Police tried to talk with Westerfield without his attorney! (Big No No!!) van Dam Case Update

KNSD NBC ^ | March 6, 2002 | KNSD NBC

[FresnoDA]

David Westerfield was arrested on charges of kidnapping and burglary. Police say Danielle's blood was found on his clothing and in his motor home.

Police tried to talk with Westerfield without his attorney by NBC 7/39 News Staff

SAN DIEGO, March 6 –    A San Diego police captain confirmed Wednesday that two detectives tried to talk with the man accused of killing Danielle van Dam when his lawyer was not present to represent him.

Lawyers for David Westerfield filed papers in court Tuesday saying that the detectives attempted to talk with Westerfield last Wednesday, the day after he was charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. The lawyers called the action “outrageous government misconduct,” and wrote that it jeopardized Westerfield’s right to effective counsel.

Defense experts say the law is clear: once a suspect has a lawyer, police and prosecutors should not attempt to talk with the defendant without getting permission from the lawyer. Some say the incident could harm the case against Westerfield.

"It sends a lot of messages, in addition to laying the groundwork for potentially asking the court to dismiss the charges because of this outrageous governmental conduct," criminal defense specialist Kerry Steigerwalt said.

Wednesday, Police Captain Ron Newman told NBC 7/39 that two detectives did request to speak with Westerfield, but he apparently refused to talk with them and called his lawyer to report the attempted interview.

"I have confirmed that that did happen,” Capt. Newman told NBC 7/39. “I question the appropriateness of it. I'm sure the detectives felt that it was the appropriate thing to do, given the set of circumstances that they were under. But we will be handling that internally. So it's not something that we would normally do. In fact, we should not be doing it, frankly.”

Another legal expert told NBC 7/39 that if police did not actually talk with Westerfield that day, there's little damage to the case against him.

[FresnoDA]

There have been problems with this investigation from the start.

THE CRIME SCENE was not secured or preserved. The police allowed the van Dams and Westerfield to remain in their homes while the evidence people were there, friends, family, press,  etc., were allowed in and that destroyed the reliability of most of the forensic evidence.

Think about it........FresnoDA

[FresnoDA]

Ping...)))) Feldman will have a field day if the report is accurate. SDPD is trying to minimize. Also, unconfirmed reports on KOGO that a doctor has been requested to see Westerfield. Any updates from San Diego, needed....developing....

[P-Marlowe]

I say let him go. I bet he doesn't last an hour.

[crypt2k]

Maybe the food or something in it is giving him problems.

[frmrda]

Fresno, as I'm sure you know, unless Westerfield gave a statement, talking to him w/o his lawyer is no big deal. If he did give an incriminating statement it would obviously be suppressed. The DA should file a pretrial Motion in Limine attempting to get an order precluding the defense attorney from even mentioning it during trial, as it is not relevant, especially if nothing was said.

The only possible probative value would be if the defense was that the cops HAD to catch someone and this is the guy, and to prove their case they're even willing to break the law to get a statement. I don't think that dog will hunt however.

That said, who the hell are the idiots that tried to talk to him, and was their supervisor aware of this. It doesn't get any stupider.

[anniegetyourgun]

Great. If this guy gets off, he'll live to victimize again - if not through murder, certainly through his perversions.

[knak]

my thoughts exactly

[Joan912]

Why would the police allow the van Dams and friends to hang around? What is really going on with this case?

[spunkets]

"Think about it"

OK.....Done.

The little girl wasn't there though. She was in Heaven and blood don't spill out of Heaven onto cloths and into motorhomes. The crime scene was preserved.

[Enemy Of The State]

Souncs like typical PRC (Peoples Republic of California) detective work. If I were the little girls father and the police dept. botched this case up to where thy freak went free...I would serve justice myself.

[Draco]

Did Westerfield talk to the officers beyond saying "no" to their request? Nothing in the article says that happened. So it went against SOP but this is not a basis to dismiss murder charges. Just sensationalized reporting.

[rolling_stone]

I agree, still strikes me odd that only a drop of blood was found in his motorhome and jacket...would be interesting if they guy in Grand Terrace's dna also matched or he confessed..anyone find out where that suspect Dennis Martin Castro lives? Several close names listed in the phone books from San Diego north...When cops pull a dumb stunt like this it makes you wonder what else they did wrong....That was after his arrest, maybe they were trying to tie up some loose ends that didn't fit?

[Bonaparte]

If it's true that the SDPD allowed friends, family, press, etal. to roam through the crime scene while evidence was still being collected, Westerfield may actually get off. Extremely amateurish. Too bad.

[MizSterious]

I'm not an attorney, but from what I know, this seems like a major error. Depends on what the evidence actually is, perhaps--they might have something that will let the case survive these boneheaded actions.

[Cato the Censor]

Montel reports that Mrs.Van Dam was in a singles bar the night her child was taken dancing with Westerfield. At the same time, Mr. Van Dam was reported to be at a paint gun arcade with a female neighbor.Gadzooks-this is bizarre!

[Amore]

Another legal expert told NBC 7/39 that if police did not actually talk with Westerfield that day, there's little damage to the case against him.

That's a big: "Duh!"

(As I said on another thread, no offense to you, Fresno, but, gee, NBC it's a nonstory. I guess the least little thing on this case is big news.)

[Dog Gone]

Did Westerfield talk to the officers beyond saying "no" to their request? Nothing in the article says that happened. So it went against SOP but this is not a basis to dismiss murder charges. Just sensationalized reporting.

Precisely. There's nothing that prevents the defendant from deciding to talk to the police without an attorney present if he so chooses. Inquiring isn't an error by the police. Only if the defendent wants an attorney present and the police continue questioning in spite of that has any error been committed.

There's not even a statement here to supress, so the whole thing is a bunch of defense hype. Too bad the press swallowed it.

[Alamo-Girl]

Thanks for the heads up!

[rolling_stone]

Blood doesn't spill out of heaven, tears do, but I think blood can be physically moved by human beings, just ask OJ....would be interesting to hear from someone in the know if it can be done....I would think there is some type of chemical to thin dried blood enough to spread it around like dried paint and thinner...how about just rubbing one piece of cloth to another or of course if someone was planning ahead they could keep some fresh blood in an airtight container for use later...

Waiting curiously for autopsy report....Did they have booties and hair nets on the police dogs? Oh yes the Police said it would take 12-18 hours to examine the scene where the body was found but they wrapped it up that night under spotlights...instead of waiting for daylight...LOL...more defense food...