Anatomy Of A Murder: Westerfield vs. Van Dams (A Mother's Story)

San Diego Online ^ | June 27, 2002 | Kevin Cox

[Rheo]

Regarding the immunity issue and witnesses retaining attorneys...why would any of the witnesses be discussed as having received immunity?

For one joint..doesn't make sense.....DUI...weren't caught in the act.

Is lying in a statement to the police in an investigation subject to prosecution?

[demsux]

Hey fres, do have a copy of the photo of Barb Easton handy?
TIA

[mommya]

OK - If I follow the drug ingestion line of thought - what drug and why? I saw that show on TV recently about that idiot father who did E with his young son, and his older children as well - the older son was trying to talk his dad out of doing this - can you believe it - anyway - I think the dad was wanting the kid to experience the drug and its effects with him - he wasn't going to drug the kid in order to molest him or anything - he thought he was going to party with the kid. From what I gather - E makes you feel really good - very pleasurefull - and totally into touching. The way the people on TV looked when they were doing it - it looked similar to when people are on LSD - an alterred state - not too easily hidden. E could have been given to her to make her receptive to touching - and could account for too much of an altered state on part of the adults to contact authorities. Pot would never kill her - and I don't think they'd give her coke or meth to make her receptive to something - just doesn't make sense. Any other drug they may have given her would be just to knock her out completely - the E is the only one I can think of that they'd give her to keep her awake while they did something to her.

[FresnoDA]

FIRST PICTURES OF THE INFAMOUS BARB!!!

VAN DAM'S FRIEND Barbara Easton SPEAKS OUT

(03-19-2002) -
Barbara Easton probably never thought her social life would be so publicly aired, but several times during Brenda and Damon van Dam's testimony in the David Westerfield preliminary hearing, her activities the night Danielle van Dam vanished were revealed by her friends.

Brenda van Dam testified she smoked pot with her and Damon van Dam said she crawled into bed with him.

"Barbara layed next to me. I rolled over, put my arm around her, kissed her, rubbed her back some," said Damon van Dam.

Easton, 46, is a friend of Brenda and Damon van Dam's, who met Drenda at Dad's Steakhouse and Cafe in Poway about a year ago, according to Brenda.

Easton is a licensed salesperson in the mortgage brokerage field, who was with Brenda van Dam the night Danielle van Dam was last seen alive.

According to Brenda van Dam's testimony, Easton and Denise Kemel, another friend of Brenda's, consumed alcohol and smoked pot inside the Van Dam's garage before heading to the local bar for a girls night out.

Under cross examination, Brenda van Dam was asked about sexually suggestive dancing moves allegedly performed on her by Easton on the dance floor at Dad's.

"She did not touch me. I don't know how to explain it. She didn't physically touch me. She was maybe dancing with her hands like this, but she didn't touch me," says Brenda van Dam.

Easton told LOCAL 8 news by phone that the Van Dam's are the victims here and that she fully stands behind them. She would not give any specifics of the case because she says she is under a court imposed gag order.

Although Easton never took the stand in the Westerfield case, her interview with a San Diego Police Detective is part of the court documents introduced at the preliminary hearing.

As far as Westerfield's case is concerned, Easton says that it's too bad he didn't have to take the stand.

[Jaded]

There have been teenagers who have died from taking Ecstacy. One girl in CO. died after taking 1/2 of one after being in a coma for a few days. How long does it last in the body?

[demsux]

Drat, I thought she was wearing an orange sweater. Must have been her hair that I was thinking of.
Thanks for the pic

[spectre]

Yes! Refugee is an elite group of FR posters, who can exchange ideas with no distractions.

Did you catch the new "phrase" being used?...It's similiar to "gone postal"...BAWAHAHAHAHA!!

sw

[Rheo]

I'm not saying anyone gave her anything....she could have found something and ingested it....prescription meds even from the house.

Ectasy would be the drug I would think they might have had.....there was just a show on that where the girl died from a single ingestion...supposedly can melt your brain and cause holes in the brain....depends on what it might be laced with.

[mommya]

It is a poor pic - but if you look closely it appears to be a deep red shirt under the jacket - no?

[juzcuz]

Yeah Denise--

Maybe she didn't really lock that garage to house door. Brenda said Denise locked it. Maybe she didn't, maybe she closed it but left it unlocked. Could be that Denise had issues as well.

[Rheo]

Haven't read this yet but here is a link

Clubdrugs

[Rheo]

I'm not convinced any of those door openings and closings actually happened.

[Rheo]

From the link.

No club drug is benign. Chronic abuse of MDMA, for example, appears to produce long-term damage to serotonin-containing neurons in the brain. Given the important role that the neurotransmitter serotonin plays in regulating emotion, memory, sleep, pain, and higher order cognitive processes, it is likely that MDMA use can cause a variety of behavioral and cognitive consequences as well as impairing memory.

[Rheo]

From the link.

Because some club drugs are colorless, tasteless, and odorless, they can be added unobtrusively to beverages by individuals who want to intoxicate or sedate others. In recent years, there has been an increase in reports of club drugs used to commit sexual assaults - yet another reason why NIDA is alerting you to these escalating trends.

[connectthedots]

Not to mention the cool weather in February....it is not like her body was in the elements during July and Aug....mummification is more likely in a dry, humid environment, isn't it?....like a storage shed or something.

Say what?

[Rheo]

Ecstasy affects cognition (thinking), mood and memory. It also can cause anxiety and altered perceptions (similar to but not quite the same as hallucinations). The most desirable effect of Ecstasy is its ability to provide feelings of warmth and empathy.

[Rheo]

That is what I am asking....isn't mummification expected more in a dry, humid environment?

[demsux]

WARM, humid environment

[Rheo]

Some people who take only one Ecstasy pill may have negative psychological effects such as clouded thinking, agitation and disturbed behavior

[Rheo]

That's what I meant!.....another duh moment.