Defense Could Ask For Change Of Venue At Murder Arraignment
SAN DIEGO -- A San Diego man accused of murdering a little girl who lived two doors away from him and dumping her body in East County is set to be arraigned Thursday afternoon on charges of murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography. David Westerfield, 50, is accused of murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. At the hearing, he is expected to enter a plea to the charges against him. In addition, attorneys for the prosecution and defense could present motions including a request for a speedy trial or a change of venue because of the publicity the case has generated in San Diego. The district attorney's office could also announce a decision on whether it will seek the death penalty if Westerfield is convicted.
Westerfield, who is being held without bail, was arrested in late March after police received the results of DNA analysis from blood stains found on Westerfield's clothing and inside his motor home. Investigators said that the tests showed the blood was Danielle's.
Brenda and Damon van Dam reported their second-grader missing from the second-floor bedroom of their Sabre Springs home the morning of Feb. 2. Her nude body was found off a rural two-lane road east of El Cajon on Feb. 27 by volunteer searchers. The San Diego County medical examiner was unable to determine the cause of death because the body was too decomposed. Police identified Westerfield after they learned that he left the neighborhood for a weekend outing that included a journey to the beach, the desert and back to the beach. During a three-day preliminary hearing earlier this month, detectives testified that Westerfield's explanation of the trip had a number of inconsistencies and he was unusually cooperative during searches of his home and vehicles.
A San Diego police fingerprint examiner testified that a fingerprint lifted from a cabinet above a bed in Westerfield's motorhome matched prints he took from the dead girl's hands. But the technician admitted to Westerfield's attorney that he could not say when the print had been made.
The child pornography charges stem from images that police found while searching the computer drives and disks from Westerfield's computers. While that charge is a misdemeanor, Assistant District Attorney Jeff Dusek said that it would support the prosecution theory that Westerfield kidnapped Danielle for sexual purposes.