Feldman's Questions Show Defense Strategy: Dig into Damon and Brenda van Dam's Private Lives!

KNSD NBC ^ | March 19, 2002 | Lynn Stuart

[FresnoDA]

Experts say attorney Steven Feldman's questioning of the van Dams gives clues to the strategy he will pursue during the trial.

Feldman's questions show defense strategy by Lynn Stuart

SAN DIEGO, March 15 –    When the parents of Danielle van Dam testified Thursday at a hearing to decide if the murder case should go to trial, it gave the suspect's attorney, Steven Feldman, an opportunity to grill them.

Much of the questioning may have seemed like needless digging into the couple's private lives, but experts say Feldman was laying groundwork for his defense.

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At times during the long day of questioning, Brenda and Damon van Dam appeared openly exasperated by the tough questioning dished out by Feldman. The attorney for murder defendant David Westerfield focused on the couple's drug use, their alleged "swinging lifestyle," and lies they told to police early in the investigation into Danielle van Dam's disappearance. Many of his questions were ruled irrelevant, and at times it appeared to the untrained observer that the attorney was asking the same questions over and over as he tried to find a wording that satisfied the judge. But legal experts gave Feldman's savvy courtroom performance high marks.

"It may just look like not much was happening, but Steve Feldman really got in there, he did his homework and he got the answers to the questions he needed to get," criminal defense lawyer Gretchen von Helms said.

Some of the questioning was an attempt to catch the van Dams in inconsistencies. If Feldman can show that Brenda or Damon answered Thursday in ways that contradict or were inconsistent with their past statements or the testimony of others, it could hurt the prosecution's case when it goes before the future jury.

One example is when Feldman questioned Brenda about her night out at Dad's Cafe.

"You just told me you don't recall dancing with David Westerfield. Is that true?" Feldman asked.

"Yes," Brenda answered.

Feldman claims that he has witnesses who will testify that they saw Brenda dancing with Westerfield the night before Danielle was discovered missing. That could raise doubts about the mother among jurors, legal observers said.

"He wasn't asking those questions for anything but preparing a transcript so that he can use that for impeaching those witnesses at trial and he did that very effectively.," von Helms said. Feldman peppered both parents with questions about their drug use.

"How often did you smoke marijuana?' he asked.

During the preliminary hearing, the judge ruled that many of Feldman's questions about the van Dams' lifestyle were irrelevant. But during the trial, the defense will be permitted more latitude, and von Helms expects Feldman to bring up the subject again.

"It opens up to the defense to go in an say not only were they doing drugs and having sex and all these other things, which in one side of it, but also that it affected their ability to be parents," von Helms said.

The questioning also gave Feldman a chance to see how the van Dam's react to his questions. How the van Dams appear to a jury could plant seeds of doubt that affect their deliberations on Westerfield's guilt. Legal experts say if the parent's don't show any more emotion in trial than they did in court today, that factor alone could hurt them with a jury.

[fivecatsandadog]

It would be interesting to know the date the search team first looked there and the date the body was found there. Wasn't Damon working pretty closely with the search teams? Speculating, theorizing, not accusing.

[wonders]

Do those trails go anywhere, or do they circle around the immediate area? Just wondering...

Again, I don't know.

Some people who have been there have said on other boards that the dirt road appears to have been made by cars going up there to dump trash. Another person said there's a dumpster about 100 yards farther up the road, and maybe it's for the county trash truck. Yet another said he/she saw a county trash truck drive up the road when he/she there.

[wonders]

Do off road bicyclists use paths in that area?

I haven't a clue. If the road really ends at a dumpster, I doubt it. It doesn't look like a pleasant place to ride to me. But perhaps it connects up with a trail near the quarry or something. Maybe someone more familiar with the area can answer that.

[demsux]

Could this be the trail... Link

BTW, weren't Damon, one of the son's and a friend of Damon going mountain biking on that Saturday?

[wonders]

If the body was kept somewhere else, then moved to the Dehasa site shortly before it was found, forensic specialists will find flora and fauna, plus fibre and other evidence of that.

I'll bet they sifted through all the garbage there, too, and perhaps could approximate dates things were dumped, possibly names and addresses of people who dumped there (junk mail, etc.)

Okay, somebody play Alice's Restaurant now! ;)

[wonders]

Could this be the trail...

Wow! Great work! Could be, sounds close, at least. Again, I don't know the area, so I can't say. Maybe another FReeper from the area can tell.

