Posted on 03/11/2002 12:04:45 PM PST by lady reaper
Police lieutenant, medical examiner testify at hearing for Westerfield
By Jeffrey J. Rose
SIGNONSANDIEGO
March 11, 2002
SAN DIEGO – A preliminary hearing for David Westerfield, charged in connection with the kidnap and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, opened Monday morning with testimony by a police lieutenant who described the scene where the girl's naked, blackened body was found off Dehesa Road.
"I saw the body of what appeared to be a young child, in an advanced stage of decomposition, on her back," said police Lt. James C. Collins.
Collins said that although parts of the unclothed body had decomposed so much that the tissue had disappeared, he noticed the body was wearing a plastic choker necklace and an earring in its left ear identical to those Danielle was wearing the evening she disappeared on Feb. 1.
There were drag marks in leaves on the ground near the body, Collins said.
"It looked like somebody had dragged it into the underbrush," he said.
Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman, asked Collins whether he was aware of blood found by forensic investigators on concrete in the stairwell and on concrete outside the van Dams' garage. Collins, who headed the investigation into Danielle's disappearance, responded that he was not.
Feldman also asked Collins about drag marks found near the van Dams' Sabre Springs home, and Collins responded that he was aware that drag marks had been found near a sidewalk there.
San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian D. Blackbourne, the next to testify, said a lot of the body had been destroyed by animals and the remaining parts were severely decomposed, with the skin "mummified."
Blackbourne testified that the condition of the body was consistent with having been dead for the 3½ weeks Danielle was missing.
Much of the body's tissue was missing, he said, as was its left foot. An autopsy found that the organs of the chest were mostly intact, and fluid and air were found in its lungs, he testified.
Blackbourne testified that in the autopsy he looked for evidence of sexual molestation but was hampered by the body's poor condition.
The cause of death could not be immediately determined, Blackbourne said.
"The deterioration of even the tissue that was there makes it difficult to determine a cause of death unless a major, major trauma was the cause," he testified.
Although he could not immediately determine a cause, Blackbourne said he could determine that the death was a homicide based on the circumstances of Danielle's disappearance and discovery of her body.
The body was found by volunteer searchers Feb. 27 about 25 feet from the north side of Dehesa Road, about a mile east of Singing Hills Country Club and about 1½ miles west of Sycuan Casino.
Westerfield, a 50-year-old neighbor of Danielle's, pleaded not guilty to murder, kidnapping and possessing child pornography at a court hearing Feb. 26. If convicted, Westerfield could face the death penalty.
The blue-eyed, 7-year-old girl was last seen when her father put her to bed in their Sabre Springs home the night of Feb. 1. She was discovered missing the next morning, spurring a hunt that involved hundreds of volunteers.
Investigators believe Danielle was kidnapped from her bedroom and taken to the Silver Strand near Coronado by Westerfield, who then drove sometime on Feb. 2 to the desert.
Or if this child was indeed even molested..
This will be an interesting case to watch..
If this is the Prosecution's A-Team, then I'd hate to see the rest.
sw
you are correct. With some cases of advance decomposition, especially when a body has been exposed during a very dry weather period, a body will turn black and appear "burnt".
Damon Van Dam's actions are suspect to say the least. Why would one vacuum the home, after finding out his daughter is missing? Removing evidence, I would say; this is the last thing one would do.
Perhaps this was an accidental death, but it's hard to imagine the Van Dams knew what happened to Danielle beforehand. Okay, I'm going back and forth with this, lol...
And then suddenly there was All This BLOOOD!
Freakout time!
Dad supposed to be home, babysitting. But is out with with neighbor woman.
Westerfield has wanted to join in 'reindeer games' but not allowed due to red nose (no partner to swap).
Mrs. VD could have 'danced' with Westerfield, turned him on, then dissed him. Or she could have been doing it with someone else and made Westerfield 'jealous'.
Westerfield returns home at 1030pm.
He goes over to talk to Mr. VD, thinking maybe he will 'let him in the club'.
BUT, Mr. VD isn't home.
Danielle is awoken by the doorbell and answers the door.
Maybe Westerfield decides he will tell Danielle about her mother's activities. Takes her to the garage to show her the evidence. Get's excited, wants to party, gets carried away and hurts Danielle or she won't cooperate.
You can take it from there..... But this would explain the reluctance of the parents to come out with the full truth. They left their children HOME ALONE, and could loose all of them, not just the one they already lost.
Even though a lot is suspect now, we still cannot exempt Westerfield either.
May have done so to duck-walk under overhanging bushes, while still bringing the body with him. Also, may have wanted to avoid getting any (or more) of her blood on him. Then again, maybe he was just angry at her, possibly for resisting him, and dragged her out of contempt, even when she was dead or nearly dead.
At this point, though, I don't think we know whether he did the dragging. Remember what the coroner said? Animals had gotten to her body after it was dumped. Ever see coyotes or hyenas eat dead prey larger than they are? I have, and they drag the body in the process of trying to tear off flesh and/or to position the body where they can see anything about to attack them.
The realist has to agree with you. It will go to trial..
sw
The reasonable doubt that any crime was even committed, when combined with the reasonable doubt that it was Westerfield who did it, if it was done, ...creates a loophole through which all of Southern California from Claremeont to Chula Vista could pass.
Van-Dammit.
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