Officer describes scene where Danielle was found
Posted on 03/11/2002 4:56:10 PM PST by FresnoDA
Officer describes scene where Danielle was found
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 Police lieutenant, medical examiner testify at hearing for WesterfieldBy Jeffrey J. RoseSIGNONSANDIEGO Updated 3 p.m. 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 the stairwell inside the van Dams' home and on concrete outside the 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 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, but under questioning by Feldman later admitted he could not pinpoint the time of Danielle's death and in fact she could have been killed as late as Feb. 10 or later. 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. Testifying Monday afternoon at the pretrial hearing was Christina Hoeffs, a dispatcher for the California Highway Patrol whose home is behind and above Westerfield's. Hoeffs said that after she got up to attend to her infant son around 2:30 a.m. Feb. 2, she went back to her bedroom and through her window noticed all the window blinds at the rear of Westerfield's home were shut tight. She said she also observed an outside back light remained on that she had first noticed was on at 10 p.m. "I did make a note of it because he doesn't usually do that," Hoeffs said. "I've never seen the blinds shut completely tight on every window in his home." The blue-eyed, 7-year-old girl was last seen when her father, Damon van Dam, put her to bed around 10 p.m. 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. Neither Damon nor Brenda van Dam, the girl's mother, attended Monday's hearing, which was broadcast live on local television stations. Norman D. Sperber, a forensic dentist, also testified Monday on the condition of the body's teeth and how he identified the body through comparison with dental records.
 Union-Tribune reports were used in compiling this story |
At the time, I thought perhaps my friend was getting nervous over too much publicity of the case or something (and a mother's natural worry over such a pretty little girl), but it does look like there might be cause to think this is bigger than just the Van Dams and such. How do they afford all this? How does Westerfield, as well? You can be living in the dirt and have patents, having patents doesn't mean anything, really. Perhaps he/the Van Dams/the CHP & dispatcher wife did come by all that much money honestly. Still, makes you go "hmmm."
"Brenda and Damon van Dam, both from south Florida, married 13 years ago. Danielle was born in Texas, and the family lived in a suburb of Dallas while she was a baby. They moved to Arizona and stayed less than a year before Damon van Dam found a new job in California. "
(SNIP)
"Damon van Dam, the son of two teachers, spent the past nine months working as a contractor for Qualcomm.
Before that, he worked for Nuera, a high-tech company in Sorrento Valley.
Damon travels regularly for business, and the family was planning to accompany him Feb. 11 on a two-week trip to Italy."
Brenda was apparently a stay-at-home mom, and folks who work in California and know the job market say that for what Damon does, he should only earn about $75,000.
As for Westerfield, his patents do pay off, apparently. They are for medical devices that have found a good, paying market.
Any truth to this allegation? Any confirmation about the Van Dams being a "swinging" couple?
From today's Preliminary Hearing.......:0)
RICK ROBERTS’ SOURCE, HIGH-PLACED LAW ENFORCEMENT OFFICIAL’ TOLD RICK
The comments of Rick Roberts source (a high placed law enforcement official) are in bold type. Additional information from other sources (press, etc.) are in italics.
David Westerfield has been quoted in the press as saying that he was a friend of the van Dams.
The van Dams have denied this, stating that their only contact with him was when Brenda and Danielle came to his home to sell girl scout cookies, and when they exchanged greeting as they passed by.
The bar has been identified in the press as "Dad’s Café and Steak House."
David Westerfield openly admitted that he was at the bar that night. He claims that he danced with Brenda van Dam. Brenda denies this.
Heard somewhere that DW was and that he failed it. Seems unlikely, since he got himself an attorney, but could be true.
Anybody know how old Mrs. Van Dam is? I know photos can be so unflattering, especially when the person is under duress. Does she look older than her years, or...?
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