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

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

[bvw]

Green eyes in literature and folklore are a common metaphor and sign of jealousy. Shakespeare uses green eyes to indicate Othello's intense jealousy.

[spectre]

"bad behavior in here going on"..

Careful, cyn...I don't see any "bad behavior", just someone trying to disrupt a thread...and it isn't me.

sw

[cyncooper]

I'm sorry, I don't intend to disrupt. I have read all of these threads and felt like throwing my opinion into the mix. I'm off now-----have a great weekend.

[cyncooper]

I just re-read your comments and realized you may have thought by "bad behavior" I meant FReepers. No! I meant the van Dams! Sorry about any confusion.

[spectre]

I apologize for misunderstanding you.

In the transcripts, Brenda refers to going to Domino's and getting "the Pizza". I assumed for if it were more than one she would have said "the Pizza's".

My husband is going to Domino's this evening to pick up our Pizza's..because we talked about it so much today.

We've all assumed it was only ONE, BUT, no real proof either way...I guess.

sw

[Karson]

Some of us can stay all the way up to 2 or 3 in the morning without the use of cocaine.

I sometimes stay up until 2 or 3 but I haven't had a full day of chores, errands and an evening of dancing and pool playing when I do it.

And since I have seen zero evidence that they used it, I'll go with the evidence so far.

True, we've heard no evidence of cocaine yet. I have noticed however that both VDs mention drinking diet coke every chance they get. Why?

About the joint, no I don't find it odd for several people to take a couple hits off of one joint and have it last.

In opening statements the prosecutor said they had more than one joint. He mentioned the one at the house and then he said they went outside to the truck at Dad's and pulled out another joint. He said it, not me.

I think Brenda said "pick up pizza" and not "pick up A pizza")

I haven't heard if it was one pizza or more. It is true that Dominos is famous for their "2nd pizza for half price" deal. There are many other things that bother me more than how many pizzas they had for dinner. Heck, in my area it would be easy to find out how many, what kind and when she got it/them. The pizza place has it in their computer!

[Karson]

Can anybody tell me if Brenda was excused on Thursday or if she is subject to recall? I know Damon was not excused but didn't hear the end of Brenda's testimony.

[sbnsd]

We are still very early on in the trial, and don't honestly know what happened between 8pm and 2pm at the van Dam house when Damon was supposed to be home baby-sitting. He is his own alibi and witness, SO FAR.

There have been rumors he left the house, and it could have been possible for him to plant evidence or take Danielle elsewhere during that time. It's a blank...for now.

I have also thought of this scenario (Damon took 'the body' and dumped her after accidentally or not so accidentally killing her), and I haven't seen/heard any evidence to counter it yet in the trial.

The thing I can't possibly imagine that he could do or Brenda could put up with, after finding out the truth, is leaving their little girl in the woods to decay and be eaten. I just can't imagine it. If he had accidentally killed her, there should be some other way to have her be found that wouldn't be so cruel, sad, and disgusting. After all, she was still their daughter.

Inventing a story about how she accidentally died would have been so much more decent than have her be dumped like trash and eaten by animals.

I don't know. Maybe it's just me; the way she was disposed of and the way she was found makes me very sad, and it's hard to believe that anyone but a stranger could do that to her.

[sbnsd]

I really believe BVD and Damon set up a string of alibi's from day one, and that DW's going camping was a big payoff for them...Jackpot!

Maybe it wasn't by chance they knew DW was going to go camping. Perhaps through one of their many conversations together, DW told BvD that he was going camping. She had told him about DvD's trip to Big Bear that weekend; DW may have done likewise. He hasn't testified so we don't know what he's said or not said.
OR
the VDs know that he takes off in his MH every (say) first weekend of the month. Maybe DW has a pattern or habit of doing this EVERY weekend. I don't know. Maybe they just knew he would go off in his MH and that would look suspicious the next morning when they report their daughter missing.

[Karson]

Is this correct? "Rich was married to Keith's sister and now they are divorced."

Does this mean that Rich is now a single guy or he is married to someone else now? I remember at PH, BvD said that Rich was Liz Brady's husband.

[alexandria]

There is of course also the possibility of Danielle entering the RV at some time when it was parked by DW's house. Does anyone know the direction the back window of the RV would have been facing when parked in front of the house? Reason being, if back window (where I belive the prints were found) faced towards Danielle's house I could easily see her using for a great hide-and-seek spot where you could even observe your other buddies looking for you. As a matter of fact some RV's have that one way glass where you can look out but not in don't they?

It also gives creedence to the eyesore thing, I mean it wasn't like he parked the thing on his front lawn so why the big concern over it being an eyesore? Unless one of your kids told you that his brother/sister used it as a hiding spot in a game one day, then it's going to become a big concern for you.

[spectre]

I don't think Danielle was deliberately murdered. There are a ton of scenerios that various forums have come up with. Some are very interesting.

As far as Damon dumping her body...he could have known someone who did....I think that's possible.

sw

[John Jamieson]

I agree, I'm really leaning toward the "run over by a drunk party goer" theory.

[Karson]

I'm really leaning toward the "run over by a drunk party goer" theory.

Am I mistaken that the ME said there were no fractured bones? I don't know how a child could be killed by a car without some signs of injuries to her bones.

[sbnsd]

Am I mistaken that the ME said there were no fractured bones?

I think so. I think the ME said that there were no open wounds (no blood). She wasn't shot, or strangled, or stabbed. Something that you physically couldn't find. So, they speculated suffocation and tried to support this theory with her loss of teeth.

I asked before, but I'm not sure I got an answer. What about non-physical traumas that aren't provable since the body has decomposed so badly? Things such as: poison, drug overdose, drowning, internal injuries, any kind of organ failure, etc.

If she was hit by a car, maybe she didn't break any bones, but had internal injuries. Since her organs were gone or decayed, they can't prove internal injuries, could they?

[sbnsd]

I don't think Danielle was deliberately murdered. There are a ton of scenerios that various forums have come up with. Some are very interesting.

I think if DvD had done it, it wouldn't have been deliberate either.
What are some of the other forums? I would be really interested in reading other scenarios. Thanks.

[MizSterious]

NEW THREAD, anyone?

[Karson]

Things such as: poison, drug overdose, drowning, internal injuries, any kind of organ failure, etc.

I did hear him say they ruled out poison, drugs, natural causes and I think drowning. I believe suffociation was the only viable manner of death and that's why they were talking about the teeth. Remember, the dentist and the ME said there was no evidence of blunt force trauma. Only "soft trauma".

To All: I found the answer to my earlier question about Brenda being subject to recall. She is.

[sbnsd]

I did hear him say they ruled out poison, drugs, natural causes and I think drowning. I believe suffociation was the only viable manner of death and that's why they were talking about the teeth. Remember, the dentist and the ME said there was no evidence of blunt force trauma. Only "soft trauma".

Thanks, Karson. I missed that part completely. I wonder how they can rule that stuff out after such a state of decomposition.

[demsux]

you got that right sw, cyn is looking to end a thread