BREAKING NOW: Detectives Arrive at Danielle Van Dam Residence for 4:00 P.M. Announcement.

KOGO News Radio 600 ^ | February 28, 2002 | KOGO

[FresnoDA]

BREAKING NOW, KOGO........Unmarked Police Car just arrived at Van Dam's residence, breaking now.....reporter says very grim faced.....expecting that reason for visit is warning VD's of positive ID.

DA HOLDS NEWS CONFERENCE THIS AFTERNOON
Authorities expect to announce today that the body of a young girl found dumped off a road in East County is, as law enforcement officials already believe, that of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. Dental records will likely be used to make a positive identification. San Diego District Attorney Paul Pfingst said last night that all the evidence points to the body being that of the second-grader who had been reported missing on Feb. 2. ``We believe that Danielle van Dam's body has been found,'' he said during a news conference with San Diego police Chief David Bejarano. Susan Wintersteen, a family friend, said this morning that the Van Dams are ``going through unspeakable pain and loss right now.'' But she said that the discovery of the body ``has provided them with the closure that they so desired."
Stay tuned to KOGO for live coverage of the DA's news conference this afternoon between 4pm and 5pm.

[Shermy]

Notice that the casino just 2 miles from the body dump has come forward. Westerfield was a member ... wonder if he stopped there that night!

This was my five cents worth yesterday to Gorio:

"I speculate that the desert area he first took her to the desert dune area, with perhaps an idea to dump her there. He claimed he left there after two of his planned four days there because none of his friends were there. Perhaps he found the area to full of weekend off-roaders, campers and the like to make a safe disposal. Also, his motorhome got stuck in the sand, had to get a tow truck to pull him out. Perhaps this spooked him, perhaps he realized he couldn't get to a remote enough place in that area with those kind of wheels. Perhaps he realized if the body was found there he would be a greater suspect.

He said he decided to go to the beach. On his way over route 8, he took a small side trip to the place the body was dumped, perhaps he was familiar with the road and area. It wasn't a well obscured disposal, but rash men do strange things, and he thought it was good enough, or the best he could do in a mad situation."

Thank you for the Casino information. My bet is he might not have gone to the Casino, but from his experiences going to the Casino recalled a relatively isolated spot where he could dump the body.

[JudyB1938]

You're so right. I can't believe how people are trouncing on those poor parents. Much of the stuff that condemners are putting out has not been confirmed - it's merely internet gossip. At least that's what I read from another poster, and I believe it.

I know what it's like to lose a child, a grandchild, AND a great-grandchild. God please have mercy on the VD's and give them the assurance that their child is with you. Please let this horrible thing bring them to you. Amen.

[Shermy]

A more sympathetic site:

Danielle board

[BunnySlippers]

You're so right. I can't believe how people are trouncing on those poor parents. Much of the stuff that condemners are putting out has not been confirmed - it's merely internet gossip. At least that's what I read from another poster, and I believe it

If it came from "another poster" doesn't that mean it's "internet gossip"? Where do you think you are anyway?

The parents were not remiss in being swingers but what if they told Westerfield to come on over, the side door is open? This in the wee hours of the night! Do you do this?

[VRWC_minion]

But then, there's no explaining your POV.

She has a too quick trigger finger for bashing Christians. She obviously thought you were saying it was her lifestyle that caused the problem. Not the potential that her meeting with the neighbor could have gaven him an implied or an express invitation to their home.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

The defense won't touch that one.

We'll see, but I think just the opposite. He's going to have to come up with explanations for the DNA evidence. Prior involvement or something between Brenda and Westerfield could be just what he wants.

[CheneyChick]

Exactly. Some of my earliest recollections are of horrible events in the news. One was of an overpass collapsing on cars and crushing people. There were pictures in Time magazine of it. I remember staring at those picture and thinking about the people getting smashed in their cars. To this day, I hate having to stop under an overpass at a red light. This wasn't even something personal that happened to me or anyone I knew, but it gave me nightmares for years. I can't even imagine how horrible this is for the little ones who knew Danielle. They will carry this horror with them the rest of their lives. May they have wise parents who help them deal with it....

