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Mourners Gathering At Site Where Danielle's Body Was Found: (Post van Dam News Here)
Union Tribune ^ | March 1, 2002 | Seth Hettena

Posted on 03/01/2002 4:04:47 PM PST by FresnoDA

Mourners gather at site where Danielle's body was found




ASSOCIATED PRESS

March 1, 2002


Associated Press
Mourners place flowers and a stuffed animal Friday, on the site under an oak tree where 7-year-old Danielle van Dam's body was found along Dehesa Road.


Associated Press
Andy Black looks over a memorial for 7-year-old Danielle van Dam after placing flowers Friday on the site where her body was found.
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.

"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."



TOPICS: Breaking News; Crime/Corruption; News/Current Events
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
OK, fine!! (Is that short enough for you!) :o)
561 posted on 03/02/2002 10:47:03 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: rolling_stone
Rumors are just that rumors. If I had a dollar for every rumor on this thread..maybe I could give ya a million for real. :) Oh and insults too.

Like I said..if we are ''into conspiracies'', I would question the perps attny..he's reported to be a pitbull by fellow attorneys..see if he's got something going on with Rick Robers..cuz according to the time line, rick roberts nailed the parents AFTER the perp hired the attny..


Neighbor of missing girl hires lawyer after police questioning By Ben Fox ASSOCIATED PRESS February 7, 2002 SAN DIEGO – A neighbor of a missing girl said Thursday he hired an attorney after being questioned several times in recent days by police investigators, who have seized a vehicle and other property from his home but have made no

2. February 9, 2002 Radio talk-show conversations questioned the lifestyle of Brenda and Damon

562 posted on 03/02/2002 10:49:37 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: Southflanknorthpawsis
Check this out!!  LOL

To: sneakypete

Sneakypete has been banned!

695 posted on 3/2/02 7:22 PM Pacific by Chapita

563 posted on 03/02/2002 10:49:51 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
Psst...........you are starting to make no sense at all. Maybe a little sleep would help.
564 posted on 03/02/2002 10:51:05 PM PST by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: FresnoDA
Hmmm, I wonder what was the last straw for poor ol' pete?
565 posted on 03/02/2002 10:51:47 PM PST by Canticle_of_Deborah
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To: FresnoDA
HA
566 posted on 03/02/2002 10:52:12 PM PST by Cold Heat
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
The police chief said somewhere on my webpage that the newsmedia has the time line messed up in places.

Seems the Van Dam's may be the ones with the conflicting timeline.

567 posted on 03/02/2002 10:52:49 PM PST by quimby
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To: FresnoDA
Sneakypete has been banned!

Whoa.......what did he do? Hilarious !!!!!!

568 posted on 03/02/2002 10:52:50 PM PST by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
I would question the perps attny..he's reported to be a pitbull by fellow attorneys..see if he's got something going on with Rick Robers..cuz according to the time line, rick roberts nailed the parents AFTER the perp hired the attny..

Uhmm...Feldman is a Pitbull.....as for his relationship with Rick Roberts?  Dunno??

'A trial dog': Defense attorney in girl's kidnapping case is widely respected for his relentless legal tactics

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

February 23, 2002

Fellow lawyers tend to make references to dogs when they talk about criminal defense attorney Steven Feldman.

They call him a "pit bull" or "a trial dog," or they compare him to a dog with a bone. They mean these things as a compliment – for the most part.

Feldman is the attorney for David Westerfield, the self-employed Sabre Springs engineer who was arrested yesterday in the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

A former University of California Berkeley student activist, Feldman has a reputation as one of the most tenacious and talented criminal defense attorneys in San Diego. His colleagues in the legal community talk about his relentless work habits, his withering cross-examinations and his obsessive attention to detail.

Although Westerfield remains something of an enigma, most San Diego lawyers say he appears to have excellent judgment when it comes to choosing legal representation.

Feldman has become a familiar face on the evening news in the weeks since he was hired by Westerfield, who lives near the missing girl's family and whose house has been searched by police.

The attorney has developed a regular routine of giving exasperated no-comments to the throng of reporters as he scurries to his car and slams the door. He didn't return several phone calls seeking comment for this story.

"If you're in a murder trial with him, you're in a war," said San Diego prosecutor Garland Peed, who heads the district attorney's gang unit. "If you underestimate him or are unprepared, he will hand you your head on a platter."

San Diego defense lawyer Kerry Steigerwalt, who has handled several high-profile murder cases, called Feldman "tireless."

"No one who is a client of Steve Feldman can complain that they have a lawyer who isn't aggressive," Steigerwalt said.

