I am watching repeats of yesterday's testimony. Who is Yvonne Welti? It says she is Westerfield's friend but she sure acts like a goofball. What is her deal?
Can you transcibe some summary of what you've seen -- that's late day testimony yesterday, and I haven't seen it reported on FR.
From my copy of the Rick Roberts Newsletter:
Rick Roberts'
Special Expanded Session of
The Court Of Public Opinion
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Day Four of the Westerfield Trial
Monday, June 10, 2002
Recap:
Today was a busy day in court. Five witnesses took the stand: Denise Kemal, Rich Brady, Keith Stone, Garry Harvey, and Yvette Wetli. The first three, of course, are friends of the Van Dams, Kemal being a close, intimate friend. They were at Dad's with Brenda on Friday, Feb. 1, 2002. Harvey and Wetli are acquaintances of Westerfield's and were also at Dads that night.
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Like Brenda and Damon, Denise Kemal was asked questions about her sexual relationships. She admitted that, on Halloween 2000, she and her then-husband Andy swapped spouses with Damon and Brenda for sex.
She also stated that when she, Barbara, and Brenda returned to the Van Dam's home after the Feb. 2 night at Dads, she and Brenda immediately headed upstairs with Brenda to use the bathroom. Barbara followed them, but went into the master bedroom and laid on the bed with Damon. According to Denise, Brenda was aware of Barbara being with Damon.
Also according to Denise, it was not until after she and Brenda came downstairs and she went into the kitchen to heat up pizza that Brenda noticed the light flashing on the alarm panel next to the front door. She and Brenda then went into the garage and found the side door "wide open." Brenda closed it.
Denise testified that the only time she saw Damon after returning to the Van Dam's from Dad's was when she and Brenda were in the garage. She said that she remembers seeing him standing in the doorway into the house. She said he did not join her and the others for pizza in the kitchen.
One of the most startling things Denise testified to today was that, on Saturday, Feb. 2, between 2:30 and 3:00 PM the day Danielle was discovered missing, she saw Westerfield leaning against a wall across the from his home on Mountain Pass Rd.
Denise was there because, fifteen minutes earlier, Damon had called her, told her that Danielle was missing, and asked her to give a statement to the police about having found the side door to the garage open. She came to give that statement. (She was evidently directed by police, and went, to the Northeastern Station to give that statement).
Westerfield, if you recall from Detective Johnny Keene's testimony during the preliminary hearing, told Keene that, after picking up his RV earlier in the morning, he had left his home around 9:00 AM to go camping.
Westerfield told Keene that he intended to go to the desert, but realized that he'd left his wallet at home. Lacking cash for a large gas purchase, he decided instead to go to the Silver Strand. However, finding the weather there too chilly for his liking, and needing his wallet to buy the gas necessary for a trip to the desert, he decided to go back home and see if he had left it there.
Westerfield returned to his home on Mountain Pass between 2:30 and 3:00 PM. According to Keene's testimony, that was when Westerfield heard for the first time that Danielle had disappeared.
That was also when Denise said she saw and talked to him. According to Denise, she greeted Westerfield from the opposite side of the street. They exchanged a few words about the shock of Danielle being gone. Westerfield then said, "I left at 9."
In her testimony today, Denise responded to questions in direct and cross examination as though Westerfield had been mentioning the time he left Dad's the night before. However, Westerfield, by Denise's own admission, didn't leave Dad's until at least 11:15 PM.
More likely, then, when Westerfield said that he left at 9 he was referring to his Saturday morning departure in his RV.
Denise may be recalled to testify by the defense.
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Rich Brady was next to take the stand. He testified that he and Keith Stone went to Dad's on Feb. 1 to listen to the band, "FX." He did not know that Brenda, Denise and Barbara were going to be there, but was pleased and joined them off and on throughout the evening.
Rich admitted to having supplied the marijuana to Brenda on or about Jan. 25. He gave it to her in a small envelope.
While discussing his visit to the Van Dam's after having been at Dad's, Rich said that he did not hear any conversation about Brenda and Denise having found the side door to the garage open. However, he did remember Damon joining the group in the kitchen for pizza.
Rich was excused by both the prosecution and the defense.
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Next up to swear to tell the truth, the whole truth, was Keith Stone. He shed light on Brenda and Barbara's behavior at Dad's on Feb. 1 and events that followed at the Van Dam residence.
On direct examination, Keith testified that the group's behavior at Dad's was about average for adults at a bar: they drank some, danced some, flirted some. He knew that the women smoked pot in Brenda's car, but he didn't partake.
Keith said he had flirted with Barbara throughout the evening, referring to it as "barroom banter" and had even kissed her once or twice while in the parking lot.
On cross examination, the defense referred to a statement Keith had given to the police. According to the officer who took his statement, he had said of the women, "they were straight-forward with their 'sexual innuendoes.'"
Keith testified that he was misquoted by the officer. He said that it should have said,"Barbara was straight-forward with her innuendoes."
However, he later testified that Brenda offered him a provocative invitation and that he responded, "You're a married woman. I'm not interested."
During both Brenda's testimony in the preliminary hearing and during the Westerfield's trial, Brenda said that Keith told her that he had taken a pill with a little "V" on it and that they talked about his desire to "hook up" with Barbara.
According to Keith's testimony today, that conversation never took place; He never spoke to Brenda about taking Viagra or hooking up with Barbara. He said he only went to the Van Dam's that night because Rich said they would go and Rich was driving.
Keith, like Rich, could not remember any discussion about the alarm light flashing and the side door to the garage being found open while at the Van Dam's.
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The day's forth witness was Garry Harvey, one of Westerfield's drinking buddies. Garry testified that Westerfield was already at the bar when he arrived at about 8:30 PM. They had discussed meeting on Feb. 1 and expected to meet each other there.
Garry said he was casually introduced to Brenda and Denise. ("Everyone just said, 'Hi.'") A little later, he and his roommate, Jeff Feece(?), Brenda and Denise played pool together until about 11:30 PM when he left Dad's to visit his friend Yvette Wetli, a bartender at O'Harley's, just down the street.
His departure time from Dad's is important because he saw Westerfield at Dad's when he left, meaning that Westerfield was there until at least 11:30.
Garry then testified that, after helping Yvette close the bar, both he and Yvette returned to Dad's. When they arrived, some time between 12:30 and 1:00 AM, Westerfield was gone while Brenda and her friends were still there.
Both the prosecution and defense excused Garry, but then the defense said they may want to recall him.
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And finally, Yvette Wetli, Garry's friend, took the oath. She testified that she went to Dad's with Garry at between 12:45 and 1:00 AM.
While there, she said that Barbara acted in a sexually aggressive manner toward her, even groping her breasts "to help" after someone tossed ice in her shirt. She said that Barbara stroked her back and asked her to stay and have drinks with her. When describing Barbara, she said that she was intoxicated.
After testifying, Yvette was excused by both sides.
In sum:
We learned a lot today about Westerfield's activities on the night of Feb 1, and Brenda, Denise, and Barbara's last Girls' Night Out.
At the same time, though, if you compare the timelines of Denise, Rich, Keith, and those of Damon and Brenda Van Dam's, some contradictions and some unusual coincidences appear, perhaps raising as many questions as their testimony answered.
Listen to Rick to hear the contradictions he's heard and call in with the ones you've noticed.
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What to expect tomorrow:
One witness expected today but not put on the stand: Barbara Easton. Perhaps she can fill in some of the remaining blanks in the Van Dam's and the events of Feb. 1.
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