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Westerfield On Trial (WEEK 1 Recap): Brenda Van Dam, Dad's Bar
KGTV 10 News-San Diego ^ | June 7, 2002 | KGTV

Posted on 06/06/2002 10:15:36 PM PDT by FresnoDA

Westerfield On Trial....WEEK 1 Recap....

 

Day 3: Brenda Van Dam, Dad's Bar

Mother Of Murdered Girl Breaks Down On Stand

Posted: 7:16 p.m. PDT June 6, 2002
Updated: 7:42 p.m. PDT June 6, 2002
SAN DIEGO -- No concerted effort was made between Brenda and Damon van Dam to withhold "lifestyle" information from police officers investigating the disappearance of their daughter, the mother testified Thursday.
Brenda van Dam was on the witness stand most of the third day of David Westerfield's kidnap and murder trial.

Westerfield, 50, is accused of abducting and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam and could face the death penalty if convicted. The child's mother reported her missing the morning of Feb. 2.

Brenda van Dam told prosecutor Jeff Dusek she disclosed to officers everything about her "open marriage" once they made it clear that it was important.

The mother said she didn't discuss her decision not to disclose information with her husband.

"I would have told (the police) anything they needed to get Danielle back," the mother said.

Video
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Video Summary Of Day 3
VideoAttorney Milt Silverman's Analysis Of Day 3
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Brenda van Dam said nothing else was taken the night Danielle was abducted.

"I wish they'd taken everything else but her," the mother said tearfully.

Earlier in the day, Brenda van Dam testified there were never any sex parties at her Sabre Springs home.

She later said that during a Halloween party last October, she and her husband had sex with a friend and her husband in the van Dam home.

Westerfield, a self-employed engineer, is accused of kidnapping the second- grader, killing her and dumping the body near rural Dehesa Road, where it was found more than three weeks after she disappeared.

Brenda van Dam broke down a minute into her testimony, when asked to name her children and give their ages, then later while testifying about a father-daughter dance Danielle was scheduled to attend with her father a week after she vanished.

Dusek asked the mother about the first of two "girls nights out" at Dad's Cafe in Poway with two girlfriends. Dusek asked if any men were invited to the Jan. 25 get-together at Dad's Cafe. Van dam said no.

"Was there a sex party at your house when you got home?" Dusek asked, hoping to pre-empt an anticipated defense attack on the mother during cross-examination.

"There's never been a sex party at my house," she responded matter-of-factly.

She also described previous contacts with the defendant -- she had said he bought her a drink at Dad's -- including a visit to his house with Danielle and her younger brother to sell Girl Scout cookies.

While the children were playing in his back yard, she said the twice-divorced Westerfield told her he was interested in her friend, Barbara Easton, who had caught his eye at Dad's.

On the second outing to Dad's, Easton walked right up to Westerfield and began talking to him, van Dam told the court.

Brenda denied dancing with the defendant on either occasion.

Earlier in the day, Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne was asked about the cause and time of Danielle's death.

The girl's body was so decomposed when found by a volunteer searcher that it was impossible to establish a cause of death, Blackbourne had said Wednesday.

Thursday, he estimated her time of death at anywhere from 10 days to six weeks before the body was found Feb. 27.

Blackbourne also said it was possible that air temperature could be a variable in judging when she died. That led defense attorney Steven Feldman to suggest that especially hot days in late February could have accelerated the decomposition process.

In his opening statement Tuesday, Feldman told the jury that Westerfield could not possibly have dumped Danielle's body after Feb. 6, because he was under constant scrutiny by the police and the media.

"Is it your professional opinion (Danielle) could have been alive Feb. 6?" Feldman asked.

"Based on my observations? Yes," Blackbourne said.

"Feb. 7?"

"Yes."

"Feb. 17?" Feldman pressed.

"Possibly, yes," Blackbourne answered.

"Depending on the weather conditions, Feb. 22nd?" Feldman asked.

"That's pushing it for what I can accept," Blackbourne said.

