WESTERFIELD TRIAL: Week Three - Day Four

San Diego Courtroom Trial | none

[NatureGirl]

Here's the new thread, all ready for Thursday.

Testimony recently discussed includes fingerprint evidence, as well as Westerfield's clean laundry. The Van Dam home was (strangely) devoid of fingerprints, except for a couple of latents that didn't match any of the pizza party people or, apparently, David Westerfield.

Westerfield's motorhome didn't contain any of his fingerprints, but did have one print from Danielle L. (the daughter of Westerfield's ex-girlfriend), Jennifer (a friend of Danielle L.), and a partial from Danielle Van Dam.

The prosecution said yesterday that they would be finished "in seven court days".

[FresnoDA]

BTW.....

VDA = Van Dam Apologist......

LOL/so

[FresnoDA]

"Yeah, like we always wear them.  I mean, like, there is nothing worse than leaving dirty fingerprints at someones house.  Like gross, ya know!"

"So to answer your question, we always wore condoms on our fingers when we visited the VD residence...I mean like, it was the thing to do. Very normal, very natural."

"Oh definitely, Barb not only wore them on her fingers, but her toes as well.  Cool huh!!  Barb is like SUCH a riot!!"

"'Okay?? Anything else you want to ask me?"

FDA/so

[FresnoDA]

Expert: Fingerprints in motor home are Danielle's

KIMBERLY EPLER
Staff Writer

SAN DIEGO ---- Danielle van Dam used pressure when she touched a wooden cabinet less than a foot above the bed in David Westerfield's motor home, a fingerprint expert testified Wednesday during Westerfield's trial for allegedly kidnapping and murdering the 7-year-old girl.

Fingerprint expert Jeffrey Graham Jr. said he compared a partial print of Danielle's left ring and middle fingers lifted from the cabinet to fingerprints taken from Danielle's hands after her body was found. He said he was "absolutely certain" there was a match.

POOL PHOTO

A projected computer image of the latent finger print taken is compared to the known print of Danielle. This computer copy images were part of Pat Wertheim's testimony given yesterday at the trial of David Westerfield.

---

"These two prints ... were made by Danielle van Dam," Graham said.

Danielle also moved her hand from side to side when she left the prints on the bottom corner of the cabinet in Westerfield's motor home, Graham said. Her hand touched at an angle with her pinkie finger closer to the cabinet than her thumb, he said.

"The hand didn't just come down and lift right back up," Graham said. "There was some motion."

Under questioning from Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman, Graham said he couldn't say when Danielle made those prints.

Danielle's body was found in rural East County nearly four weeks after she was reported missing from her Sabre Springs home Feb. 2.

Graham also testified that Westerfield's fingerprints didn't match any of the more than 300 fingerprints lifted from the van Dam house. Neither did any of the four friends that Danielle's parents had over the night she disappeared. Westerfield's prints weren't found in his motor home either, Graham said.

Graham said fingerprints are left by "chance" and a lack of prints doesn't mean a person was not there.

If a person has clean hands, doesn't touch any surface conducive to leaving prints or wears gloves, they may not leave anything behind, Graham said.

An expert from the Arizona Department of Public Safety crime lab also testified about Danielle's prints and used a computer program that highlighted the ridges and creases found in each fingerprint sample with different colors to show matching feature after matching feature.

Jurors also heard more testimony on day 10 of the trial about the hair, laundry, computer discs, carpet samples and other evidence collected from Westerfield's house and motor home. Other than the fingerprints, prosecutors didn't provide any links between Westerfield and Danielle.

The trial is now heading into the science phase, with upcoming testimony to center on DNA evidence.

Piece by piece, forensic specialist Karen LeAlcala described the items she collected from each room of Westerfield's house and his motor home in the days after he was first questioned in the disappearance of Danielle, who lived two houses down the street.

In describing the items found in Westerfield's house, LeAlcala said a bottle of ID Juicy Lube, a sexual lubricant, was found in a compartment of Westerfield's bed headboard. In the washer, LeAlcala said she found a pillow case with a "grassy" type material inside. She also showed jurors a pair of medium gray and black-striped boxer briefs that were collected as evidence from Westerfield's laundry room.

The significance of the boxer shorts, if any, was not discussed.

Meanwhile, Westerfield's defense attorney's began setting up a scenario where the fibers and hairs could have been transferred to Westerfield's house or motor home by investigators and downplayed other items, like the fact bleach was the No. 1 item on a shopping list found in Westerfield's home.

Feldman pointed out that Westerfield was doing laundry and above his washer was a bottle of bleach.

Westerfield, 50, could face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and murdering Danielle. Prosecutors have argued the twice divorced father of two committed the crime to satisfy his sexual desire for young girls.

Westerfield also faces a misdemeanor count of possession of child pornography.

Earlier in the day, police Detective James Tomsovic finished his second day of testimony by describing how he was alerted to an advertisement that pictured a canopy bed very similar to Danielle's bed that another officer had seen in Westerfield's kitchen.

Tomsovic said the advertisement was folded up so only the bed was clearly visible. The prosecution also has hinted that Westerfield may have been watching Danielle through his bathroom window.

 

Contact staff writer Kimberly Epler at (760) 739-6644 or kepler@nctimes.com.

6/20/02

[shezza]

...defense attorney's (sic) began setting up a scenario where the fibers and hairs could have been transferred to Westerfield's house or motor home by investigators and downplayed other items, like the fact bleach was the No. 1 item on a shopping list found in Westerfield's home.

No bias here! < /sarcasm>

[cynicalman]

I have been waiting for the evidence to make up my mind. I read the explanation of many regarding the evidence and those in the not quality camp always seem to have a very convincing way of explaining the evidence away. HOWEVER, the fingerprints of Danville in the MH on the cabinet above the bed is strong evidence.

