Damon Van Dam Takes Witness Stand: Day 2 of Westerfield Trial

SAN DIEGO -- The tearful father of murder victim Danielle van Dam admitted under oath Wednesday that he initially lied to police about a few events at his home that led up to her disappearance.

Damon van Dam, 36, said police asked him what had happened in the garage of his home that night when two friends of his wife, Brenda, arrived before a "girls night out" at Dad's Cafe in Poway.

The father testified that he initially didn't tell authorities that he had taken "a puff or two" from a marijuana cigarette the women were smoking.

"I didn't think it mattered and I didn't want to get in trouble for that," van Dam told prosecutor Jeff Dusek.

But van Dam said that after the officers told him they were only interested in finding his daughter, he began to be truthful with them.

He said he also did not tell police about one of his wife's girlfriends, Barbara Easton, coming into his bedroom that night after returning from the outing.

"When they told me it was absolutely critical to know what happened that night, I told them everything that happened that night," van Dam said.

He said Barbara was on the bed with him, above the covers, for about five minutes as Brenda first went to the bathroom, then downstairs.

"I kissed (Barbara), snuggled her some," van Dam said. "I think I put my arm around her and rubbed her back."

Damon van Dam

In his opening statement Tuesday, defense attorney Steven Feldman said that initial lies from the van Dams threw the police investigation off track.

Much of the morning testimony in the David Westerfield trial Wednesday was designed to orient jurors to the layout of the van Dam house, by using a floor plan and photographs.

Van Dam described the upstairs hallway that led to bedrooms, and also told the jury of six men and six women what was in Danielle's room. One of the issues in the case is whether artwork posted on the doors of the bedrooms would help someone know which room would be hers.

He added that each of the children's rooms had night lights, but Danielle's was burned out, so he opened the drapes to allow light from the street into the room.

Shown a photograph of his daughter's door, van Dam began to cry as he described why a dog gate had been placed there.

"I asked that the room not be cleaned," he finally explained.

Earlier today, Dr. Norman "Skip" Sperber, a forensic dentist, testified that four of Danielle's teeth were missing when he examined her mouth.

One eventually was found "way in the back of the mouth, where the gum meets the cheek," he said.

Under questioning by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek, Sperber said it is not unusual for teeth to fall out during decomposition.

The child's body was found near some dumped trash and under a tree off a road in Dehesa in East County.

However, no teeth were found at the scene, Sperber said. He explained that animals, who sometimes carry away human remains, normally do not bother with teeth.

In opening statements, the prosecution said the loss of teeth showed that Danielle could have been suffocated.

I don't know...But the nightlight could have been out for awhile, who can prove Damon's alibi?

Maybe he knew the nightlight was out...maybe there wasn't one. I don't know.

I do know, it's another one of those coincidences that has a smell to it.

I'm just wondering WHY the subject of the nightlight and open blinds was approached at all? It isn't that the bedroom was on the lst floor?

Are they trying to say that DW looked at the sleeping Danielle with his binoculars...thru the blinds...with only the street-light, and got all hot and bothered and went and took her?

OR...did Damon just not put her to bed and made the whole thing up...like he hasn't lied before?

There should be a point to this line of testimony, shouldn't there?

But if the other visitors to the house have been CLEARED, then the fact that the parents swing is a seperate issue than the fact that their daughter was murdered.

The point is that they were "cleared" so early, they may as well have been totally ignored.

It has been suggested that some LE and one very friendly retired LE were immediately on the side of the van Dams. Now we can all speculate about the juicy details of that story, but.......

I don't think the "comings and goings" of everyone in and around that house have been given more than lip service. That is not the pursuit of justice or truth. Remember.......the goal is to convict the guilty; not simply convict. Evidence shows that sometimes that distinction is forgotten.

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