He also testified he checked Danielle's body for signs of sexual assault but found none, primarily because of tissue damage from decomposition and animal activity.

Wednesday, the child's father admitted he lied to police about use of marijuana in the garage of his house the night of Feb. 1 -- hours before his daughter turned up missing.

He also told the court that on prior occasions he engaged in sex with both of Brenda's female friends.

A bartender at Dad's Cafe in Poway characterized Westerfield as a "people watcher," but termed a police report on the behavior of Brenda van Dam and two friends inaccurate.

Sean Brown said he was at work as a bar manager on the two nights that have come up in testimony in the case: Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.

It was Feb. 2 that the Sabre Springs 7-year-old was discovered missing.

Westerfield would talk to a regular customer, "hang out" and watch people as they drank and danced, Brown said. The bartender said he never saw the defendant dance or play pool.

Brown said Westerfield would drink 16-ounce rum-and-cokes.

"I believe David had a few drinks," Brown said of Feb. 1. "He was feeling good. He'd taken the edge off. I don't believe he was drunk."

He said the same about Brenda van Dam.

"I don't think she was drunk," Brown testified. "She was in good spirits but was in control of herself. She wasn't slurring."

Under cross-examination by co-defense counsel Robert Boyce, Brown said a police report containing his statements on the behavior of Brenda and her two friends was inaccurate.

Brown testified he warned prosecutor Jeff Dusek about the discrepancy during the lunch hour -- hours before he testified.

The statement from police indicated the women were "flirtatious toward males" and "partying hard."

Brown testified that the women were having fun as girlfriends do. He said he never saw them act inappropriately.

Brown was dismissed as a witness as the court day ended.



TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: vandam; westerfield
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To: swampfox98
VD life style has everything to do with other possible perps, which leads to reasonable doubt about Westerfield. If you already "KNOW BEYOND A REASONABLE DOUBT" that Westerfield did it, you're right.

But most of us and the jury are waiting for the trial evidence. Right now we're in the procecusion phase and the defense is winning.

181 posted on 06/07/2002 7:20:51 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: John Jamieson
My EE son makes around $60,000.He could make alot more if he relocated to Sodom:>)
182 posted on 06/07/2002 7:24:22 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: RnMomof7
If he's still young, that will go up fast! My salery at NASA grew exactly x10 over 28 years.
183 posted on 06/07/2002 7:27:58 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: John Jamieson
Yea this is his 1st job...He is doing softwear development..

We live in a dead end city..we know he will have to relocate:>(

184 posted on 06/07/2002 7:29:33 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: swampfox98
"That sleazy attorney...." Suppose he's sleazier than the VDs?
185 posted on 06/07/2002 7:30:23 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: RnMomof7
Tell him to try try Austin or Dallas. Low cost of living, good jobs and more family towns than most.
186 posted on 06/07/2002 7:32:17 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: RnMomof7
My son's a missionary in Uruguay, salary minus $5,000 a year! He's got just over a year to go.
187 posted on 06/07/2002 7:35:22 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: John Jamieson
Actually have a son in San Antonio..we were down there last Nov and my EE son loved it...In fact he told his brother that he may settle down there eventually....I will let him know there is a good job market..in the Bible belt :>)
188 posted on 06/07/2002 7:37:09 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: John Jamieson
"senior software engineer", might mean something on your job description, but still not neccessarily a degree. In a newspaper article it doesn't mean much. "And consultant", usually means you don't have regular work.

Well, QC has pretty strict hiring requirements, although it's slackened a bit. Now they're pretty much not hiring at all. If you don't have a degree, you're not going to be an engineer.

