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.

[Jaded]

Did they report he was there, or is this place just close to home?

[frmrda]

It is against the law if they have invoked their right to counsel, and anything that comes from that evidence must be suppressed. However, the Defendant can come to you on his own and talk, and waive the right. But some appellate courts are even suspicious of that.

[Jaded]

You still can.... well at least in Texas.

[rolling_stone]

Thanks for your reply... how long does it take for blood to dry, minutes? Could dried blood be scraped off one material and droped onto say a carpet, even though it won't stick it could be there? It is my understanding that 1) a trace of the victims blood was found in suspects motorhome... 2) a trace, maybe even dime sized spot of blood belonging to the victim was found on suspects jacket (after dry cleaning?) 3) trace dna of suspect was found in victim's room, my guess is hair or hairs...

Given the body was not found by police till a month later, how could blood be in the motorhome and on the jacket? Only way I see it is if a)suspect was in contact with body/blood at some point in time, or b) someone put blood in motorhome and on jacket while it was wet or blood found was "loose" . If blood was not available to police who else could have done that and is it plausible? Hair in the bedroom can be explained away, transferred from suspect to mom while dancing..

Anyone else see a pic of Westerfield with his black leather jacket and blue jeans? Was that the jacket?

Pic about halfway down:Pics

Pic also shows dog & handler with shoe going back into van dam house....

[Chemnitz]

JonBenet all over again. No one seems to care if a little girl is murdered.

[Bush2000]

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's truly only an issue, however, if the evidence they gather is used to build a case against the defendant.

[Bush2000]

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.

IMHO, it doesn't matter all that much. The most damning evidence is the blood evidence that was reportedly found in Westerfield's RV and truck. Granted, it might establish another link to Westerfield but, assuming that the blood evidence is conclusive, he's going to the gas chamber...

[Lunatic Fringe]

The system sure does everything it can to protect a turd like this--- where was the system when little Danielle needing protecting?

I say, sure... dismiss the charges. Then turn him loose on the corner of his neighborhood.

[Lunatic Fringe]

assuming that the blood evidence is conclusive, he's going to the gas chamber...

Sorry to disappoint you, but California has executed only 6 people in 22 years.

But fret not! Gas chamber means he's in a nice, private protected little cell for life. But life in prison means he gets to be in the general population, and big house justice will catch up with him.

[spunkets]

"Given the body was not found by police till a month later,"

It's my understanding the samples were obtained with westerfield's consent when he returned from his weekend trip.

The blood samples would have to be in the form of coaggulated blood from a wet smear. They would have images and written description for the samples. All of this is available to the defense. If any of the samples were powder, or in loose granular form, it would have been noted. If it was a leather jacket they found the blood on, then it was definitely applied wet. Powdered blood doesn't stick to leather, and if it's a particle deposit, it would have been noted as such. Neither legal team would ever miss that.

[FresnoDA]

Huh, can you believe that Gary Condit....LOL (Top Left Corner!!)

[The Real Deal]

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

I agree, just make sure they say when and were he well be released.

[Greg Weston]

Big deal. As long as he's had his Miranda rights read to him when he was arrested that's all that's needed. If he doesn't want to talk he knows he doesn't have to. That doesn't prohibit the cops from asking him if he wants to. Lawyer games BS.

[CdMGuy]

The gas chamber went bye-bye a number of years ago. CA uses lethal injection, but executions are as rare as dinosaurs in CA. We have prisons full of death row inmates, but they are dieing of natural causes, mainly old age.

[FresnoDA]

"Is SDPD Framing DW?"

Many things point to this as a possibility.

1. DW is pleading not guilty. What is his defense if the allegations (blood, DNA, child porno on computer) from SDPD are true?

2. DW has no history or indication of pedophilia except from SDPD. (And Walsh, who worked with them.) Reference the character letter from a young female who grew up with him. Reference no previous pedophile history?

3. There is a hint that the body was "found" due to leads from SDPD investigators. The area had been searched before and the body was not found. Did it suddenly "appear" there?

 

[FresnoDA]

What is gossip what is rumor....and when all is said done what we have is essentially;

Danielle sold cookies.
Brenda went out with friends.
DW was at DAD's CAFE and had fun.
Damon stayed home.
Damon let the dog out.
Damon noticed the sliding door open.
Brenda and friends came back home and ate pizza.
Danielle was taken from her bed.
DW over paid for a camp site.
DW got stuck and needed a tow.
DW was arrested.
Police found porno depicting kids.
Police found blood on jacket and RV.
DW went to the cleaners.
Danielle was found dead in a debris filled spot.
Forensics do not know how she died.

Did I forget anything? I mean just the facts here, no gossip, no rumor, no speculating...that's really all we have.

[NormsRevenge]

I dont know if Westerfield could afford Johnny Cochram, Shapiro, and such ... This wont be another OJ style Southern California debacle either way ... altho some interesting questions stil remain to be answered ... Stay Tuned

[Greg Weston]

"DW is pleading not guilty."

So what. I would bet 99.9% of murder defendents plead not guilty at the beginning at least.

[Greg Weston]

Well that might be enough. I'm willing to give Westerfield the benifit of the doubt on all he's charged with. I'm going to have to have his guilt proven to me. I will say it doesn't look too good for him at this point....