I keep returning to the same thing....it is either the parents or the neighbor. The money part is still bugging me. That Excursion, or was it an Expedition looked brand new. But then, I live in the snowy midwest and our cars get all messed up with road salt.
I.G. Agree again with your comments!! You have this buttoned down....
Egress into this home, both from the front and from the rear, is very limited. The "perp" would have walked right by the front of the garage, using the front door and the gated fence from the rear of the house traverses directly adjacent to the garage. Maybe Damon VD had his "radical" stereo blasting at full volume? Disco, rap??? What about the neighbors, were they ever bothered by the late night comings and goings (and noises) at the VD estate?
And how do the "SWNG VISITORS" get into the garage, using the remote control? Side gate? Do they drag these anonymous strangers through their house. If the garage is made into the rumpus room one could imagine the VD's have made, then it is unlikely they are going to simply open the garage door for all to see!
So that leaves the abduction of Danielle.....
PARENTS ARE IN GARAGE, and not in the house?? How could a random perp have such knowledge. Lucky guess, no way, they are too shrewd. Would have to have been either a previous SWNGER or one of the PLYRS that night/morning. Could they have gone for "break" from the melee, and stashed the girl out back to retrieve later, on the way out? We still can not ignore....
1. Alarm did not work, stoned or not, why would Damon VD ignore?
2. Rottweiler is tame, and can't bark. Denied by the Kennel that sold to them.....
3. Intimate knowledge/layout of the house, 4000Sq feet is bigger than most track homes....in a dark house, plodding around upstairs, luckily finding the female child and not one of the boys?
4. No scent trail for dogs...that is strange....a short trail of the child to the street, where it is lost in a vehicle is expected.....
5. Parents were "indisposed, very late, very long time" Note that the timeline of the Van Dams has varied, reported by LE in San Diego.
I don't buy it, not for one minute. A "stay-home" mom is always overly protective, and she would have checked on the brood before calling it a night. She was gone early (6 P.M.) off to dinner, then dancing, then "the parking lot episode" then back home for the garage party.....and not once did she check in on her children....if San Diego L.E. cracks this, it will be revolting.
But these type of criminals are amazingly cunning, crafty and without remorse. If the VD's stick to their planned story, and if they have planted enough dirty evidence on Westerfield for L.E. to find, then they will walk....too bad there are other kids...maybe males mean more than females with these types....I think the main reason why the VD's are not denying and protesting the SWNG LIFESTYLE any louder, is that they know many will say, "Oh, well they were doing that, we don't want to be judgmental" and all the while, it is a diversion. Hope I am way off base.....