New physical evidence about Danielle van Dam's disappearance and salacious details about her parents' sex life came out during the first week of David Westerfield's capital murder trial. Posted on 06/10/2002 10:17:56 PM PDT by FresnoDA
By Kristen Green
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER
June 9, 2002
New physical evidence about Danielle van Dam's disappearance and salacious details about her parents' sex life came out during the first week of David Westerfield's capital murder trial.
Legal experts say it's too early to determine the significance those facts will have on the outcome of the case.
The trial moved along fairly quickly, as both Brenda and Damon van Dam took the stand to testify about the events leading up to their 7-year-old daughter's disappearance. Attorneys have said the trial could last as long as 11 more weeks.
"I think there's an enormous amount to learn in this case, and we're not going to know it all until the end," said San Diego criminal defense attorney Knut Johnson, who is not involved in the trial.
The San Diego Superior Court testimony hinted at, but didn't fully explain, the prosecution's theory of how Westerfield, 50, might have entered the van Dam home and kidnapped Danielle.
Westerfield's lead attorney, meanwhile, told the jury that scientific evidence would prove his client's innocence.
In his opening statements, Steven Feldman suggested Danielle could have been kidnapped by any number of people her parents invited into their home to engage in "risque behavior." His strategy, experts say, is to raise questions in jurors' minds about whether someone other than Westerfield could have kidnapped the girl.
But Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek told the jury he has physical evidence that connects Westerfield to Danielle's death. He said the second-grader's blood, hair and fingerprints were found in Westerfield's motor home, which he occasionally parked in front of his Sabre Springs residence. When Danielle was taken from her bed, Westerfield lived two houses from the van Dams.
Dusek told the jury that Danielle's hair was also found in the trash in Westerfield's garage and that fibers similar to those in her bedroom were discovered in the motor home. The prosecutor said fibers found inside the bag in which authorities placed Danielle's body before the autopsy matched fibers in Westerfield's laundry room. Dusek didn't elaborate on what kind of fibers were found.
Danielle's nude body was discovered Feb. 27 under a tree on Dehesa Road, 25 days after her mother went to wake her for breakfast and realized she wasn't in her bed. Westerfield was arrested Feb. 22.
Throughout the first week of the trial, the attorneys showcased two completely different styles, which experts say were indicative of their personalities. Feldman is an animated performer, gesturing wildly during his opening statement and questioning of witnesses. Dusek, meanwhile, projects an image of somber dignity with his deep voice, subdued delivery and chiseled looks.
But it's hard to say whether the men's styles will have much impact on the jury deliberations.
"They're both very competent, very able in the courtroom, and they both know their case," said San Diego criminal defense lawyer Michael Pancer. "One might be more interesting to listen to than the other, but in the end, I don't think that's what matters."
Legal experts said the prosecution put Damon and Brenda van Dam on the witness stand early on to establish the sequence of events the night before Danielle disappeared.
"That's the most compelling emotional testimony in the case," Johnson said.
Damon van Dam testified that he stayed home Feb. 1 to baby-sit the couple's three children while Brenda went out to a Poway bar with two friends.
She testified that David Westerfield was at the bar when she and her friends got there, and that he bought them drinks. She said she doesn't know what time he left the bar.
Damon van Dam testified that he put the kids to bed at 10 p.m. and fell asleep before 11 p.m. He awoke at 1:45 a.m. because his dog, Layla, a Weimaraner, was whimpering. The dog doesn't bark because she grew up on a farm where the dogs had been rendered mute.
He said he let Layla into the back yard to relieve herself and then brought the dog back inside a few minutes later.
When Brenda van Dam returned about 2 a.m. with two girlfriends and two male friends who were also partying at the bar, she noticed a red light flashing on the home security system.
She searched for an open door or window and found a side garage door open. The door had been opened earlier in the evening when she and her friends were smoking marijuana in the garage.
When the couple's friends left about 2:30 p.m., after snacking on cookies and reheated pizza, Damon and Brenda van Dam went to bed.