[merry10]

with regard to dry cleaning: investigators can still determine if there had been blood on a dry cleaned garment...kind of the same test as luminol. (I like true crime books and get all kinds of info). Or, maybe it was just a bad dry cleaner who didn't pay much attention.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

As those of us who see the parents with jaundiced eyes are blasted for it, I think of how many people wept with Susan Smith. Things aren't always as they seem and rarely as simple as presented.

[MizSterious]

Well, with all due respect, a lifestyle that brings strangers and barflies into the house can be dangerous for all concerned. Given the alleged activities, you'd have to add the dangers of disease and vermin to the more obvious house-casers, perverts and others. Not a healthy environment for children, or even the adults, if they just stopped and thought about it for awhile.

[BunnySlippers]

BTW, statistically, children who have been abducted and molested are killed within 4 hours of the abduction. Statisically.

[MizSterious]

Susan Smith! Yes, the first time I saw Mrs. VD, I thought of Smith. Something about her demeanor.

[rbmillerjr]

True, but then again, sometimes they are - also true.

[FresnoDA]

Police Identify Body as Danielle Van Dam's

Thursday, February 28, 2002

EL CAJON, Calif. — An autopsy confirmed Thursday that the body of a child found dumped near a grove of trees outside San Diego is that of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst said.

Van Dam was allegedly abducted from her San Diego home nearly a month ago.

Based upon a comparison between the missing girl's dental records and X-rays taken from the body, "the identification of Danielle van Dam was made certain," Pfingst said.

The cause of death could not immediately be determined because of the body's state of decomposition, he said.

Police Chief David Bejarano informed Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, of the confirmation shortly before it was announced publicly, Pfingst said.

The district attorney thanked the volunteers who helped find the body Wednesday in a remote area east of San Diego, as well as the many volunteers who also assisted in the exhaustive search effort which began after Danielle was reported missing on Feb. 2.

"It has been one of the most extraordinary things I have seen in my years of law enforcement," he said. "The result of that search was to find this little girl's body and return it to the family and to help the criminal investigation."

A neighbor, David Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. He has pleaded innocent and is being held without bond.

Authorities said they found traces of Danielle's blood in Westerfield's motor home and on an article of his clothing.

The self-employed engineer spent the weekend of Danielle's disappearance traveling around San Diego County in his motor home, stopping in the desert east of the city.

A hunch led about 20 volunteers to the area where Danielle's body was found about 2:15 p.m. Wednesday. The remote road was one Westerfield might have taken the weekend Danielle disappeared, said Bill Garcia, a private detective who coordinated searches in the area.

"Someone who would try to evade or stay low-key would have picked that route," Garcia said.

Volunteers first checked the site Saturday but found nothing. Ten volunteers returned to the site Wednesday after investigators decided the area needed to be checked again. Searchers found the body about 25 feet from the road under a cluster of oak trees.

Westerfield, a twice-divorced father of two grown children, has a 1996 drunken-driving conviction but no violent criminal history.

He has said he was at the same bar where Brenda van Dam was spending time with friends the night Danielle disappeared. Van Dam's husband was home with their daughter and two sons.

The van Dams' neighbors hoped for an end to what has been emotional ordeal for the community.

"As unlikely as it was, everybody was still harboring some hope that she was still alive," said Jane Hurst, who lives near the van Dams. "Now that's gone, and at least we can start dealing with that."

A memorial to Danielle was posted Thursday morning on a Web site dedicated to her recovery. A message on the site quoted singer Sarah McLachlan: "You're in the arms of the angel. May you find some comfort there."

Damon and Brenda van Dam on Thursday thanked volunteers whose unflagging efforts helped locate what authorities believe is the body of their daughter. They left a real estate office that served as a base of the searches without speaking to reporters.

