Posted on 06/13/2002 4:28:33 PM PDT by FresnoDA
A series of calls from Westerfield's cell phone in early February appeared to mirror his rambling motor home trip to the beaches of southern San Diego County and the Imperial Valley deserts, Verizon Wireless representative Greg Sheets testified.
Westerfield is charged with kidnapping and murdering Danielle. He could face the death penalty if he's convicted.
The prosecution also called a series of witnesses who were at Silver Strand State Beach on Saturday, Feb. 2. Westerfield said he drove his motor home to Silver Strand that morning.
Beverly Jean Askey of El Cajon testified that her family was already at the beach when a motor home that she later learned was Westerfield's pulled into a nearby space sometime before 10 a.m. It was a nice, sunny day she said, yet no one came out of the vehicle.
"He just pulled up, he pulled the front window closed and I never saw anyone again," Askey said.
Two other campers said they saw Westerfield's motor home and noticed that it appeared closed up.
Earlier, Angela Elkus, a resident of the Sabre Springs neighborhood where the van Dams and Westerfield lived, answered questions about the motor home. She said she had seen children playing around the vehicle three or four times when it was parked on the street, but she said they were mostly older children. She also talked about a visit to the van Dam home after Danielle disappeared.
Elkus said she had never been to the home before, but she brought food over for the family on the Sunday after the little girl disappeared. She said that the family's dog appeared "scared, shy, confused and perfectly still" when she came in the house, and it did not bark, she said. Legal analysts say prosecutors want to convince the jury that a stranger could have come into the house and taken Danielle without the dog barking.
In the opening Feldman said science would prove that his client could not have done this. IMO, Feldman wouldn't spit in to the wind.
Note to Dusek/Pfingst: When trying a case of this magnitude line up your ducks not your egos, that way you end up with less egg on your face. Do not play politics with a man's life.
You're right in your commendation of Rheo's work. Yay, Rheo! So much of those confusing testimonies become clear over time. Thank goodness that they are immortalized here.
If I start with the premise that Westerfield is guilty, all of these pieces can be seen as bricks in the wall, and that's what I remember as the gist of the DA's promised case. But watching DW, and having heard his taped interrogation, this wall doesn't seem to fit the guy.
Add in the fact that they never Mirandized him (is that the right term?) before they started the interrogation they used against him in court and I don't see how this case makes it past the Appeals Court. That's if Mudd doesn't throw it out first, the way this pitiful, insubstantial presentation of 'evidence' is going.
I'm not a lawyer, just read a few books, and lobbied the legislature on a few pet issues. There may be legal razzmatazz that Court TV lawyers can see that I'm missing.
I'd like to see the notes from LE as they verified DVD's alibis for his behavior Friday night. If they're substantial, then I could be more comfortable looking at quirky DW. But quirkiness isn't Murder One, to be punished by the death penalty.
That's my understanding. I seem to remember that Feldman made several objections (sidebars?) before the interrogation tape was played. And he was shut down, IIRC, in his attempts to emphasize that in his cross of that detective.
Remember the press reports of the attempts of the cops to even question DW in jail without his lawyer? This is going to be a big issue, IMO, in the appeals process, if not at the beginning of the defense phase.
Couple all of that with the pitiful presentation we've seen so far, and it's annoying to see that they have destroyed this man's life, cost him his house (and probably his business), and the real murderer is walking around free, and will probably never be caught and punished.
Any chance of setting up a message board of our own?
I wonder about DW telling the poly guy about the door being unlocked. Damon knows a thing or two about B&E. There's not much I'd put past some of these folks.
The pictures of 'underage females' included photos from his friend, the mother of 17-year-old Danielle, IIRC.
There has always seemed to be a difference in descriptions of these files from the bombastic press reportings and the sterile low-key actual legal descritions. Imagine that! :-)
I'm bad at digging up info, jumping to conclusions is more my forte, so I'll watch closely, and appreciatively, as your question is answered with some solid sleuthing.
LE was directed to DW in the first day, perhaps as soon as 14 hours. IMO, the testimony of Parga and Keene bear this out.
The argument that LE used with regard to not being Mirandized before the interview is that he wasn't a suspect. We all know what that statement smells like.
Not only was DW not allowed a phone call, presumably because the phone in the interrogation room didn't work, he even asked to talk to the DA or a public defender and was denied. He asked to leave and was dissuaded from doing so.
After his initial 9.5 hour visit after approx 5 hours sleep and no food, no shower etc, he wasn't allowed back in to his home. He spend another 19 hours with SD's finest. Part of the time guarded in a hotel and more time on the road retracing his steps.
Essentially since his return that Monday morning he was survielled 24/7. Stalked is a more appropriate term, IMO.
About Keyser and Ott visiting him in jail with out council present, the current spin is that he supposedly asked them. The man may be a little too trusting of the Blue, but at that point he was no fool.
There's probably not much that prosecution could present that I wouldn't be suspicious of because of the "witnesses" that have testified so far and the general behaviour of detectives early on. Add to that the fact that a large percentage have stated that the police didn't take their statements correctly. What the heck is up with that?
~Kim4VRWC's~;MizSterious:ALL
~Kim4VRWC's~ and MizSterious, both of you stay off any and all Van Dam threads OR face a one week suspension.The next hint of a flamewar from ANYONE on any of these threads will result in a suspension.
They were the sacrifical lambs and we are the sheep. We don't know WHO the Moderator was, and we don't know who the person was who pushed the button..anyone could have done it, even someone lurking..who wanted to get rid of these two...
JMHO..later, sw
Thank you for listing all of the specifics so cogently.
Never point a gun at someone unless you are prepared to use it.
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