Posted on 06/05/2002 11:36:24 PM PDT by FresnoDA
Petty of you, Kim...
sw
sw
No, I'm just a retired engineer in Texas, with too much time on my hands. Watching this trial almost makes ME feel dirty. The ONLY ones I feel sorry for are Daneille and the the two boys.
She immediately broke into tears when she was asked by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek to name her children and give their ages.
She regained her composure and began to testify about visiting defendant David Westerfield's home with Danielle and one of her brothers to sell Girl Scout cookies, and about Westerfield buying her and her friends a drink at a bar early on the morning of her daughter's disappearance.
She said she smoke marijuana before leaving home.
Van Dam came to the stand after a medical examiner, Dr. Brian Blackbourne, testified that he could only estimate the time of death as 10 days to six weeks prior to the autopsy.
Blackbourne also said he concluded the girl's death was a homicide from the position of the body, its location far from her home and because searchers had been looking for her for three weeks. Under questioning by the defense, Blackbourne said there was no evidence the girl was strangled and there was no evidence of sexual assault.
Dr. Norman "Skip" Sperber, a forensic dentist, testified that four of Danielle's teeth were missing when he examined her mouth, but that he later found one.
Sperber, under questioning by Dusek, testified that teeth commonly fall out during decomposition, but that none was found under the body after it was discovered Feb. 27 near a tree in Dehesa.
In opening statements, the prosecution suggested that the loss of teeth showed Danielle could have been suffocated, that her teeth could have been knocked out by a forceful hand against her mouth.
Most of the testimony Wednesday came from the girl's father, Damon van Dam, who admitted he lied to police about smoking marijuana the night before his daughter disappeared when police first started investigating the case.
Once he realized the gravity of situation, he said that he was completely frank about the events leading up to the girl's disappearance sometime late Feb. 1 or early the next morning.
Van Dam also testified that he had engaged in past extramarital intercourse with the same two women who went out with his wife the night before he reported his daughter missing.
Westerfield, 50, a self-employed design engineer who lived two doors away from the van Dams in Sabre Springs, is charged with murder, kidnapping, possession of child pornography and the special circumstance of murder during a kidnapping. He could get the death penalty if convicted.
Soon after the search for the second-grader began, rumors about the van Dams' so-called swinging lifestyle fueled speculation that their behavior could have had something to do with her disappearance.
Van Dam, 36, said Barbara Easton and Denise Kemel went with his wife on a "girl's night out" to Dad's Cafe in nearby Poway the night of Feb. 1, because Easton was scheduled to be transferred out of town.
Defense attorney Steven Feldman dwelled on the subject of his relationship with the other women, questioning the Qualcomm software engineer about when and where he had sex with them.
Feldman also quizzed him about kissing and massaging Easton in his bedroom after the women returned after a night on the town.
Van Dam testified that he did not notice his home security system indicated that any doors or windows had been opened after he put Danielle to bed and before the women returned.
Van Dam fell asleep, woke about two hours earlier and, at that time, testified that he did such an indicator. He testified that he also checked a garage door.
Much of the early testimony was designed to orient jurors -- six women and six men -- to the layout of the van Dam home. Van Dam described the upstairs hallway that led to bedrooms and Danielle's room.
Van Dam said he and wife Brenda "got very nervous very quickly" when they discovered Danielle missing the morning of Feb. 2. He searched outside and noticed their side gate, which is difficult to open, ajar.
A lot of the stress, is from all of the lies-- and knowing precious time is lost by getting caught up in them. The grief is another matter.
(It really does show the difficulties in written communications as you say -- especially since I think you'll find we agree on a lot about this trial, anyway.)
Here is a blast from the past for you!!!!
| Additional Quirks: Danielle was last seen wearing blue flowered pajamas with flowers Her favorite colors are pink and purple Danielle belongs to her local Brownie troop Family friends have set up a website at: http://daniellemissing.tripod.com San Diego police are scouring the Sabre Springs area for 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. Police say Danielle's parents, Damon and Brenda van Dam, reported her missing when they discovered Danielle was not in her room at about 9 a.m. Saturday, February 2, 2002. Damon told police he put Danielle and her two brothers to bed at around 10:30 Friday night while Brenda was out celebrating with friends until about 2 a.m. Saturday, a send-off for a woman who was leaving the area, detectives said. When Brenda arrived home with four friends at about 2 am, police say they ate pizza with Damon and talked for about an hour. Shortly after the friends left, police say Damon and Brenda told them they noticed lights blinking on their burglar alarm panel and found a sliding glass door and a side garage door open. Police say the alarm was not set, but the panel is a type that indicates when doors and windows are opened and shut at all times. The couple told police they closed the doors and went to bed, and did not check on the children. Saturday morning, police say the couple told them a friend stopped by at about 9 am to see if Danielle could come out and play. Damon and Brenda told police that they thought Danielle was still sleeping and that Brenda went to wake Danielle. That is when police say the couple discovered Danielle was missing from her room and called 9-1-1. Police began investigating immediately, using helicopters, horses and dogs to search the area canyons for Danielle, a second-grader at Creekside Elementary School in Sabre Springs. Officers also conducted door-to-door searches and provided the Border Patrol and Customs Service with photos of Danielle to keep watch for her at the border. Detectives additionally interviewed family members, neighbors, schoolmates and friends about the disappearance, hoping to develop leads, but had no luck. Danielle was last seen wearing blue pajamas with flowers. She is white, 4 feet tall and weighs about 58 pounds. She has blue eyes and blond hair. Police say at this point the parents are not considered suspects and have been extremely cooperative with investigators. Police are considering one of the van Dam's neighbors to be the prime suspect. Police have searched his home and impounded his vehicles. At the time of this writing, an arrest has not been made. |
The most recent Television Interview with the VD's contradicts what they told SDPD and AMW just 2 weeks ago!! The March 2 interview will be the third major revision to the events of the evening of Feb. 1-2, 2002. 1. Kids Put To Bed at 10:30 P.M., by Damon VD.
2. Brenda arrives at VD residence at 2:00 A.M. with FOUR FRIENDS
3. Brenda and her friends "The Four Amigos" eat pizza with Damon, and “talk” for about one hour.
4. 3:00 A.M., "The Four Amigos" depart the VD residence.
5. Damon and Brenda notice the alarm lights blinking.
6. Damon and Brenda notice BOTH the sliding glass door AND the side garage door are open.
7. Damon and Brenda note that alarm was not “SET” but was only in the monitoring mode.
8. Damon and Brenda tell police they closed all doors, and went to bed.
9. Damon and Brenda DID NOT CHECK on the condition of the children.
10. Approximate time, 3:15 A.M.
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