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Expert: Body dumped after defendant fell under suspicion (SO WHO DUMPED DANIELLE VAN DAM'S BODY??)
Union Trib ^ | July 11, 2002 | Steve Perez/Greg Magnus

Posted on 07/11/2002 6:47:45 AM PDT by FresnoDA

Expert: Body dumped after defendant fell under suspicion

by Steve Perez
and
Greg Magnus
SIGNONSANDIEGO

July 10, 2002


Union-Tribune
Susan L. describes her relationship to David Westerfield.
An expert witness called by the defense Wednesday afternoon said he is "very confident" the nude body of Danielle van Dam was probably dumped off Dehesa Road near El Cajon more than a week after murder defendant David Westerfield came under police surveillance.

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."

Change of character

A woman who once lived with David Westerfield told prosecutors the defendant's character would change after drinking and he would become "forceful."

"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."

Initial testimony

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.

Routes not uncommon

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."

Avoiding crowds

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.

Motion denied

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.

Father wants back in court

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.

Baseball's 'sorry state'

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."


TOPICS: Crime/Corruption; Extended News; News/Current Events; US: California
KEYWORDS: 180frank; damonvandam; westerfield
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To: Blue Screen of Death
I tuned in to CourtTV yesterday for the first time and I could not stand listening to these women!! Thanks to FR, I can get the info. right here instead of listening to some angry women whine on TV.

By the way, is it true that the VD's just made some major purchases with life ins. $$$?

361 posted on 07/11/2002 1:31:50 PM PDT by hsmomx3
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To: UCANSEE2
P.S. Clarification. By MOB PYSCHOLOGY I was referring to getting the emotions of all the MOTHERS of young girls stirred up by news stories of CHILD PORN. Then they followed up with the tie-ins. HOSE LEFT OUT. LEFT LEVELLERS IN DESERT. BLINDS CLOSED, and on and on and on. THings they knew would get the MOB really stirred up.

no, YOU SAY,,,,, WELLLLLL THEN how come you hear some many cries of LYNCH HIM, LYNCH HIM, from the OVEREMOTIONAL,UNDER......... MOB?

362 posted on 07/11/2002 1:37:26 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: RnMomof7
I believe that the little girl was being sexually abused by her dad..she died accidently and because an autopsy would have outed that they had the kidnapping.. I believe he is a sexual pervert ..

That is exactly what I think happened. The 'lifestyle' of these two shows them to be acting out in wildly inappropriate ways. Even assuming arguendo that DW loaded whatever kiddie porn there is on the computer there is no evidence that he has ever come close to acting out his fantasies, whereas DVD and BVD crossed the 'acting out' Rubicon long, long ago.

Now, the really interesting question is: if the 'bug' evidence is correct, then DVD had to have an accomplice free (and willing) to dump the body on or about the 16th. Another of the lying 'swingers'? Who knows?

But these 'parents' -- using the term loosely -- had 'suspect' written all over them from day one.

363 posted on 07/11/2002 1:37:27 PM PDT by winstonchurchill
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To: pinz-n-needlez
I'm still confused on the comforter/fiber/laundry issues.

When Keene and Parga went thru the house and MH in the morning of 2/4..no comforters on beds and 1 on top of dryer...dirty, like it had been camping..2 taken to dry cleaners..no fibers found.

When 2/5 seizures began..in the washer there were sheets, towels, pillowcases and bedspreads (plural is theirs).

2/5...the bedspread was on the bed in the MH and one laying on the MB bed.

Did DW wash and take the dirty spread that was on top of the dryer 2/4 and take it to the MH that afternoon?...no fibers found.

Then come home and put another load or two in before 2:30 (that's when Keene showed back up to take him to the station) that contained the source of orange fibers?...no orange fibers found in MH so source from there seems unlikely.....yet all his laundry found in and on the W/D had the orange fibers.

Where did the MB comforter come from (no fibers found)

How many dang comforters does this man have?

Seems to me that whatever the source of the orange fibers was...it was placed in the W/D sometime between Keene/Parga/Rays visit at 12pm of 2/4 and 2:30pm on 2/4.

No orange fibers found in lint ball in garage garbage, none found in his house except for the laundry and pillowcase in MB(which had no blue fiber).

Or the laundry in W/D was done by Neil between 3:30 pm on 2/4 and 11pm on 2/4....no orange fibers testified to being in his room.

Have I confused you further??

364 posted on 07/11/2002 1:38:00 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: mommya
I just don't trust the ME.. Blackburn--

I want to know why the defense did not call for and independent pathologist to examine the body when it was available?

ME said that there was 'NO' evidence that the body was covered... Well, there must have been evidence of the coroners cover. Oh, the 10-20+ Poly/cot-white fibers was that from the coroners cover?.. . Well how did the 19+ blue/gray Nylon fibers get there??? I don't know, but that seems to be an awful lot of nylon and poly/cotton.
365 posted on 07/11/2002 1:41:04 PM PDT by juzcuz
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To: hsmomx3
By the way, is it true that the VD's just made some major purchases with life ins. $$$?

It was RUMOR that the VD's got $100,000 insurance form Danielle's death. We have never found PROOF this is true. We assume he had some kinda insurance policy, but the real amount is , so far, speculation/rumor.

