EXPERT LINKS PORN TO WESTERFIELD'S SON!: (Feldman's Message To "The Damon"; Don't Leave Town!)

KNSD NBC ^ | July 3, 2002 | KNBC

[FresnoDA]

Expert Links Porn Images To Westerfield's Son

Defense Hopes To Show Child Porn Wasn't Downloaded By Defendant

 

POSTED: 12:15 p.m. PDT July 3, 2002

UPDATED: 2:55 p.m. PDT July 3, 2002

 

SAN DIEGO -- A computer expert hired by David Westerfield's defense team said that at least some of the pornography seized from his home was downloaded by the defendant's son.

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Marcus Lawson (pictured, right), president of Global CompuSearch of Spokane, Wash., testified Wednesday that he found two photographs of naked women and Japanese "anime" computer animations on the hard drive of a Gateway computer in an upstairs bedroom used by Westerfield's 18-year-old son, David Neal Westerfield. The former Customs Service agent said that a detailed analysis of the files showed the pornography was downloaded at about the same time someone was accessing an email account belonging to the younger Westerfield.

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.

[Rheo]

WHy were the results from the other vacuum cleaners not discussed??

[Valpal1]

By Alex Roth
UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER

July 4, 2002

A defense expert in the David Westerfield murder trial suggested yesterday that Westerfield's son might be the one responsible for downloading child pornography found on computers and disks in Westerfield's home.

The testimony came on a day when Westerfield's attorneys also called several witnesses to revisit the activities of Brenda van Dam and her friends at a Poway bar on the night her 7-year-old daughter, Danielle, vanished from her bedroom in the family's Sabre Springs home.

"I wouldn't mind taking these two home," Brenda van Dam said at one point in reference to a pair of strangers she met at the bar that night, according to a woman who was there.

Westerfield's attorneys presented the evidence as part of a continuing attempt to show that van Dam and her husband – with their bar-hopping, marijuana use and unconventional sex life – attracted so many unseemly characters that any number of people might have abducted and killed their daughter.

Westerfield lived two doors from the van Dams and is charged with kidnapping and murdering the second-grader. The 50-year-old design engineer also faces misdemeanor charges of possessing child pornography.

Prosecutors have said the pornography reveals Westerfield's motive for the crimes. But a computer expert hired by the defense testified yesterday that several Internet porn sites on the home computers – including those advertising teen sex and bestiality – were accessed by someone with an e-mail account that began with the letters DNWest.

The defendant's full name is David Alan Westerfield. The name of his 18-year-old son, of whom he and his ex-wife shared joint custody, is David Neal Westerfield. Among the e-mails sent to this account were several from a bookstore at San Diego State University, where the son is a student, according to testimony.

On cross-examination, prosecutor George "Woody" Clarke seemed to suggest that the father and son might have shared the same e-mail account, or that the father might have been using the account on his own. Clarke noted that a person using this account joined one Web site by creating the password 5203 – the last four digits of the father's Social Security number.

In court documents filed in April, prosecutors said that "the defendant, in an audiotape recorded interview with law enforcement, acknowledged his downloading of sexually explicit material." Westerfield's son, "in a similar audiotaped interview with law enforcement, denied possession of sexually explicit material," the court documents state. None of these interviews has been played for the jury.

By trying to place responsibility for the child pornography on Westerfield's son, Westerfield's attorneys might have opened the door for prosecutors to call the son to the witness stand.

Because there is a gag order in the case, it was not possible to determine if they will do so. Westerfield's son has stated that he believes his father is innocent.

The expert called by the defense is Marcus Lawson, president of Global CompuSearch in Spokane, Wash., and a former Drug Enforcement Administration and Customs Service agent. He said he used special software to examine the hard drives of two computers found in Westerfield's home office, a computer in his son's bedroom, a laptop computer and several computer disks found on a bookshelf in Westerfield's home office.

An analysis shows that someone using the computers in Westerfield's office accessed an e-mail account named DNWest@hotmail.com, Lawson testified. The same person with this e-mail address either accessed or was sent information about a number of pornographic Internet sites, including one advertising "teen sex" and another advertising "hardcore beast action."

Lawson also suggested that Westerfield's son may have been responsible for downloading several pornographic images found on the computer disks in his father's office.

