Posted on 07/03/2002 3:36:43 PM PDT by FresnoDA
David A. Westerfield, 50, is charged with kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography. Prosecutors have said the 80 or so images of child pornography taken from Westerfield's home indicate sexual interest in children.Defense attorneys are trying to show that the defendant is not responsible for the pornographic images -- including those of young children -- found on his computer equipment.
David A. Westerfield, a 50-year-old self-employed design engineer, is on trial for the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
Lawson told jurors that he examined copies of hard drives, zip disks and compact disks made by police and took numerous screen captures -- essentially photographs of what came up on the computer monitor at a given time.
Defense attorney Steven Feldman asked Lawson if there was a theme to the animations.
"A considerable number of the screen prints showed bondage -- where women were tied in ropes," Lawson said.
A screen print of an e-mail to a DNWesthotmail.com, as quoted by Lawson, said: "Thanks for joining anime.com."
Lawson also confirmed screen prints the defense entered into evidence last week, that a computer in the office of Westerfield's house was used to access pornography on Feb. 4 at 4:47 p.m., when the defendant was busy with detectives.
Feldman mentioned last week's suggestion that the clock on the computer may have been doctored.
"Did you see any evidence that that happened on any of the computers you examined?" Feldman asked.
"No, I did not," Lawson answered. He said there's usually signs when a clock has been tampered with, such as files being accessed before they were created. Nothing like that was apparent on Westerfield's computers, he said.
Tuesday, San Diego police Detective Johnny Keene testified that he collected Westerfield from his Sabre Springs home that Monday around 3:40 p.m. and took him to the Northeastern substation in Rancho Penasquitos. The defendant remained there until approximately 11:30 p.m.
Thanks, and i'll give a nod to the wild guesses.
I don't doubt Danielle was murdered --I do have a reasonable doubt that Dave Westerfield did it.
Where is the case against Dave Westerfield ?
Looks like they've shot holes in the motive....Let's see what they do with the "evidence"?
How could the blood have gotten on his jacket. Let's see..hhhmmmmmmmm......If he hadn't worn the jacket....left it somewhere....Kept it in the closet of the MH for years......Very old stain???????????
http://video.uniontrib.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020604-9999-pm2.html
EXCERPTS FROM FELDMAN'S OPENING
snip
THEY HAD SEIZED HIS COMPUTERS. YOU SAW A COUPLE OF PICTURES OF NAKED GIRLS.
Snip
IN EACH OF THOSE PICTURES, NOT THE SIX SMALL
16 CHILDREN THAT YOU WERE SHOWN ON DIRECT, THEY'RE THERE, NO ISSUE.
17 BUT THE 1700 OR 1800 OTHER PHOTOS IN ANOTHER NOTEBOOK, AND A
18 NUMBER OF MPEGS, OKAY. WHAT MR. DUSEK REFERRED TO IS WHAT HE
19 CALLED "MEN FORCING THEMSELVES ON YOUNG GIRLS," OKAY,
(my notes:This is admitting they will see them..that's why he's attempting to show that dw did not download them)
20 AN ADULT WOMAN SIMULATING A RAPE, BUT YOU'RE GONNA SEE
21 CONSENSUAL SEXUAL INTERCOURSE. THAT'S WHY WE TALKED TO YOU
22 ABOUT THIS IN VOIR DIRE IN THESE MPEGS. AND IN EVERY ONE OF
23 THESE MPEGS, AND IN EVERY ONE, VIRTUALLY EVERY SINGLE PHOTO,
24 IT'S ADULT WOMEN. WE DON'T SPECULATE. WE PROVE.
Fledman wasn't able to gloss over the videos..
http://video.uniontrib.com/news/metro/danielle/20020626-9999_1n26wester.html
"At least two jurors cried yesterday after prosecutors in the David Westerfield trial showed pictures of nude young girls, including movies of what looked like girls screaming while being sexually assaulted. "
http://video.uniontrib.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020625-9999-pm2.html
No denial, correction or stipulation that the movies were animated, fake or not real children.
He was able to address this issue RIGHT AFTER the movie was shown and he couldn't.
Comments about fingerprints..
