Union-Tribune
Susan L. describes her relationship to David Westerfield.Posted on 07/11/2002 6:47:45 AM PDT by FresnoDA
July 10, 2002
Union-Tribune Susan L. describes her relationship to David Westerfield. |
Insect expert David Faulkner testified he based his conclusion upon studies he conducted on larvae and insects recovered from the victim's body, discovered by volunteer searchers on Feb. 27.
Westerfield is accused of kidnapping 7-year-old Danielle van Dam from the child's bed and killing her five months ago. He could face the death penalty if convicted. This was the final day of defense testimony.
Based on Faulkner's studies, which use the life cycles of insects, the earliest the body could have been left there was Feb. 16 to Feb. 18, he said under questioning from Westerfield's defense attorney.
Earlier Wednesday, San Diego police detective Sgt. Bill Holmes testified that investigators placed a tracking device on Westerfield's car during the first days of the investigation. They tracked his movements until his arrest on Feb. 22.
Defense attorney Steven 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.
A medical examiner relies on three factors to make an assessment, Faulkner has said: the amount and distribution of rigor mortis, the change in body temperature and the degree of decomposition. But after several days, rigor mortis dissipates and the corpse assumes the temperature of its environment.
Insects can give more specific information because they have a definitive development period that can be meticulously measured, said Faulkner, who collected insects during Danielle's autopsy. Faulkner said the presence of specific fly larva and adults and the absence of beetle larva on the body helped him determine an approximate "post-mortem interval."
Faulkner said during normal daylight conditions flies can land upon a body and deposit eggs within 20 minutes of its death. He believed the body had been at its Dehesa location approximately 10-12 days before its discovery.
He admitted under cross-examination by prosecutor Jeff Dusek that weather conditions for February were "extremely abnormal" and could have affected the amount of insects available to find the body.
"There was very warm temperatures in February and no significant rainfall for most of the winter," Faulkner said. "The insect population in general was much lower."
"Susan L." mother of "Danielle L.," and Christine Gonzales, both of whom testified earlier, lived with the defendant for nearly a year, beginning about 3 1/2 years ago. The woman's last name was not read into the court record because her daughter, a minor, testified Tuesday.
Before he was charged in February, Westerfield's criminal record consisted of a 1996 drunken-driving conviction.
The woman was called initially as a witness for the defense, during which she testified that the defendant had a problem with sweating, left his motor home unlocked on occasions, left a garden hose out in front of his home and became stuck in the sand in his motor home during trips to Glamis.
Prosecutor Jeff Dusek's line of questioning eventually led to the defendant's behavior after he began drinking.
"He would become very quiet," she said.
"What else," Dusek said.
"Sometimes he would become a little upset."
"Depressed?"
"Yes."
"Basically, you would see a change in character when he would drink."
"Yes."
After agreeing with Dusek that the defendant was much different while drinking than when sober, the prosecutor asked if it was one of the reasons she eventually left Westerfield.
"Because of the drinking? Yes," she answered quietly.
Dusek later provided Susan L. with a transcript of a statement to investigators in which she reportedly said that Westerfield would become "forceful," when he drank.
"I remember that occasionally," she said.
Westerfield told investigators he had been drinking the night he visited Dad's in Poway, the same night he encountered the victim's mother, Brenda van Dam, and her friends.
Earlier during Dusek's cross-examination, "Susan L." began crying on the witness stand, admitting that she still cares for the defendant.
"Susan L." testified that she had just broken up with the defendant when she saw on television that he was a suspect in the second-grader's disappearance Feb. 2.
Dusek asked her about the last time she had seen Westerfield.
"You still like him, don't you?"Dusek asked her.
"I care about him,"she said, sobbing.
The witness said she spoke with Westerfield the day after she had been out with a male friend.
Dusek showed "Susan L." a transcript of her Feb. 5 interview with police. The prosecutor asked the witness if she saw the defendant the night she went out with the other male friend.
"Did you tell law enforcement that you saw (the defendant) sitting outside?"' the prosecutor asked. The witness later testified under questioning from defense attorney Robert Boyce, that it was something Westerfield had told her.
Dusek attempted to turn that statement against the defense, asking if Westerfield had contacted her the next day.
"Yes, he called me."
"After discussing what was discussed, you didn't feel comfortable with the defendant at that time, correct," Dusek said.
"At the time, yes."
The woman, under direction examination by Boyce, testified that she met Westerfield through Glennie Nasland, another defense witness, at Big Stone Lodge in Poway "three-and-a-half, four years ago."
They started dating and she moved in with him about two weeks later, she said.
They camped often in the motor home, sometimes accompanied by her daughters, her daughter's fiance and Westerfield's son.
Their journeys woud take them to the Silver Strand, Anza-Borrego and Glamis. Sometimes, when the weather was bad, they would leave the Silver Strand and travel to Borrego intead, she said.
It wasn't unusual for them to arrive at night, or search for friends and not find them, she said.