Feldman's confrontational style can get on his opponents' nerves. Prosecutor Richard McCue said Feldman comes across as "a noisy, aggressive guy" and "a jerk." He tends to raise objections at a rapid-fire pace and isn't willing to concede even the most minor point.

"He can be annoying in the courtroom, there's no question about it," said San Diego prosecutor Gregg McClain, who heads the district attorney's economic fraud division. "There are no easy points. Every point is difficult. He's going to argue every objection to the hilt. He's going to take every witness to task."

Feldman has been practicing law in San Diego for more than two decades and has handled a number of high-profile cases. In the early 1980s he earned an acquittal in the case of a man who had spent more than five years in jail awaiting trial on charges of killing a Los Angeles jeweler at a Calexico motel. Prosecutors were seeking the death penalty, and Feldman's work in the case earned him a public-service award from the San Diego criminal defense bar.

In 1991, in another murder case, a jury acquitted Feldman's client after deliberating only 25 minutes.

His former law partner, Elisabeth Semel, said Feldman has a knack for becoming a quick expert on the highly technical scientific issues at the heart of many murder cases. He is recognized as one of the most knowledgeable criminal defense attorneys in the country in the area of the science related to time of death, Semel said.

Semel, who heads the Death Penalty Clinic at UC Berkeley's law school, said she once watched Feldman reduce a police officer to tears during a relentless cross-examination.

"He's always, always 10 steps ahead of whomever he's examining on the witness stand," she said.

A 1973 graduate of Loyola Law School in Los Angeles, Feldman is married to a schoolteacher and has two children.

While some prosecutors might find his personality grating, many of them also say they enjoy competing against him in court.

San Diego prosecutor McClain said, "His job is to make our life difficult, and he excels at it."

 


569 posted on 03/02/2002 10:53:00 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: goldenstategirl
I am afraid it was these "van dam(ned) thread"!! LOL
570 posted on 03/02/2002 10:53:50 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: goldenstategirl
Pete's posts are often confrontational to the Nth degree.
571 posted on 03/02/2002 10:54:12 PM PST by Cold Heat
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To: FresnoDA
WOW, you sure like to use up that bandwidth. :)
572 posted on 03/02/2002 10:55:39 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
Kim, did you see AMW? If I recall right, Mr VD said he checked the back sliding glass door at 1:30 am and it was slightly open which he attributed to someone discarding ashes off a cigarrette and that some of the people at the party were smokers...the party didn't begin until 2:30 am, can you explain that?
573 posted on 03/02/2002 10:56:04 PM PST by rolling_stone
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To: quimby;~Kim4VRWC's~
The police chief said somewhere on my webpage that the newsmedia has the time line messed up in places.

www.runninginterferenceforbrendadamon.com

 

574 posted on 03/02/2002 10:56:06 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: wirestripper
UM..he's not the only confrontational one...but I'm sure Jim Rob will continue to allow enough to make people feel good about themselves. :) He knows me well enough to know that I don't do that..as well does the old-timers know too.
575 posted on 03/02/2002 10:56:55 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: FresnoDA
San Diego prosecutor McClain said, "His job is to make our life difficult, and he excels at it."

From the looks of things at this point, the van Dams have given him a huge arsenal.

576 posted on 03/02/2002 10:57:51 PM PST by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
WOW, you sure like to use up that bandwidth. :)
Free Republic Forum
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Free Republic . We are always at home for you.

Must be my broadband connection, sometimes I forget!!!  By the way, I have contributed my dear, have you????  Enquiring minds want to know!!  SUPPORT FR!!  Good night!

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You guys keep up the good fight, I am out of here.  Need to give up some of the old bandwidth for Kimberly!!

577 posted on 03/02/2002 11:00:23 PM PST by FresnoDA
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
He knows me well enough to know that I don't do that..as well does the old-timers know too.

I'd give you a special award for this status about which you boast, but you slaughtered this sentence so badly that I'll have to withhold it.

578 posted on 03/02/2002 11:01:34 PM PST by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: rolling_stone
No I didn't watch it..I wish I did..but I'm not sure what the problem is. The police will get him if his story is full of holes, don't ya think? Some on here would lead you to believe that the police are closing their eyes at the van dan's reports. BTW, any reporter can ask the investigators whether or not the van dams failed or passed the test. Maybe we should freepmail and ask a reporter to do just that.
579 posted on 03/02/2002 11:02:07 PM PST by Freedom2specul8
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To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
The first time he posted to a reoly that I made, I freeked! I could not understand what motivated it. I was a newbee.
580 posted on 03/02/2002 11:02:57 PM PST by Cold Heat
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