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.

[Freedom2specul8]

If this is his first time, you're right ..he has no history of it. The police I guess haven't charged him with any priors... He can't be held in jail for fantasies.. (the rape animations on the puters) ---*****BUT...the awol still leaves me curious. Wonder what he was running from..possible charges for something? I think he is an opportunist...one that took advantage of a situation. If he could hear noise from the garage, he knew the parents were um busy. Someone mentioned ted bundy...he could be like him. You're right, we dont' know a thing except for a few pieces of the puzzle. The study of crime...criminology. It does help sometimes. (I copied that paragraph cuz it fit the prevailing theme..which was if DW isn't a pedophile and IF he was mad at brenda and her girlfriends and killed danielle for revenge...that paragraph would make sense. HOWEVER, that doesn't mean I believe it and didn't mean to leave you with that impression..I somehow don't think he's that type--thats my instinct. grin~)

[Freedom2specul8]

silly girl..ya just gotta quit assuming. HA HA HA HA~! Let us get back to the topic at hand. Have you ever heard any more about the awol charge?

[rolling_stone]

Ok, how do you think it happened?

Are you positive two drops of blood two finger prints could not have gotten on the jacket and motorhome by either ..victim being in MH prior with cut or scratch say from falling off bicycle, or blood being tracked in by any number of means..such as when Damon was running around the neighborhood looking for his daughter and there was still blood in garage and stairways? Have you considered the remote possibility that a rogue person with access to blood could have put it on jacket or carpet in MH(is it impossible ?)

I acknowledge it looks bleak for DW but defense "strategy" as you put it does not show guilt..how can you get an alibi for when you are home in bed alone and sleeping? say from 11pm till 7 am? Stop for a second and put yourself in DW's shoes and pretend for a second you are innocent...And why so many alarm lights and not checking on the kids? That expands the possible time frames of abduction instead of narrowing it down..Oh they were locked in the garage by their testimony only around 7-8:30 pm and kids were put to bed and seen by Damon at 10 pm...when they came back they were supposedly at table near back door...why the conflicting stories by Damon about why he got up at 3:30 and where the dog was..look at his testimony, IMO he was caught in a lie or big mistake..

[Freedom2specul8]

Do you know any new information about westerfield's AWOL charge?

[rolling_stone]

KIM regards the AWOL, I replied to you last night it was a mistake..did you see any testimony in the prelim about it? Here is his changed booking slip at the SD county Sheriffs website sans AWOL charge:

PERSONAL ARREST Last: WESTERFIELD Agency: First: DAVID Location: Middle: A Hold Codes: Sex: M Bail Amount: $ 0 Race: W Facility: 1 Date of Birth: 02/25/1952 Cell: 05 Age: 50 Booking Date: 02/22/2002 Height: 6'02" Booking Time: 15:24 Weight: 210 lbs Booking Nbr: 02109697 ReBook Code: 1 -------------------------------------------------------------------------------- CHARGES: Description Code Statute Warrant Nbr Primary: KIDNAPPING PC 207/208(B) P Second: OBSCN MTR:MNR US 311.11(A) PC Third: MRDR:1ST DEG:S PC 187(A) PC Fourth: ADDITIONAL COU PR NONE Fifth: ADDITIONAL COU PR NONE

[spectre]

See reply #565 concerning the AWOL rumor.

Sorry to ruin you day with the answer, LOL!

[spectre]

"you" = "your"....:~)

sw

[rolling_stone]

My keyboard makes mistakes too, I think it is because of all the spewed diet coke from laughing at some of the posts here...

[fnord]

good post .. wasted target though. Some people are fixated on using 'sex sex sex' to marginalize all questions about the info available. Can you say straw man? Red herring? Makes me wonder what the motive is ...

