Mourners gather at site where Danielle's body was found
Posted on 03/01/2002 4:04:47 PM PST by FresnoDA
Mourners gather at site where Danielle's body was found
|
|
 By Seth Hettena ASSOCIATED PRESS March 1, 2002
"The memory of her soul compelled me to come down here and say a last goodbye," Davis said Friday, cradling her 7-month-old daughter and wiping away tears. "To actually see the place where her innocent sweetness was lying under a tree." Davis, 26, added white flowers to a growing memorial of messages, bouquets, a pink teddy bear and a stuffed blue bunny that marks the place where authorities believe a neighbor dumped Danielle's body weeks ago. Dental records confirmed Thursday that remains found by a rural roadside 25 miles east of San Diego were those of the little girl, who vanished from her bedroom Feb. 2. The cause of death could not immediately be determined – and may never be – because of the body's state of decomposition, said Police Chief David Bejarano. Further tests were under way. Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, said the unflagging efforts of more than 2,500 volunteers who searched a vast area stretching from the ocean to the desert left them with "an overwhelming sense of gratitude and closure." "With love for an innocent child and for one another, the community has brought her back to us, and for that gift we offer our most sincere and heartfelt thanks," the van Dams said in a statement. "Even though the final outcome is horrible, we could not have imagined the rest of our lives without this closure." A memorial service is expected later this month. A neighbor, David Westerfield, 50, was charged Tuesday 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 in his motor home, stopping in the desert east of the city, authorities said. A hunch led volunteers to the area – the remote road was one Westerfield might have taken the weekend Danielle disappeared, said Bill Garcia, a private detective who coordinated searches. Nearby residents said they were unsettled by the discovery of Danielle's body so close to home. "It kind of sickens us," said Charles O'Neill, 28, who lives about a mile away. "We've been driving by this road every day for the past month and knowing she's that close is something we never would have imagined." |
This entire issue in FR has been driven by facts that we don't have at this time.
But never fear, what facts weren't available were made up.
Still, indicative of casual neighborhood aquaintance, and that Westerfield was seeking contact with the Van Dams, rather than vice versa.
Daddy killed the girl and framed the neighbor.The wife has no clue what happened.
Hows that?
This applies equally to both or all opinions, Luis; even yours.
Here's a couple more that I've yet to see posted.
 |
Rev. Joseph Acton, an Episcopal priest and friend of Brenda and Damon van Dam, walks with 5-year-old Dylan van Dam, bother of Danielle, as they return to the Danielle search center in Poway, Calif., Thursday, Feb. 28, 2002. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) |
 |
Rev. Josh Acton of Saint Timothy's Episcopal Church leaves the home of Damon and Brenda van Dam Wednesday, Feb. 27, 2002, in San Diego after the family was informed that the body of child was found in El Cajon, Calif. Acton said he prayed with the family and consoled them. (AP Photo/Jack Smith) |
Charged following DNA and fingerprint evidence ... neighbour David Westerfield stands behind a glass as he listen to the judge during his arraignment in the case of the dissaperance of seven-year-old Danielle van Dam. Photo below! |
28feb02
A NEIGHBOUR has been charged with the murder of seven-year-old San Diego schoolgirl Danielle Van Dam – even though her body has not been found. David Westerfield, who turned 50 yesterday, also faced counts of kidnapping and possession of child pornography.
District Attorney Paul Pfingst filed a special circumstances attachment to the murder charge which means Westerfield faces execution if convicted. Danielle has been missing since February 1. Investigators believe Mr Westerfield abducted her from the bedroom of her parents' home and later killed her.
They revealed on Friday that DNA testing had uncovered traces of Danielle's blood on some of his clothing and in a campervan he took to the desert on February 2.
His fingerprints were also found in Danielle's bedroom.
"I must conclude that Danielle Van Dam is no longer living and was killed by her abductor," Mr Pfingst said outside court. The case has attracted national headlines in the US because Danielle's parents are "swingers" who belong to a partner-swapping club.
Reports said Brenda Van Dam was out with friends at a local pub on the night Danielle was taken. Her husband, Damon, was entertaining a friend at home.
The Van Dams have refused to talk about their sexual preferences, criticising the media for switching the focus away from the search for their child.
Westerfield has strenuously denied any involvement in Danielle's disappearance. But he has confirmed he was dancing and drinking with Mrs Van Dam at the pub on the night of February 1 and left before she did.
An extensive search that stretched from Mexico to the desert east of San Diego found no trace of Danielle.
Investigators became suspicious when he was the only neighbour of the Van Dams not present on February 2 for a wide search for Danielle.
It emerged he had gone camping and returned two days later.
The absence of a body creates a legal challenge, but the district attorney's office has successfully prosecuted four such cases, the most recent in August.
To try someone for murder without a body, prosecutors must establish a "reasonable probability" that the victim has died, said Justin Brooks, director of the California Innocence Project at California Western School of Law in San Diego.
"It's nowhere near as hard as proving something beyond a reasonable doubt, but it's a lot more than just showing blood stains," Brooks said.
Westerfield, a divorced father of two grown children, has a 1996 conviction for drunken driving but no violent criminal history, police said.
Freeper TXDeb menioned this article. Has ANYONE heard about Damon VD entertaining a friend at home while Brenda was out!!! UNBELIEVEABLE!!!!
Her husband, Damon, was entertaining a friend at home.
Do you think DW might have been framed for the child porn, too?
Use your imagination.
Only problem with that statement is that there are no national headlines in the US mentioning the fact that the van Dams are swingers.
Nope, imagination doesn't work in a court room when trying a killer.
The big time SD bailbondsman "King Stahlman", who put up a big chunk of the reward money, said that the husband of the wife who Damon was with called him with that information.
Just more grist for the rumor mill.
No, but that fact only adds to the evidence that he, like the van Dams, was into things that most of us consider disgusting. It doesn't automatically make him a murderer. It does make him an easy person to pin it on.
Don't get me wrong....I still think there's a good chance that he's guilty. I simply want to know the truth about the VDs and what they did that day, night, and the next morning.
I especially want to know what Damon was doing before the "bridge club" arrived. All stories leading up to that point are his and his alone. If he's proven to have lied about other things, all bets are off.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
EL CAJON – Laura Davis said she felt drawn to the quiet patch of shade under an oak tree where searchers this week found the body of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.