About 3:15 or 3:30 a.m., Damon van Dam awoke and noticed a red light flashing on the security system. He went downstairs and found a sliding glass door leading to the back yard open 6 to 10 inches. He closed it and went to bed.
Experts said those details will be vital for the jury to understand how and when someone might have slipped in and out of the house.
After testifying about the sequence of events leading up to Danielle's kidnapping, the couple also answered Feldman's questions about their sex lives. Television viewers across the nation learned about Damon and Brenda van Dam's extramarital activities, as Court TV broadcast the trial live.
Brenda van Dam admitted to having sex with her two girlfriends and their partners, and Damon van Dam admitted he had sex with both of Brenda's girlfriends. He also said he didn't tell police that he smoked marijuana the night before Danielle disappeared because he didn't want to get into trouble.
Damon van Dam completed his testimony Wednesday; his wife completed hers Thursday.
It will be the jury's responsibility to decide whether any of the details of their personal life are relevant to the issue of who killed Danielle.
The couple's appearance on the witness stand drew dozens of curious San Diegans to the courthouse to vie for a seat in a courtroom filled with spectators each day.
The van Dams' testimony also was broadcast live by most local television stations, which pre-empted normal programming.
This week could be less interesting for onlookers, as experts believe the prosecution will begin presenting scientific evidence about DNA.
A gag order in the case prevents the attorneys from commenting on the case or releasing a list of the 75 witnesses they plan to call.
Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder and kidnapping in the death of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. The defendant also is charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography and could face the death penalty if convicted.
The victim's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, discovered their daughter missing from her bed the morning of Feb. 2.
Denise Kemal, a friend of Brenda van Dam, testified Monday that she had gone to Dad's Cafe the night of Feb. 1 with Brenda and Easton.
Kemal testified that Brenda introduced Westerfield to her when they arrived at the bar and restaurant.
"I believe she said, 'This is my neighbor, Dave,"' Kemal testified.
Kemal testified that she had noticed Westerfield leaning against a partition at Dad's, watching her, Brenda, Easton and three others playing pool next to the dance floor.
The witness testified that the band had started playing -- that was at 10 p.m. -- when she saw Westerfield.
She told jurors Westerfield just stood against the partition after buying a round of drinks for her, Brenda and Barbara.
"I said to myself, 'Wow, that's creepy,"' the witness testified.
The testimony elicited by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek appeared intended to show that Westerfield was spurned by Brenda van Dam and her friends in the hours before he allegedly kidnapped Danielle van Dam.
Kemal said she was called by Damon the next day and told that Danielle was missing. On her way to the house, she ran into Westerfield, who lived two doors down and across the street, as she pulled up to the van Dam home.
"He said, 'I can't believe what happened,"' Kemal testified. "I said, 'I know."'
"He said, 'Well, I left at 9 o'clock."'
Kemal told defense attorney Steven Feldman she had sex with Damon, and her husband Andy had sex with Brenda van Dam during a Halloween party at the van Dam home in October 2000.
Kemal said the van Dam children were not home that night.
"Later in the evening, you engaged in sexual relations, did you not, with your husband and Brenda van Dam and Damon van Dam, correct?" Feldman asked.
"No, that's not true," Kemal responded.
"So you never engaged in sexual relations with Brenda and Damon van Dam?" the attorney asked.
"Yes, I did, but with Damon," Kemal testified. "It was more of a 'swap.' Andy was with Brenda and I was with Damon."
Keith Stone, who joined the three women at Dad's, denied that he ever asked Brenda to "make something happen" with Easton.
Stone's friend, Rich Brady, Westerfield friend Garry Harvey and a friend of Harvey's, Yvette Wetli, also testified about the Feb. 1 "girls night out."
Last week, Brenda said "yes" when asked by Feldman if Stone had indicated he was "hyped up and excited" and really wanted to be with Easton.
"I had an interest," Stone confirmed Monday. "There was some bantering going back and forth between us."
He added that, when the women went outside the restaurant to smoke marijuana and listen to music, he kissed Easton once or twice.
He denied having taken Viagra, saying the subject came up during "barroom banter."
