Westerfield On Trial (WEEK 1 Recap): Brenda Van Dam, Dad's Bar

KGTV 10 News-San Diego ^ | June 7, 2002 | KGTV

[spectre]

I was watching CTV, and one of the Commentators said she could hear the kids in the background saying something like "she went outside"...That is why I am asking for a confirmation or denial of the perceived conversation on the tape. Remember, by this time, the neighbor's 2 kids were there too. Lot's of background info.

Damon testified that Danielle came into their bedroom and did the "potty-dance" around the bed...in her "sleep-walking" mode and they would lead her to the bathroom. EUREKA..sleep-walking? Strange conclusion, IMO.

sw

[MizSterious]

"WHY didn't he walk a few steps further and ask David if he'd seen her as well. He was out there, loading his RV."

Let me put it another way--if you're frantic about a missing child (and most parents would be), why on earth wouldn't you ask the guy who's standing in the driveway across the street? Why wouldn't you ask every single person in sight, and knock on doors for those not in sight? Wouldn't you, if it were your little girl?

[cyncooper]

Someone may have answered your question, but there are pictures of the bedroom doors (displayed at trial already) showing the decorations on the kid's doors indicating boy/girl etc.

[BARLF]

Good questions......If he had Danielle in his MH would he have come back with her inside the MH........that close to the scene of the crime? If she wasn't in the MH,where did he hide her during this trip back to the neighborhood? Didn't he leave the MH down the street because he couldn't get to his house for all the cop cars & media? Remember DW checked his pool etc,after Mark told him about Danielle's disappearance or so the story goes. Nothing but questions.......Nothing makes sense.

[Rheo]

Thank you......why tho did Detective Collins state that when he went to the home at 3am on the 3rd, there was nothing on the outside of the doors to indicate sex of child....could only determine rooms after entering the room?? I guess others must have seen those decals and it will be in a transcript I haven't read yet.

[Politicalmom]

OR they were added AFTER he visited.....

[It's me]

I had not heard about the pee pee dance, what is next??...

'Cause DVD called it the "potty-dance" -- as if that makes a difference. ;)

[Rheo]

that was my thought....still searching thru the transcripts to find any evidence techs statements.

[It's me]

Why the heck didn't he ask David. He was there loading the RV.

The RV wasn't there. It was kept elsewhere. He wwasn't loading it on the street.

[Rheo]

Absolutely you would ask anyone that is outside if they saw her or saw anything.

nycgal was looking for transcripts of the searchers...is there any?

[cyncooper]

It was frustrating at the beginning for them to start the investigation, however, because of course this started off as a missing person -- she walked away. Isn't this an odd thing to say, when you're claiming the child was kidnapped?

I took this to mean that the police, ala the Chandra Levy case, treated the case initially as Danielle wandering about and not as an abduction.

[MizSterious]

Try the links I posted to you a few posts back. The PH transcripts describe some of what the searchers found; over at the Jameson's site, there are the running transcripts, one thread for each witness posted.

[Jaded]

Saturday morning, it was there for at least an hour.

[BARLF]

Nope, Brenda testified they had been there about 2 years. So, that must be true,she was sworn to tell the truth. course Bill Clinton was sworn to tell the truth,too.

[It's me]

28th probably means less than one in hundred. Two of them is one in Ten thousand, matching his name is one in one million. I think that is hard to ignore.

Really? One of my daughter's was born on September 14th. Two other girls on our street of 12 homes were also born on 9-14. My husband's cousin was born on 9-14 in the same year. She and my daughter are best friends even though she lives in Ireland.

I really do think it is just coincidence about the Danielle names.

[Rheo]

thanks...working my way thru them.

Leaving for the day now so will try to read more of them tonight.

nycgal, did you catch those links to read about the searchers?

[pinz-n-needlez]

I admit up front I got my PI's license from a Cracker Jack box.:-)

After listening to the 911 call, my guess is that whatever happend to Danielle happened while her mother was at the bar. Brenda wants the open garage door in the timeline very early on.

This would also explain the rapid shooing out of the 'guests' at 2:30-3:00, depending on which testimony you're believing at the moment.

Conversations at the bar - hooking up Barb and Keith, Keith taking his 'V' pill, inviting folks back to the house - suggest that there were plans for more fun and games back at the Van Dam house. But that was put to an abrupt halt after Brenda got home and after she asked how the kids were.

I can believe that they kicked everyone out, then spent the rest of the early morning constructing and memorizing their stories. Could they have gone over to DW's MH and planted a couple of hairs, a few drops of blood, knowing that the plan was to sic the police on him? Those clues are set up on the 911 call.

Brenda's 'hi,Dave' at the PH and hate stares at the trial suggest there's more there than they've admitted.

And does anyone know just how much pizza she brought home to feed a family of 5 for dinner, and then 6 adults after drinking and smoking pot? Does pizza soothe the munchies? Maybe it was cut into very small slices. :-)

[cyncooper]

They called 911, for crying out loud, to get help to look for her. If they had set about searching on their own without calling the police you would be criticizing them for not calling the authorities right away and not being concerned enough, etc. I'll also throw in that Brenda sounded extremely stressed/panicked in her 911 call and as the call is ending she lets her control down and starts to cry as she hangs up. (standard disclaimer: I do not approve of the parental lifestyle)

[It's me]

Saturday morning, it was there for at least an hour.

Oh, of course, that's when he used the hose and left it on the grass -- not rolled up neatly!!!

[BARLF]

I agree with It's me about the MH that Sat. AM. I thought DW left in the suv got the MH and came back to look for his wallet,couldn't get to his house because of the traffic. Where can we go to clear this up???? help, help.....clarification.