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
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 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." |
Damon VD was doing this on the infamous Larry King Live interview as well (the first one I believe). Forget that he and Brenda had live mics on he was trying to keep her from answering some of Larry's questions.
LOL!
I hope the judge releases those questions asap.
The neighbor really is a weirdo..did you read about how he got stuck in the desert? everyone in that area was looking at him like he was nuts.
I'm convinced they perp did not have a relationship with the van dams.
I'm praying the rumors and gossip isn't true. I give rick roberts ZERO credibility.
I believe it was she, who said this and cops usually tell everyone they passed.
Feb 7th ..Danielle's parents, Damon and Brenda van Dam, left home Thursday with investigators for an undisclosed destination. The parents are not considered suspects, and Brenda van Dam, 39, has said she passed a lie detector test administered by police. The parents have said they have only a passing acquaintance with their neighbor. "He's an acquaintance. He's not a friend," the girl's father said Wednesday. "We've seen him since we moved in. We wave to him, we say hello to him when we drive by."
Let the truth about their relationship be known to squelch rumors, gossip and innuendoes!
He is so creepy looking.....ice water in the veins looking kind of guy.
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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.