Several of the images – including a video showing what appears to be a young girl being raped by two men – were shown to the jury last week. Many of the images on the disks were accessed at the same time that many of the images on Westerfield's son's computer had also been created, Lawson testified yesterday.

On cross-examination, prosecutor Clarke suggested Westerfield's son's computer might have been a hand-me-down from his father. Lawson also acknowledged that many of the images on the disks were created in 1999, when Westerfield's son was only 15, and that the files had electronic labels referring to Spectrum, the name of the father's business.

Many of the files on the disks were also labeled with the prefix "iea," the same prefix attached to various engineer business files that appeared to have been created by Westerfield, Lawson said.

Lawson said it was impossible to tell who downloaded the images on the disks.

In other testimony, the defense called Cherokee Youngs, who was a patron at Dad's Cafe & Steakhouse on Feb. 1. She said she saw Brenda van Dam with two girlfriends drinking, dancing and "having a good time."

Youngs said that although she had never met the three women before, Brenda van Dam's friend Barbara Easton began hitting on her. Youngs said she felt so uncomfortable that she struck up a conversation with a man she didn't know – someone named Ryan – as a way to fend off Easton.

Not long afterward, Brenda van Dam glanced at Youngs and Ryan and announced, "I wouldn't mind taking these two home," Youngs testified. Earlier in the trial, van Dam and her husband, Damon, said they had swapped sex partners with their friends.

Later that night, Brenda van Dam invited Youngs and Ryan back to her house, but they both declined, Youngs said.

Youngs also said she saw van Dam dancing in the bar that night with someone who could have been Westerfield, but she wasn't sure. She said she didn't get a good glimpse of the man, and added that Westerfield's look – middle-age, balding and wearing a goatee – is fairly common for the area.

"The majority of the men in Poway look like Dave Westerfield," she said.

"Now we've offended Poway," Superior Court Judge William Mudd interjected.

Westerfield, who was a neighborhood acquaintance of the van Dams, was in the bar that night but left before Brenda van Dam and her friends.

Westerfield's attorneys have been trying to show that Westerfield danced with van Dam that night. Any physical contact between the two could help explain how fibers and hairs from the girl might have been transported into Westerfield's house.

San Diego police Detective Lucious Mobley testified that Youngs told him during a Feb. 8 interview that she saw Westerfield and van Dam dancing that night. Youngs said that was incorrect.

The final witness of the day was Glennie Nasland, a friend of Westerfield's who saw him at Dad's on Feb. 1. She said she saw Westerfield dancing with van Dam and her friend Denise Kemal. He didn't make physical contact with van Dam during the dance, Nasland testified.

Nasland said she saw Westerfield leave the bar about midnight. "He was drunk," she said.

The trial is scheduled to resume Monday.

Alex Roth: (619) 542-4558; alex.roth@uniontrib.com

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Guess we'll find out next week if the son will testify.

[Freedom2specul8]

I have said a couple of times in the past couple of days that I'm looking forward to Neals testimony. If he doesn't will it affect the juror's decision? If they think dw is trying to blame his own son, and then they don't get to hear from the son...jury may have a negative reaction. I heard somewhere (WHERE??) that he denied the child porn was not his. So.....if it is...would it be possible that Neal could get immunity for his testimony about the child porn? (pinging Amore)

[Freedom2specul8]

LOL Perfect timing! See my #983!

"Westerfield's son, "in a similar audiotaped interview with law enforcement, denied possession of sexually explicit material," the court documents state. None of these interviews has been played for the jury. "

[Freedom2specul8]

lightbulb...if neal testifies, do you think the interview will be played for the jury?

[rolling_stone]

Who didn't invite whom? And who testified to it? And who testified differently?

[spectre]

You nailed it!

Where are the professionals who should be analyzing the statements made by the Van Dams?

NOT once, have they ever said anything in the area of "OMG...if ONLY we had checked on our baby when that alarm light flashed...we might have been able to save her"!

OR "We should have made sure the house was locked and double-checked the kids before we went to bed"...They should have said something along the lines of taking some responsibility for their daughters disappearance.

EVEN, if there was no truth to it, they should have offered some form of remorse...but none..NOT even a, "if I catch the sorry SOB who took her from her room, leave me alone with him for five minutes"...from Damon. Nothing!