Before the trips, she would help load the motor home, she said, leaving it parked either across the street or in the home's driveway and leaving its front door open.. The motor home would often sit there for up to two days before the trips, she said.
It wasn't unusual for a hose to be left out in the front yard or for Westerfield to walk around with cash in his pocket, she said.
The motor home also would become stuck in the sand during their desert trips, "Susan L." said. "He would try to dig out the sand from the out from under the wheels and fit a board underneath," she said.
She testified he would leave the wood behind.
Later, she testified that Westerfield's son, Neal, was familiar with computers and would often help his father with them.
She also said the defendant had a problem with sweating, often under his arm pits head and face, even during cold weather.
Prosecution witnesses have testified that they thought it was unusual for Westerfield to be sweating profusely when they first contacted him in February.
Meandering journeys in a motor home -- such as the one described by Westerfield -- are not so uncommon, according to one enthusiast who testified today.
Eugene Yale, an East County attorney and motor home enthusiast, came to the attention of defense lawyers when he wrote a letter to the defense to point the meandering nature of motor home trips. He did so because he had read a newspaper article about testimony in the case and "didn't think it was accurate."
"I'm here because I think the truth should be out," Yale told Westerfield attorney Steven Feldman, at the end of his testimony today.
Yale described several meandering routes to Glamis, including one similar to the route Westerfield told investigators he took on the same weekend that Danielle van Dam disappeared from her bedroom in the middle of the night.
"One of the joys of having a motor home is you don't have to rely on rest stops, restaurants or Jack in the Box, though I seldom pass one by," Yale said. "You can take the back roads, look at scenic areas. My wife and I have a motor home because we like to see things, and not to get stuck by clinging to one standard route."
Prosecutors have made much of a roaming route that Westerfield took through San Diego and Imperial counties in his motor home the weekend of Feb. 2. Westerfield told investigators the solo trip took him to Silver Strand State Beach; then east across the desert to Glamis where he got stuck in the sand; then moving on to Superstition Mountain, Borrego Springs and back to Silver Strand, where he parked on a street overnight before returning home to Sabre Springs in Poway on Monday morning.
"The scenery on (Interstate) 8 and toward Jacumba and the desert is not the most appealing," Yale said. "An alternative route is go up through Ramona, San Ysabel -- that way."
Generally, Yale added, he would take one way heading toward Glamis and return by a different route "just for a change of scene."
Yale further testified that when he traveled to Glamis, he avoids crowds. "I set up away from people," he said on direct examination.
It was also not unusual to keep windows closed at times, Yale said. "A windshield on a motor home is pretty big -- and I've logged over 100,000 miles in them -- people have a natural tendency to look in, see what's going on."
Sunlight also tends to damage interior furniture, he said. In addition, shades drawn on windshields and sides reduce glare for his wife and children who enjoy watching videos.
Before court adjourned on Tuesday, Superior Court Judge William Mudd denied a defense motion to acquit Westerfield on the charges, that possession of child pornography.
Mudd noted that the defense motion ``brings to the court the question of whether or not, in the best light possible given to the prosecution's evidence, is there sufficient evidence to go to the jury from the question of the guilt or innocence of Mr. Westerfield on charges he is facing?
``The answer to that question is yes,'' Mudd said, answering his own rhetorical question. ``The motion is denied.''
Police criminalist Tanya DuLaney testified yesterday that blue fibers found in Westerfield's motorhome match fibers found around the body of the victim and on clothes in his washing machine.
DuLaney said she found a total of 46 blue fibers while examining the 1997 Southwind motorhome Feb. 6, four days after the second-grader was discovered missing from her Sabre Springs home.
Eleven blue nylon fibers were found on the headboard of the bed at the back of the vehicle, DuLaney said, with 31 discovered on bench seats, one on a front passenger seat and the rest on a couch.
Damon van Dam has filed a motion to be readmitted into the trial of his daughter's accused killer, Judge William Mudd said today.
The judge barred the father from the courtroom and third floor of the San Diego County Courthouse on June 25 because he said Damon van Dam was stalking and trying to stare down Westerfield.
At the time, Mudd said he had reached the limit with the father and told him to leave.
Mudd said he will consider Damon van Dam's motion tomorrow.
The 7-7 tie in the Major League Baseball All-Star game Tuesday night prompted the judge to comment today on what he called the "sorry state of professional baseball."
Mudd was unhappy that Commissioner Bud Selig decided to call the game after 11 innings because the National and American league managers had told him that they had run out of players.
"It sure lets you know where the fans fit in," Mudd told jurors before testimony began.
The judge also reminded the jury that they would be off next week because Mudd had a prepaid and long-standing vacation planned by his wife of 30 years.
Mudd said the break would be good for jurors since the end of the case would be "intense."
"The pundits are telling me you're all a bunch of idiots," the judge said, referring to some criticism that the week-long break is going to leave jurors with an impression that the last witnesses who testify would be the best witnesses.