Could she have been lying on the bed and her had up in the air touching the cabinet while someone was abusing her?? I know that there might be evidence she was in the MH some other time but until that evidence is produced and it is convincing HOW ELSE CAN IT BE EXPLAINED AWAY.

[nycgal]

Based on the photos I've seen of the cabinet (where the prints were found) and the bed, I would say that she was standing on the floor when she placed her left hand on the cabinet. The cabinet did not appear to be directly over the bed.

[Rheo]

Her print will certainly be hard to explain away if no witnesses can place her around or in the MH in the past.

She could have been laying on the bed and touched the cabinet...looks like she would have to be very close to the edge for her little arms to reach it...or maybe sitting or kneeling on the bed and left hand goes up to cabinet to steady or assist in getting down...or even left hand on corner of cabinet as she opens cabinet w/right hand and no prints left or unreadable.(print was on moulding at corner of cabinet..10" up from table.

[jacquej]

It can't be explained away if the motor home had NEVER been parked on that street.

But, since he most likely didn't set the alarm when he was loading or unloading, there is a POSSIBILITY that she, a curious 7 year old, would find it hard not to disobey the rules, cross the street, and go in there to explore, even like Goldilocks, try out the bed to see if it was "just right".

If he had to go answer the phone, or head into the house for some other reason, and was delayed in coming right back out, it wouldn't have taken her long to check out the motorhome, and leave some evidence.

This, to me, is what is meant by reasonable doubt. But, I want to hear all the evidence before making up my mind. I am not opposed to the death penalty, but want to be pretty sure of the evidence before sending Westerfield to the chair.

[cynicalman]

The cabinet did not appear to be directly over the bed.

I thought there was testimony that the cabinet was approx. 10" above the bed.

[nycgal]

Look at the photo in #147. The prints were on the lower right of the cabinet. It may be 10" above the bed but to its right.

[cynicalman]

You are going to need some strong DIRECT evidence that she was in the MH at some other time. I dont think just to suggest that she COULD have played in there will be enough to reduce the impact of her fingerprints in the MH especially by the bed.

[nycgal]

Also, if that's a window at the right side of the photo, DVD may have touched the cabinet with her left hand as she was looking through it.

Off to my art class. Will miss AM testimony (Phooey)

[BigBobber]

We shouldn't assume that anyone took Danielle from her bedroom. She could have wandered downstairs or even out of the house.

DW has stated that DVD was not home when he drove by about 10:30, because the VD van was not there. The Barb/Denise vehicle should have been there, but it may have been away from the house or DW did not recognize it. If this is true, that was the window of time for Danielle to wander out of the house or DW to go in. Is this the "confession" that Feldman has alluded to---that DW thought DVD would be gone skiing (because that's what Brenda told him) and he did not see a babysitter or lights on at the van Dam house, so he decided to check the VD house to make sure everything was OK? Is this what he told police during the 20 hour question period?

This "confession" could either be the act of a good samaritan, or DW admitting he checked out the house. How can we know which?

I still think this case will turn on the hair in Danielle's right hand. If it is not DW's the jury will not convict.

[jacquej]

I agree with you, cynicalmom. I would hope to have some direct evidence that she was in there playing.

But, considering that Brenda was complaining about it being there, and that Danielle had gotten into trouble for climbing over the gate, I have to consider that as enough a possibility to not conclude naything yet.

[theirjustdue]

"Why the LE are passing it (and the unID on the glass sliding door) off as irrelevant is beyond me.

My feelings exactly, shezza. I find this just one more very bothersome and questionable detail in this case.

Apparently, or it would seem to me anyway, LE is so convinced that DW is their man, because of the forensics found in his MH, that they absolutely refuse to look at any other possibility.

But what if Danielle had gotten into that MH to play? Even for a few minutes to explore out of curiosity during the time DW stored it at home and while he loaded unloaded it - as testified by the nosy neighbor - with the MH door open for as much as a day at a time? There would appear to have been some opportunity (albeit somewhat limited) there.

If it's DW, I hope they convict and hang him, but as it stands right now, a growing list of lingering and bothering questions, in my mind, outweigh what Dusek has so far presented.

And both the pro and con in the case, are circumstantial evidence, IMO.

[BigBobber]

You are going to need some strong DIRECT evidence that she was in the MH at some other time.

The fingerprint is direct evidence she was in the MH. It does not tell us when she was there or that she was murdered or held prisoner there. We know she was in DW's house. We know the MH was often parked very close to Danielle's house where she was allowed to walk and play. In my book, that is reasonable doubt.

I think DW might have done it. But it has not been proven beyond a resonable doubt -- yet.

The sad thing is, we may never know who did it.

[jacquej]

I am hoping, if Westerfield did not do this, that there is enough direct evidence presented by the defense to clear his name.

If I were innocent of this, I would want to take the stand and defend myself, even if advised against it. Otherwise, the rest of my life would be ruined by an unsolved crime I had nothing to do with.

I want the murder solved, and the right person prosecuted. I worry that there was a rush to nail him and that there isn't enough hard evidence to convict.

[ThinkingMan]

I still think this case will turn on the hair in Danielle's right hand. If it is not DW's the jury will not convict.

I think that you are correct. Considering the hair was clutched in her hand (I think) this sounds like the last act of a dying child. Hair is DW = Conviction. Hair not DW= accquital.

[jacquej]

Good Point, thinkingman, and I agree with you. If it can be proved that the hair in her hand is DW's. I am leaping off the fence.

[Valpal1]

I can't get over the fact that they lifted only 6 latents from the MH. Is that correct?

And none were DW's. I'm sorry, to me that means he wiped that place down, and missed one little spot where one little partial from Danielle was preserved by Nemesis.

There should be more prints than there are.