He makes gestures at DW behind his back in the Court-Room...Too cowardly...too late! I see right thru these people, why can't others?

sw

[Freedom2specul8]

"Web site by creating the password 5203 – the last four digits of the father's Social Security number. "

Did you see my ping about this? I'm sorry I can't remember who discovered this now..the warrant for cell phone records shows that the last 4 digits of the cell phone number is the same four digits has dw's SS#.

[Henrietta]

If there *were* good people on the prosecution team and in LE, they would've cut this guy loose a long time ago. They aren't good, they're evil people who only care about winning their case. This sort of behavior is truly despicable.

[Hildy]

Thanks Kim...HE'S GUILTIER THAN HELL...why won't these people just admit they were wrong?

[NatureGirl]

she walked in on daddy and someone. Who is that someone?

Maybe he had a boy in for the evening. And maybe that's what's being covered up here.

(Personal anecdote: Several years ago, a couple that I knew split up because of something like this. Her husband was always keen on her going out; meanwhile, he was running a Personal ad in the paper for some "male company". He had boys over while the Mrs. was gone, and their 5-year-old daughter was asleep upstairs.)

I know that the VDs are swingers, but that doesn't necessarily mean that PDVD was out of the closet. Of course, Feldman has promised us a (male) witness who said that BVD asked him to come home "for her husband" and he wasn't comfortable with that, so I could be talking through my hat. ;-)

[Karson]

Do you know where to find the article where Brenda was saying to the 'kidnapper', something like, "You need to re-think what you are doing. This is getting really big."?

Another one was where she said something like, "Somebody knows where my daughter is and it's not me."

If anyone can point me to those articles, I would appreciate it.

[Freedom2specul8]

Have you ever checked out websleuths.com and or jamieson's forum? Jamieson controls webbsleuths.com as well. Clear division. the majority of the first forum believe he's guilty..the majority of the 2nd forum believe he's innocent. Judging from freepmails I've gotten...I can see that there's a 50/50 split amongst those who wrote me from FR. I'm not sure about the other forums..it seemed about the same 50/50 but I haven't followed them as closely and rarely post there.

[Rheo]

I think those articles are on the signonsandiego site..at the top of the page is Pre-Trial Coverage..has the media articles from the beginning....I believe that is where I read the "Someone has my baby but it's not me"....don't recall the other one.

[winodog]

Because we actually examine the facts and have some questions that are not being answered.

[spectre]

"Why won't these people admit they are wrong?"

You mean we must admit we are wrong, if we don't AGREE with YOU? LOL!

Abit premature in your posts, especially since the Jury is still listening to the evidence.

Did you just come on this thread to pass judgment on others? If so, your mission is accomplished.

Move on...

sw

[Freedom2specul8]

Somebody knows where my daughter is and it's not me

I remember this! It was during a news broadcast when her and damon were speaking to the press. I think it's linked ot on sandiegochannel.com..maybe not word for word..but at the time, it seemed like such a logical statement. Can you imagine, having some insane criminal taking your child. It's the worse thing in the world to know that some freak of nature knows where you little girl is and you don't. I know exactly what she meant.

[NatureGirl]

the 220 pound man silently takes the 60 pound child out the sliding glass door

Note: he's gotten into the house, and the alarm hasn't gone off. You could chalk that up to the "lady" of the house not being home yet, and the alarm not being set.

But how could he be sure that the alarm wouldn't go off on his way out?? How would he know that it was a silent alarm (lights only, wasn't it?), and not a silent alarm with a connection to the local police/security company? I doubt very much he was fiddling with magnets while he had Danielle over his shoulder.

[Valpal1]

I think it should have been introduced into evidence along with the pictures, but perhaps he didn't want to lay the foundation for this testimony unless and until the defense went there, i.e. let them make the choice to drag his son into the mud.

Mr. Westerfield's attorney has now managed to drag the son down to the sewer level with his dad. Are we to believe he has been downloading, catagorizing the porn and transferring it to cd's with file labels identical to his dad's, since he was 14 or 15, no less?

[Karson]

Thanks. I'll check there as soon as we finish dinner.

Maybe I shouldn't say this but hubby just came home with take-out pizza. But not Domino's!!!!!! :^)