"19 Q. AND NO EFFORT WAS MADE TO PRESERVE THE EVIDENCE,20 FOR INSTANCE, FOR FINGERPRINT PURPOSES, CORRECT?21 A. WE WERE HANDLING THEM BY THE EDGES.22 Q. FOR HOW LONG DID YOU HANDLE 'EM BY THE EDGES, SIR?23 A. FOR THE -- WE ONLY HAVE TO HANDLE THEM VERY24 MINIMALLY DURING THE PROCESS, WHICH IS TAKING THEM, PUTTING THEM25 INTO THE C. D. TRAY, VIEWING THEM, TAKING THEM OUT AND THEN"
http://video.uniontrib.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020625-9999-pm2.html
14 THE COURT: YOU'VE REPRESENTED TO THIS JURY, MR. FELDMAN,15 THAT OUT OF A HUNDRED THOUSAND IMAGES THERE ARE ONLY 13 THAT ARE16 SUCH THAT THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY CAN FIND AGAINST YOUR CLIENT.17 YOU KNOW, I KNOW, THAT IS NOT TRUE.19 THE COURT: THE OBJECTIONS THAT HAVE BEEN RAISED, THE20 OBJECTIONS THAT WERE RAISED BY THE PEOPLE IN HERE ARE THE BEST21 EVIDENCE RULE. I DEFERRED THOSE SPECIFICALLY BECAUSE OF THE22 FACT THAT WE HAVE DONE EVERYTHING HUMANLY POSSIBLE TO STRUCTURE23 THIS PARTICULAR ISSUE OUT OF THE PRESENCE OF THE MEDIA AND THE24 PUBLIC. OVER YOUR OBJECTION I MADE FINDINGS THAT THIS IS25 RELEVANT MATERIAL. I REALIZE YOU DISAGREE WITH THAT.26 BASED ON THAT I ASKED THE DISTRICT ATTORNEY TO PARE27 IT DOWN SO WE CAN SEE THE IMAGES THEY WANTED TO USE IN TRIAL28 APART FROM ALL OF THE IMAGES THEY COULD HAVE USED. THEY DID63571 THAT. WE HAD A HEARING. YOU ARGUED. I PARED IT DOWN. I DID2 THAT UNDER 352 TO MINIMIZE YOUR CLIENT'S EXPOSURE, TO MINIMIZE3 THE PREJUDICIAL IMPACT AND ALLOW THE PEOPLE TO PUT ON THEIR4 CASE.5 AND THE VERY FIRST THING YOU DO ON6 CROSS-EXAMINATION IS SAY HOW MANY IMAGES WERE THERE. A HUNDRED7 THOUSAND. AND WE GET DOWN TO 13. NOW, THIS IS A SEARCH FOR THE8 TRUTH, BELIEVE IT OR NOT, AND THE TRUTH IS THERE ARE MORE THAN9 13 IMAGES.10 NOW, YOU TELL ME, MR. FELDMAN, WHY YOU HAVE NOT11 OPENED THE DOOR TO EVERY SINGLE IMAGE THAT IS ON EVERY DISK THAT12 WAS CONFISCATED FROM THAT HOUSE. I'D BE VERY INTERESTED IN13 HEARING IT.SNIP
21 MR. CLARKE: I THINK, AS THE COURT NOTED, I'M AT A LOSS22 FOR WHY WE EVEN HELD A HEARING AT THIS POINT BASED ON THE23 DEFENDANT'S OBJECTION. I THINK AT THIS POINT THE JURY HAS24 CLEARLY BEEN MISLED AS A RESULT OF CROSS-EXAMINATION AND AT THIS25 POINT, AS THE COURT KNOWS, WE HAVE HUNDREDS AND HUNDREDS OF26 PORNOGRAPHIC PHOTOS, AND I THINK THE JURY IS NOW IN A POSITION27 THAT IT NEEDS TO HEAR THAT DUE TO THEIR BEING MISLED DURING28 CROSS-EXAMINATION.
I uderstand. But 7 year old kid, who should be in abed sleeping -shows up 5 miles away --dead. That is some bad intent. What I think is silly is that the law thinks a neighbor two doors down committed the crime.
And whiffs the parents.
SOME responsibility? Had I spent the last night of my daughter's life the way BVD did, I would be consumed by the 'shouldas'. Or in this case the shouldn't haves. This is the basis for my anger and lack of compassion toward the VD's. The 'lifestyle' they led made them negligent, immoral, appalling idiots. The fact that they haven't denounced it, makes them dangerous parents.
Because they have declared that their 'lifestyle' had NOTHING to do with Danielle's disappearance, we can only assume that they plan to continue keeping an unfit home. Their remaining children should be removed from that home. THEN, MAYBE, they would get it. JUST losing their daughter, evidently wasn't enough.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.