The VD's did buy a BMW in, I believe APRIL. We would assume they got rid of their other vehicle (Damon's) which was a blue toyota van, (as far as we know). The reason I say that is that the OTHER vehicle was a BIG FORD EXPEDITION, very late model. Doubtful they turned that puppy in for trade.

The last RUMOR is that BRENDA just bought an $850,000 house up in CARMEL. WE , at this point, still have NO PROOF. This was first heard on the RICK ROBERTS show , and one other daytime TV show (don't remember the name), but we STILL HAVE NO PROOF.

We don't know if they sold their house in Sabre Springs (reportedly Damon is still living there).

That is what we really know, right now.

366 posted on 07/11/2002 1:43:04 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: pinz-n-needlez
Were blue/gray fibers found in the laundry on the 4th?

In the washing machine laundry...orange fibers...blue fibers.

On top of dryer..orange fibers, blue fibers

In dryer..orange fibers, blue fibers

MB pillowcase..10-20 orange fibers..no blue.

Blue towel on washer..multiple red, orange, blue acrylic, green acrylic fibers.

Gray towel..red, orange and blue.

White bath towel..red, orange, blue acrylic fibers.

White mens underwear and dark socks..red, orange blue acrylic fibers.

The red fibers were polyester, rayon and acrylic....NONE matched the red fibers found all over the body or in her hair.

Total of 10 blue/gray fibers found in laundry.

Wonder if someone was wearing blue/gray when the orange fiber was introduced into the laundry??

367 posted on 07/11/2002 1:44:15 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: All
Gee, seems like the FIREWORKS are over for a little while.

Probably have some more when people get home.

368 posted on 07/11/2002 1:46:33 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: Rheo
Wonder if someone was wearing blue/gray when the orange fiber was introduced into the laundry??

Close your eyes while someone reads this statement to you. What picture do you see?

369 posted on 07/11/2002 1:47:54 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: Jaded
I like it.......especially because they are creepy and spooky. LOL !!!!!
370 posted on 07/11/2002 1:48:03 PM PDT by Southflanknorthpawsis
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To: agarrett
Thank you for a response..I appreciate it and wonder if you could answer further.

when? Obviously, on the night of Feb 2. The alarm lights and open doors provide windows for someone to access the house. The implication, clearly, is that Westerfield is that person. How? By entering through the doors.

Which timeline would be used for this?...between 3:00am and 3:30?..DVD had to walk past her door to take Layla to Dereks room..just bad luck he didn't notice the door was open now, even with the street light shining thru her open blinds on the window?

As far as the murder itself...were would the urine/feces, blood, hair etc from this little girl be?...wasn't found in the MH...unless you count the 1 hair in the sink drain...her print is on a cabinet...did she break thru the restraint he would have had on her, without leaving hair on the fabric headboard or anywere else?

Just too many things don't add up...the prosecution offered no answers to them.

371 posted on 07/11/2002 1:52:57 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: pyx
Because he has to choose:

A. Three years for killin Westerfield (He needed killin Judge!)

or

B. Death for killing Danielle.

The choice is clear.
372 posted on 07/11/2002 1:55:14 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: UCANSEE2
Ott and Keyser
373 posted on 07/11/2002 1:56:29 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: Rheo
YES, OLLIE and STANLEY, you got it correct !
374 posted on 07/11/2002 1:58:45 PM PDT by UCANSEE2
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To: UCANSEE2
Don't forget my favorite:

"Premature Accusation"
375 posted on 07/11/2002 2:01:05 PM PDT by John Jamieson
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To: winstonchurchill
Great Post! I don't know exactly how it happened but I just don't see DW coming home in his Toyota--at some point crossing the street-- breaking into VD's home--quietly climbs up the stairs and carries out Danielle all while intoxicated and without disturbing the dog. I know the dog doesn't bark (supposedly) but he would have been clawing at the br door and made some kind of disturbance. Then he has to carry her back to his house which is very risky if a neighbor happens to see him. He would do all this because he has a compulsion to kill a child at that moment. I just can't buy that with no evidence of past convictions or even accusations.
376 posted on 07/11/2002 2:02:46 PM PDT by the-gooroo
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To: winstonchurchill
Now, the really interesting question is: if the 'bug' evidence is correct, then DVD had to have an accomplice free (and willing) to dump the body on or about the 16th. Another of the lying 'swingers'? Who knows?

I do not believe the parents were under surveilance like DW was. I think they were free to come and go pretty much..

The folks here keep pointing out DVD long sleeve shirts. At first we thought they were covering track marks, more recently some have speculated that they covered Poison oak (where the body was found)

Also they sold the van..would the dogs have smelled her?

IMHO This guy is being protected for a reason..perhaps a politician that would not want his swinging lifestyle outed??

377 posted on 07/11/2002 2:03:48 PM PDT by RnMomof7
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To: UCANSEE2
Couldn't figure out why the other hair results taken from the SUV were never disclosed.....cuz they were probably Ott & Keysers from the 2/4 SUV sit in and didn't want attention drawn to the fact that they were in there and left trace...(could happen)
378 posted on 07/11/2002 2:04:13 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: RnMomof7
Detective Holmes testified that the VD's were under MEDIA surveillence..not police.

Can't imagine why we didn't hear about their every move then.....don't imagine the PR firm or Diane could have called them off at times.

379 posted on 07/11/2002 2:06:49 PM PDT by Rheo
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To: Rheo
By George, I think you've got it!
380 posted on 07/11/2002 2:09:06 PM PDT by Karson
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