Mudd said the break would actually work to jurors' benefits.
"This actually is going to work out to your benefit."
"Get back to know your boss, your co-workers, spend time with your families," Mudd said. "Take a vacation. This is going to work to your benefit. It allows you a bit of a break before the end of the trial. The end of the trial will be intense."
A very common practice; a matter of preference in my family. It is quite common in other families, evidenced by the Crematory section at most cemeteries.
Of course this may not seem "logical" to you, but common sense and FACTS win out here.
Hurray for you. Another brave observer willing to go against the party-line, here on the "Van Damnation" threads.
You are joining a minority, who are able to wade through the daily headlines of witty, but obsessed, attempts at humor, daily floating of rumors, the personal ridicule of any dissenters, etc. Welcome.
From what I remember about the shell casing is it belonged to a police officer. Feldman was questioning a lady dectective who said it was not there the first day when they did their preliminary and then they supposedly secured Danielle's bedroom. Feldman brought out the fact that the next day a shell casing was there so therefore they could not have secured the bedroom that well.
Good to be home, but we had a great vacation
DW's description of what happened matches The description of what 'RUFFIES' do to you.
This is in discussion about the .22 casing found on the floor of Danielle's room.
Here is something no one has thought about.
WHAT KIND of shell casing is used to fire TRANQUILIZER DARTS?
It was me, even. But we are talking about drugs that disappear from the body in 4 days. She wasn't examined for drugs until what, 30 days later ?
A very possible scenario. The parent's not having normal reactions. The phone call to Brenda that is still under seal. The 'kidnappers' had Danielle somewhere, tied up. Could have been bitten by a snake, starved, heat prostration, a number of things could have happened. So the 'kidnappers' then have to let Damon know.
Only problem with this is that ,as far as we know, there were never any ransom demands. And WHY turn the police on to Westerfield, if you have this ransom thing planned?
I think it was something else. I think Damon's "FRIEND" that flew in from out of town had a lot to do with it. Then he leaves right after Danielle's body is discovered. There would seem to be a link there of some kind. Other than the obvious.
I am seriously wondering if the 'loss of memory' was due to being 'DRUGGED'.
It would seem possible that the pizza partiers "DRUGGED" DW (Zanex in his 'shot') because they (Rich,Keith) wanted to party with Denise,Barb and do drugs.
DW was not a druggy and they were probably afraid he would 'narc'.
So, when he starts getting 'hazy', Brenda drives him home, with someone (Barb) driving DW's vehicle. It's only 5 min away from Dad's.
Later, when something happened to Danielle, they all decided to hang it on DW, since they knew he wouldn't remember what happened anyway.
And that they have done. Matter of fact, their emotions seemed to have 'moved on' from the start.
But now, with a new car, and possibly a new home, weekend at the state fair with the boys, I would say they had moved on.
The exception is Damon petitioning the court to get back in. I wonder what his motive is for that?
I see, are you an expert on evaluation of that 'type'. Question: How many of that type are there in the US? How many kill a neigbhorhood girl ?
Probably upset at not being invited to join the swingers club and looking for a little revenge. He took her, raped her, killed her, and dumped her body like trash.
Now , LOOKING for A LITTE revenge ?
So he rapes,kills and dumps the body, that is how you get revenge? You are making an argument , that B follows A and it has no justification. Secondly, there is NOT ONE SHRED of EVIDENCE, nor is he being charged with RAPE.
SO, you are making judgment on something that is not born out by facts, and not part of the case, and shows your complete prejudice. You know, they would NEVER let you on the JURY.
You make it so obvious that you cannot be open-minded or fair.
He will get a fair trial with competent counsel and he will be convicted by an impartial jury.
Same thing. You say HE WILL BE CONVICTED. Not that the jury will make a fair decision. Why don't you just skip the trial, take a gun, and go shoot DW? You already KNOW he's guilty (or rape even, right ?), so why don't you just kill him? Doesn't matter what evidence or testimony still remains to be heard, does it? You ALREADY KNOW. You are OMNISCIENT, right?
I think Brenda possibly drove DW home, to GET RID OF HIM. That the pizza-partiers were planning on doing some DRUGS and DW was not welcome. Rich and Keith were suspicious (due to conflicts over the MH, where one of them called the home society on DW) that DW would NARC on them.
So, they got him , OUT OF THE WAY.
Then later, when something happened to Danielle, he became the obvious scapegoat, as they knew he wouldn't remember WHAT HAPPENED AT ALL!
My memory is that Brenda testified that she said this to DW at Dad's, the weekend before Danielle disappeared. If I can find it, I will post it to you.
When police interviewed Brenda she said she NEVER said that to DW. Then, I believe in the PH, she testified that she did say that stuff to DW. SO, BRENDA IS A LIAR. Brenda either 'misremembered' or specifically was attempting to implicate DW, her motive not being totally understood yet.
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