BREAKING: BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH WESTERFIELD: (Modern Day Westside Story?)7-9-02 Trial Watch

KFMB ^ | July 9, 2002 | KFMB

[FresnoDA]

WITNESSES SAY BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH DAVID WESTERFIELD

(07-08-2002) - Three defense witnesses testified Monday that Brenda van Dam and David Westerfield, the man accused of murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, danced together the night before the girl was discovered missing.

"Mr. Westerfield and Mrs. van Dam were dancing," said Patricia LePage, describing the scene at Dad's Cafe and Steakhouse the night of Feb. 1.

Since the prosecution introduced hair and fibers found at the defendant's house and motorhome, the defense has tried to show the evidence could have been transferred in some other way, such as dancing.

The 50-year-old defendant would face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and killing Danielle van Dam, who lived two houses away in Sabre Springs. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography.

In testimony near the beginning of the trial, Brenda van Dam told the court she did not dance with Westerfield.

But LePage said van Dam rubbed her hips and chest against Westerfield during several dances together, recalling the movie "Dirty Dancing." That was just part of what LePage described as "frisky" behavior exhibited by van Dam that night.

LePage said she was in a smoking lounge at Dad's with her daughter, Cherokee Youngs, when van Dam came in and struck up a conversation with the younger woman.

"Well, she did ask my daughter if she liked girls," LePage said when asked to describe the conversation. Van Dam, she said, asked Youngs if she wanted to come to her house for a party later that night.

Youngs testified about the encounter last week.

Duane Blake, a fisherman who said he goes to Dad's a couple times a week, said he caught a glimpse of the defendant dancing with van Dam.

Blake confirmed an interview with the District Attorney's Office, in which he described their dancing as, "huggy, huggy." He testified he even thought Westerfield might be trying to pick up on van Dam.

Earlier Monday, another woman testified she saw Westerfield dance with Danielle's mother.

Glennie Nasland, who began her testimony last week, said she was on the dance floor and saw the pair turn toward each other while dancing with other people.

Nasland, who described herself as a friend of Westerfield, said she watched them for 20 seconds before they turned away again.

In other testimony Monday, Dave Laspisa said that going to the desert to look for friends, and without bringing an all-terrain vehicle, was not an unusual activity for Westerfield.

The witness, a self-employed Poway man, said he's known the defendant for 15 years and has camped with him near the Imperial County community of Glamis for 10 years.

The witness was one of several people who testified as the defense began to move away from what happened at a Poway night spot the night before Danielle was discovered missing Feb. 2 to Westerfield's weekend wanderings.

Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman asked Laspisa to explain why someone would avoid Interstate 8 while taking a motorhome to the desert. Laspisa said high winds and black ice were common on that route, which traverses altitudes over 4,000 feet.

Heather Mack, a security guard at Coronado Cays, testified that she saw Westerfield drive his motorhome into the exclusive neighborhood in the afternoon or evening hours of Feb. 3.

Mack said Westerfield smiled and waved at her as he drove past her security kiosk, but she never saw him again.

The witness told Dusek that she originally told a police officer that she "vaguely remembered" seeing the defendant's recreational vehicle.

Glen Seebruch, an engineering manager at Nokia, testified earlier that Westerfield called him the morning of Feb. 1 and told him he planned to go to the desert that weekend.

Feldman, told Judge William Mudd that his case may be completed by the end of the week.

Insect expert David Faulkner is expected to testify about how long the victim's body may have been in the East County before volunteer searchers found it on Feb. 27.

Feldman has said Westerfield would have had no opportunity to dispose of the body because he was under constant police surveillance from Feb. 4 until his arrest Feb. 22.

[Rheo]

Well, striking out on pics....try the website...it is the first pic.

Danielle

[GoRepGo]

Next witness: Jennifer L, 17 yrs. old, Danielle L's friend. Went camping with Danielle L and DAW and his girlfriend.

[UCANSEE2]

Probably because the VanDam's have a swingers address book,(with law enforcement in it) just like Heidi Fliess (sp)had an address book of clients.

Remember. The woman who was by their side from the very first moment, who advised them on police procedure, who was a CLOSE PERSONAL friend of the investigators. If this is not a link, I don't know what is.

[Rheo]

We agreed, you got rain and I have sun....this is too weird...I need a nap.

[GoRepGo]

Dusek asking what towns they went through to get to Glamis.

[GoRepGo]

Questioning about black ice..again???

[GoRepGo]

Where curtains on RV closed at night....where they closed at night... opened during the day?

[GoRepGo]

electrical hookups at Borrego Springs, no hookups at Glamis.

[John Jamieson]

HOw many hours of curtain testimony are we going to get???

What difference could it possibly make? It's tea leaf reading.

If the curtains are closed, there MUST be a dead body inside!!!!!

[pinz-n-needlez]

That's good to know. I would never knowingly recommend offending a uniamorous wife. :-)

It's too bad that DW even asked to be introduced to some of the pizza gang.

My estimation of you rises. thanks for yet anther picture.

[Rheo]

Well, these two witnesses aren't testifying to being in the MH with Danielle as the prints they are saying is from camping....Feldman must have someone else to testify to that, I hope.

[Jaded]

Hey if you'da asked last week we could have sent you some from the hill country.

[Rheo]

Prosecution is re-opening their case for 2 witnesses...evidence that was not in before is going to be testified to....Tanya Dulaney again....

[GoRepGo]

next:two witnesses for the PROSECUTION.

[Jaded]

STOP THE BOREDOM!!!

**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**FREE NINJA DAVE**

[UCANSEE2]

Prosecution is re-opening their case for 2 witnesses...evidence that was not in before is going to be testified to....Tanya Dulaney again....

I hope it is REAL evidence, and not this trumped up stuff the prosecution has had up to this point.

[Rheo]

she took tape lifts for fibers on the upholstered items in MH on 2/6

[JudyB1938]

Out here in the desert, when a frog gets all of its guts squashed out on the road, it mummifies pretty quickly. Larger roadkill can lay there for a while before it "dries out". It really puzzles me how that child's body could have mummified so quickly, unless the blood was gone before being placed in the desert. If her private parts had been cut out beforehand, that would have been extreme blood loss. And that much blood loss doesn't leave a DROPLET of blood.

Just thinking out loud here.

[Spunky]

Hey, it just started RAINING at my house for the first time in over THREE MONTHS. WhooooHooooo

Don't get to excited. It might turn out like Texas.

Two days ago I was sitting here at the computer when I heard my cat scratching real hard at the front door. I opened it, he ran so fast into the bedroom I didn't even see him go by. In a matter of a minute we had hail pouring down then a wind of 76 miles per hour hit. I swear it was a small tornado (In Eastern Washinton. Naw!) It wiped out all of our backyard fence. Trees down every where. They said the temperature dropped 24 degrees in four minutes. This happened at 7:30 p.m. Our power was out until midnight.

[UCANSEE2]

HELP HELP HELP.. The SanDiegoChannel is not carrying the LIVE FEED. Anyone know why ?