"Brenda said today that love conquers evil," said the Rev. Joseph Acton, who has been counseling the van Dams. He described the couple as devastated.

[MizSterious]

Your point is a good one, and it brings up more questions about Westerfield at the same time. Surely, as an inventor, he's a bright enough man to know that drycleaning and clorox-washing isn't going to remove blood. I found the clorox washing very odd, but even stranger, perhaps, that he'd think it would hide blood.

[Shermy]

Thanks merry for your info about drycleaning.

My link at post 51 to the excerpted story didn't come through. Here it is, from the 2/28 San Diego Union Tribune:

Police think girl was abducted for attack, documents indicate

[FresnoDA]

Police say the body of a child found on Wednesday has been identified as 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. (AP Photo)

Identity Confirmed Police Use Dental Records to Confirm Body Is Missing Girl Feb. 28 — The body of a girl found outside of San Diego Wednesday is that of missing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, police confirmed today.

Investigators said they had to use dental records to confirm the identity of a nude, partially decomposed corpse volunteers found Wednesday in Dehesa, an unincorporated town east of San Diego.

"Because of the condition of the body, we had to bring in a forensic dentist," said San Diego County District Attorney Paul Pfingst. "Based upon the comparison of dental records, the identification of Danielle van Dam was made certain."

Pfingst said that because of the condition of the body, the coroner was unable to determine the cause of death. Police Chief David Bejarano notified Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, of the findings.

In addition to matching Danielle's height and hair color, investigators said the body had a plastic necklace similar to one the girl had worn. An earring matching the description of one she had been wearing also was found at the scene. No weapon was found.

Suspect Awaits Death Penalty Decision

Two people searching for the missing girl found the body behind some foliage, near a trail and among scattered rocks next to a golf course. Damon and Brenda van Dam had spearheaded one of the largest volunteer searches in state history, with hundreds of people combing nearby deserts and highways.

Meanwhile, the chief suspect in case, neighbor David Westerfield, is in custody waiting to see whether San Diego County prosecutors will seek the death penalty in Danielle's disappearance and slaying. Westerfield, who is being held without bond, has pleaded not guilty to murder and kidnapping charges and has also been charged with possession of child pornography.

If convicted, Westerfield, 50, could face the death penalty or life in prison without parole.

Danielle was last seen Feb. 1 when her father put her to bed at around 10 p.m. After she disappeared, investigators focused primarily on Westerfield, who lives two doors down from the van Dam family's suburban San Diego home.

Police say Westerfield took his motor home to an area in the desert outside San Diego for the weekend on the same morning the child was reported missing.

Investigators say DNA evidence links Westerfield to van Dam's kidnapping and slaying: her blood was found on an article of Westerfield's clothing and in his motor home.

Police also searched Westerfield's home has been searched multiple times, impounded his Toyota sport utility vehicle and motor home, and had him provide a DNA sample for analysis. Investigators who searched the mobile home said the smell of bleach was overwhelming.

Investigators also hauled at least 13 bags of evidence from Westerfield's home, including, they said, materials that appeared to be child pornography.

[Illbay]

Fuggedabaddit!

These are the same people who will tell you that Andrea Yates isn't responsible for what she did, that it's her HUSBAND--idiot that he is--that is responsible!

These people, albeit unwittingly, have fallen for the "victimization" line strung out by Alan Dershowitz, Johnny Cochran and a host of media-star trail lawyers that have us questioning the meaning of guilt.

(Well, some of us anyway. I don't you and I have any problem figuring out who to pin it on).

[CreekerFreeper]

This is an outrage. The guy next door is a porn freak and the parents are 'swingers', but that's not been reported since early in this story. I think that's the angle that's been missed here: where was all the players and what's the connection...

[Bob Evans]

I do support the Death Penalty ... for a few crimes, and this one fits that list (:^>