BTW, weren't Damon, one of the son's and a friend of Damon going mountain biking on that Saturday?

What I've read is that Damon and Derrick were supposed to go mountain biking with Bill Libby and his son on Saturday, but the trip was postponed until Sunday because Libby had a schedule conflict or something.

[FresnoDA]

Anyone want to trade 8 speed RF+ shifters for my GS 800 Xrays and Avid Speeddial 2.0 leavers. These are coming on a brand new bike ariving next Friday, so if you call me before then they will be pristine...else youll get them with some of my sweat on them (yuk!).

Damon van Dam 214-684-4189 Damon van Dam

Hmmm......Avid Mountain Bike Fan......

Dehasa Road.....Avid Mountain Bike Fan RIDING AREA.....

Could this mean anything???

NNAAHHHHH!!

It is just another van DAM coincidence.........

[GoRepGo]

From what I remember, BVD testified that Damon, Derrick and friends were suppose to go snowboarding at Big Bear that weekend.

[Jaded]

First searched Feb 23, body found Feb 27. I do know that the first search was the day after DW was arrested.

[HamiltonJay]

Sickening. The only good thing to come out of this is that the little girl is with our Heavenly Father now.

NO, the sick bastard that butchered her in cold blood has been caught dead to rights, and is no longer on the streets to prey on the children of others.

[Jaded]

Wouldn't it have been more difficult to move if it had begun to decompose?

[wonders]

First searched Feb 23, body found Feb 27. I do know that the first search was the day after DW was arrested.

Hmmm.

Oh, the place where DW kept his RV was a friend's house. Residential area, large houses on large lots. I wonder whether the friend was home that night, whether he/she heard or saw anything. From the aerial photo, though, it looks like the RV could have been parked out of view of the house.

[FresnoDA]

NO, the sick bastard that butchered her in cold blood has been caught dead to rights, and is no longer on the streets to prey on the children of others.

Damon?  Is that you?  Or unless this is Keith or Rich, Barb or Denise......were you there that night?  We are a long way from bringing this train into the station....

[HamiltonJay]

Don't know what news you are following on this case, but her blood found in his camper, hes out of town for the weekend, body found along path to where he at... pretty much dead to rights case, unless of course you are a subscriber of OJ Law, and believe he was innocent too.

[bvw]

Media lumpkin, don't be.

[wonders]

Wouldn't it have been more difficult to move if it had begun to decompose?

Yes, it sure would have been. Parts can even fall off. (Now people will get going with the missing foot again!) And I just can't bring myself to think how utterly ghoulish it would have been if the killer moved her then. It's way beyond anything I want to think about.

Also, at that stage of decomposition, few animal scavengers would have been attracted to the body, just vultures and such.

Again, the forensic experts will be able to determine if the body was moved.

[rolling_stone]

Interesting that the media reported the wandering journey of DW BEFORE the body was found, making it possible for someone if they had the victim to figure out a good place to put her...

Yesterday I was trying to find the address of the area where the body was found and came up with this

The body was found about 25 feet from the north side of Dehesa Road, about a mile east of Singing Hills Country Club and about 11/2 miles west of Sycuan Casino. -san diego union tribune...I checked map quest and guess it was in the 4000-5000 block of Dehesa road..as described above the north side of the road might indicate a vehicle returning from the east or of course going east and crossing the road..., map quest does show what looks to be a lake/river near there but I am not familiar with the area...

[fivecatsandadog]

I knew you would like that one, Fresno.

[fivecatsandadog]

"Interesting that the media reported the wandering journey of DW BEFORE the body was found, making it possible for someone if they had the victim to figure out a good place to put her..."

Hmmm.... could the media be influenced by VD's PR firm?

And then, First searched Feb 23, body found Feb 27. I do know that the first search was the day after DW was arrested.

So, DW was arrested Feb 22. The Feb 23 search at Dehesa turned up nothing. They go BACK on Feb 27 (DW is behind bars) and VOILA, the body is there. Hmmmm.....

[MizSterious]

H.J., he didn't even leave the area until around 9 the morning she was found missing. Now why would a killer stick around all that time, knowing people were going to start looking for the little girl--and likely questioning him? He's supposed to be a smart man--near genius, it's said--so why would he be that stupid? What if, instead of Westerfield, it turns out to be one of the over-sexed, drunken, stoned guests of the VDs? Hmmmm?