powerlessness and fear and 'Oh my God, they're everywhere. They're coming for my child.'"

The Runnion case had similar elements, Allen noted: Samantha was playing with a friend outside her apartment building and was dragged away by a man in a car.

"It's an outrageous case, and there's no question it's going to generate fear," Allen said. "What we're trying to do is send a message that you don't have to be paralyzed by fear, you don't need to lock your child in a room, but you do have to be cautious, you do need to know where your children are."

[hoosiermama]

Agree!

Listening to the news could sway the jury either way. Have heard enough from the "hang'em high" group to think that if someone was even thinking about convicting him, they'd be even more angry.

OTOH, knowing that there was a "serial" kidnapper in the vecinity, would sure help the "reasonable doubt" camp.

My original thought (question) does the pros.(LE) HAVE to inform the court if evidence is available that would exonerate DW? How does that information get to the court? BWO the defense? Or "by-friend-of-the-court"?

[MizSterious]

I agree--a mistrial won't help DW, unless the prosecution decides not to retry him--which is a possibility, but in my opinion, not a large one. Pfingst has a lot riding on him being guilty--namely the rest of his career.

[spectre]

It will be interesting to watch Judge Mudd's opening statements tomorrow.

Am wondering if he will instruct the Jury not to form an opinion about this case, from any prejudices they may feel concerning Samantha's murder? I don't know if that has ever been done before.

The jury should have been sequestered, but considering Judge Mudd KNEW he had a prescheduled vacation, he couldn't very well have asked them to stay holed up in a hotel, while he lived it up, now could he?

There's always a reason...:~)

sw

[Politicalmom]

Aren't you a bit ahead of yourself?? Today IS Saturday, right??? (Gee, did I miss church??)

: )

This break has been sooooo long.....

[hoosiermama]

"Cases like Samantha Runnion's, as outrageous as they are, are pretty rare."

SO possibly,to make himself look COMPETANT he arrest an innocent person, put him through hell, while the quilty party is allow to kidnap and kill another child.
I'd say if that's the case, he should NEVER be put in a position of authority again. The blood of any child murdered while he choses to look the other way, is on his hands. The public should make certain His career is over. INCOMPETENT