[HamiltonJay]

Do you actually read what you write? May I remind you, REASONABLE doubt is not the same as WITHOUT DOUBT... You now are suggesting the mother trapsed the blood into the motorhome while looking for her daughter... the same moterhome that was not there when she woke up to find her child missing? And I suppose she just happened to somehow have a severed finger of her daughter with her as well to plant the fingerprint found inside the motorhome as well? And just happened to drop some blood on the jaket of the man who owned the motorhome too?

I'm sorry, but your attempt to present some plausible story sounds like Clinton wagging his finger... This guys getting his trial, but as of this moment, no reasonable doubt has been presented to counter the physical evidence...

You want me to put myself in the defendents shoes... well ok, first of all, No way blood from a neighbors child winds up in my motorhome... let alone fingerprints. I don't have blood from another person on my clothing, I don't have scratch marks all over my arms... you are going beyond REASONABLE DOUBT here... if this blood is the victims, and I have every reason to believe it is, and it is in his RV and on his coat, and he disappears for the weekend after she is abducted, returns with scratches all over his forarms, etc etc etc... there is no REASONABLE doubt presented at this time that this man did not do it.

He is getting his day in court to present his case, if he is not guilty then so be it, but I do not subscribe to the mentality he's just a victim of circumstance... way too much circumstances line up to point right at him.

[spectre]

You can still laugh?!

Spectre cleaned my keyboard, since most of my lunch ends up stuck to the keys...I had to promise not to eat lunch on my keyboard anymore...I bad.

sw

[Freedom2specul8]

I missed your post about it..don't ya love the assumptions people make about other people's motives on this thread!! talk about having to really stretch to get a thrill. :)

N-E-Wayz...The last time I went to the sheriff's website, all charges were erased off their website. That's odd..I see they've reposted them and dropped the military charge. I suspect, the charge isn't erased completely. If they had the right guy...if he really is awol, that'd be up to the military to take care of right?

[Freedom2specul8]

ACtually, have all the charges been modified? Obscentiy wasn't there before was it?.. That's why they changed them..

[Mrs.Liberty]

It would be up to the military to take care of. I do not think that a civilian LE agency would charge someone with being AWOL...that is a miltary charge and can only be handled in miltary courts.

[Freedom2specul8]

The charges on the sheriff's website were modified to match the petition on the court's website..---the complaint/petition

[Freedom2specul8]

that's what I thought awhile back...but I don't recall anyone ever confirming. SO, I suppose that would be confidential eh?

[rolling_stone]

Do you actually read what you write? May I remind you, REASONABLE doubt is not the same as WITHOUT DOUBT... You now are suggesting the mother trapsed the blood into the motorhome while looking for her daughter...

Uh well do you know what you are writing about? First off Damon is the father, Brenda is the mother, according to story DW related to Detective Keene, Motorhome was next to his house around 8:15-8:30 until 9:50 am on saturday and that he was loading it up(possibly leaving door open?)(did he have victim in MH then when she was found missing and police arrived?)

You do not need to sever a finger IF child had previously been inside MH.

So the child would never be allowed in your camper, but she has in fact climbed over her fence and scratched herself before, maybe she could have walked into the MH with or without DW's knowledge, remember DW loads and unloads it fom next to his house..would he lock the door each time he went into house to get something else or could a child have curiously gone inside for a few minutes? Sounds reasonable to me. I hope to heck you don't have any blood or prints in your camper and you go camping and the owner of the blood and prints is found dead..according to your standards you are guilty...remember we are not talking a lot of blood only minute drops...

[Freedom2specul8]

The prosecution called this murder 1..premeditation.. I'm wondering what evidence they have that shows he planned it ahead of time..

[rolling_stone]

It takes only minutes to premeditate as compared to in the heat of passion...

[Freedom2specul8]

U.S. Army Deserter Information Point AND SURRENDER OF MILITARY PERSONNEL TO CIVILIAN LAW ENFORCEMENT AGENCIES

PART 630--ABSENTEE DESERTER APPREHENSION PROGRAM