He's been at the company, coming up on 5 years. That's pretty steady. I don't know if consultants get stock options, since you're not allowed to ask anyone, he could have a good amount of money. There are NO software developers at QC without degrees.
189 posted on 06/07/2002 7:37:38 PM PDT by sbnsd
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To: sbnsd
Sounds like you really know, I'll take your word for it.
190 posted on 06/07/2002 7:45:35 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: PrairieDawg
"Dispatcher: Okay. Think positive thoughts and everything will be okay, okay? Hmm. The Power of Positive Thinking by Schuller is still popular in the Golden state I see... ;-)"....More like the power of fluff. Anyway, wasn't it Norman Vincent Peale?
191 posted on 06/07/2002 7:46:21 PM PDT by skipjackcity
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To: PrairieDawg
Sorry, I didn't mean to pile on about the Norman Vincent Peale reference. I see that Miz already pointed that out. I just hadn't read through the whole thread when I posted to you.
192 posted on 06/07/2002 8:08:33 PM PDT by skipjackcity
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To: John Jamieson
I read the article you posted above, some staggering numbers there. I hope the trial reveals how and why Danielle died and whoever is responsible pays the penalty.

Goodnight, I've had a long,long day.

193 posted on 06/07/2002 8:25:54 PM PDT by BARLF
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To: All
Just read the Collins/Blackburne transcript.....Detective Collins stated there was nothing on the kids bedroom doors to indicate possible sex of child.....BVD states there was Pokeman stickers, wallpaper decal, etc on the doors.

Is there an additional transcript that clears this up?

Is there also a later transcript that addresses the forensic team and the blood found on the stairway and the cement in the garage and the 5'4 drag marks outside on the east side of the home?

Is there also a transcript of any neighbors, friends of DW, anyone, that has testified that DW is a perv with kids?

Thanks!

194 posted on 06/07/2002 8:34:00 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: Rheo
5'4 drag marks outside on the east side of the home? I haven't heard about this but like to know more....fits with my she was run over theory (one of my many theories).

Is there also a transcript of any neighbors, friends of DW, anyone, that has testified that DW is a perv with kids? Being that he was a neatnick nerd, it won't surprise me if people testify he didn't like kids. Maybe that's better, than "he really liked kids".

195 posted on 06/07/2002 8:41:26 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: Rheo
I assume you meant automobile drag marks? see my post 176.
196 posted on 06/07/2002 8:45:08 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: John Jamieson
No, not automobile drag marks....like something was dragged thru the dirt...5'4" long by a foot wide....I'll get the statement from the transcript and post it.
197 posted on 06/07/2002 8:52:38 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: John Jamieson
Did the kids bedroom door statement ever get cleared up by anyone?
198 posted on 06/07/2002 8:53:22 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: All
Here's a link to an article about those little girl sites:

"Legal Child Porn" Under Fire

This isn't the FReep thread, but will give an idea of what I was going on about earlier.

I had been thinking about how an amoral parent wouldn't mind using pictures of their child to make extra money. Is it relevant?? I don't know. Too late at night to think.

(Thanks for the research, msmagoo!)
199 posted on 06/07/2002 8:54:43 PM PDT by NatureGirl
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To: Rheo
here the the partial statement from Collins regarding the bedroom doors. 2 SAW THE SEVERAL ROOMS, COULD YOU TELL WHOSE ROOM WAS

3 WHOSE?

4 A NO.

5 Q BECAUSE THERE WAS NOTHING THAT PLAINLY

6 MARKED, FOR INSTANCE, THAT ONE ROOM BELONGED TO ONE

7 OF THE VAN DAM CHILDREN, ANOTHER ROOM BELONGED TO

8 ANOTHER OF THE VAN DAM CHILDREN; CORRECT?

9 A THAT'S CORRECT.

10 Q AND THERE WAS NOTHING THAT PLAINLY

11 INDICATED, FOR INSTANCE, THAT WHICH WAS THE MASTER

12 BEDROOM AS OPPOSED TO ANOTHER BEDROOM WHICH WAS DOWN

13 THE HALL; IS THAT CORRECT?

14 A NO, I ASSUME THE MASTER BEDROOM WAS THE ONE

15 THAT WAS AWAY FROM THE OTHER THREE BEDROOMS. >

200 posted on 06/07/2002 8:58:40 PM PDT by Rheo
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