Both the prosecution and defense have concentrated on the outing to the Poway Road restaurant in an attempt to either build or destroy the credibility of Brenda and those who were with her.
In earlier testimony, it was determined that Brenda took Easton and Kemal to Dad's, where they ran into Stone and Brady. Eventually, the five of them returned together to the van Dam home.
Brady conceded that he gave Brenda an envelope containing a small amount of marijuana. The drug was smoked by the women on two occasions the night of Feb. 1. He said Stone never expressed interest in Easton to him. Harvey, a truck driver who lives in Fallbrook, revealed that he learned of Danielle's disappearance four days later. He said his property was searched twice the next week.
(06-11-2002) - On Monday, two friends of the Van Dams' testified about the night seven-year-old Danielle disappeared.
Twenty-eight year old Denise Kemal told the jury she was close friends with Brenda van Dam, so close in fact, that they once swapped husbands two years ago.
"So you never engaged in sexual relations with Damon and Brenda van Dam?" asked Defense Attorney Stephen Feldman.
"Yes I did, but with Damon. It was more of a swap," replied Kemal. "And it was with Brenda and I was with Damon."
"Okay, I'm sorry. You swapped?" confirmed Feldman.
"Yes," said Kemal.
Kemal and Brenda van Dam went out partying at Dad's Cafe in Poway with another friend, Barbara Easton, on February 1, the night 7-year old Danielle disappeared.
It was one day after Kemal had signed her divorce papers.
Brenda van Dam introduced Kemal to David Westerfield, who bought all three women a round of drinks.
"He was standing to the side. He was very quiet and weird. He was creepy. He didn't talk at all," said Kemal.
The women eventually met up with two other men at Dad's that night, Rich Brady and Keith Stone.
Brady testified that he provided the women with marijuana.
"The marijuana that was smoked that night, was that marijuana that you had provided to Brenda?" question the defense.
"Yes," replied Brady.
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| Rich Brady |
"How much did you provide for her?"
"It was a small amount," said Brady.
"Was it in a baggy?" asked the defense.
"No," said Brady.
"Do you recall how it was packaged?"
"It was in a small envelope," he said.
In the meantime, David Westerfield continued to drink alone.
Westerfield watched the women play pool, and was still at the bar around midnight, according to a friend who was there at the time.
"I'm not sure exactly what time it was. It was 11:30, 12:30, somewhere around there," said Garry Harvey.
Brenda van Dam and her friends returned home around 2 a.m. That's when they noticed an alarm light blinking and a garage door open.
It wasn't until the next morning that Denise Kemal found out Danielle was missing. She rushed back to the Van Dam home and noticed David Westerfield standing in his driveway.
"He said hey. And I said hey. And he said I can't believe what happened. I said yeah I know, well I'm going there now. And he said well I left at nine o'clock," said Kemal.
"About what time did you last see him at Dad's?" asked Prosecuting Attorney Jeff Dusek.
"Well the band didn't start until ten, and it was after that that I noticed him leaning on that wall. So, he couldn't have left at nine o'clock," said Kemal.
The trial of David Westerfield resumes this morning, and the mystery woman, Barbara Easton, has yet to take the witness stand.
Suspect Described 'Creepy' by Van Dam Friend |
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Man who Supplied Van Dam's with Marijuana to Testify |
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Denise Kemal testified that David Westerfield bought drinks for her, Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam. |
| SAN DIEGO — The man accused of killing Danielle van Dam was described Monday as "creepy" by a friend of the girl's parents, who saw him at a bar hours before the 7-year-old disappeared. Denise Kemal testified that David Westerfield bought drinks for her, Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, and another friend on Feb. 1, but then stood off to the side and did not speak to them. |
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Probably to pin down what time Westerfield left the bar.
I don't think the DA realizes how shabby the girls & boys at the "pizza party" appear.
sw
26 posted on 6/11/02 6:57 AM Pacific by FresnoDA
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Posted on 6/11/02 8:27 AM Pacific by Southflanknorthpawsis
(HTML CODE SHRIEK ADDED FOR EMPHASIS)
Apology wait begins.....0940 hours....
FDA
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