Posted on 07/22/2002 3:02:31 PM PDT by FresnoDA
Westerfield's trial had been in recess since July 11 so the judge could take a previously scheduled vacation.
Westerfield, 50, lived two doors from Danielle, who vanished after her father put her to bed the night of Feb. 1. Searchers found the girl's nude body on Feb. 27 along a rural roadside east of San Diego.
A forensic entomologist, testifying Monday for the defense, said Danielle's body could not have been dumped at the roadside before Feb. 12, according to his analysis of flies and larvae collected during an autopsy. The blow flies that were found on the body typically descend on a cadaver shortly after death, but it can take longer in cooler temperatures, entomologist Neal Haskell said. Based on his analysis of the temperatures in the area at the time, Haskell (pictured, right) put "the time of colonization" likely at Feb. 14 and no earlier than Feb. 12.
Prosecutors challenged the defense's weather data.
Haskell's testimony puts the time the body may have been dumped several days earlier than suggested by a previous defense witness, entomologist David Faulkner. The defense has seized upon the time of death, which could not be precisely determined, to suggest that the body was dumped at a time when Westerfield was under constant police surveillance.
Westerfield was put under observation soon after Danielle disappeared, according to police testimony. He was arrested on Feb. 22.
During Haskell's testimony about insects devouring Danielle's body, the girl's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, stared at the floor as they sat in the back row of the courtroom. It is the first time that Damon van Dam has been in court since Judge William Mudd banned him from the proceedings almost a month ago as a security risk. Mudd restored his trial privileges just before going on vacation.
Lawyers for Westerfield have said they expect to offer two to three more days of testimony.
Doesn't that boost your doubt that Danielle could have been in RV for a few minutes playing ? If four visiting adults left no prints how did one visiting girl leave any ?
Also, while DW's MH had many prints lifted from it, none of his own showed up in the area that was dusted. We know he was in his MH that weekend and because of all of the other prints lifted, we know he didn't wipe the surfaces clean of prints.
How do we know he didn't wipe some surfaces ?
Not to say it's not possible, but frankly, I find it easier to accept that she could have ventured into the MH on a previous occasion, than to imagine that, if DW had her held captive there, that he would have left her hands free to be touching anything.
I find it more likely that he didn't know she touched the cabinet in the bedroom than she happened to leave one and only one print while playing.
That's JMO though and it's apparent that you already have a well established opinion of your own.
My opinion is two days old and was based on the responses you and others have given me so far regarding the physical evidence. I cannot reconcile the probability that three (maybe four) remote things happened on a visit to play. The lack of fingerprints, the presence of a hair with a root in the trap and blood or blood like substances present. The chances of that occuring while she played is extremely remote. My guess less than 1% chance.
Add to that the defense has not presented one person/kid that can vouch than any child was ever in there and I cannot do anything but accept that she was in the RV right before she died.
If you can give me a reason that makes sense why these things would happen in a short visit then maybe I would change my mind about the physical evidence. Even if one person came forward to testify that yes, the kids did sneak into the RV ? I would have evidence that contradicts what this physical evidence indicates.
I feel like a broken record. See above post from me.
Was an autopsy performed on the dog? Were toxicology tests ever performed on Danielle?
I live here and our weather is rarely extreme. Dehesa Rd. is not like Death Valley or even like Palm Springs. Our temperatures vary somewhat from the coast to inland areas and the most extreme would be the mountains in winter.
El Cajon is not the desert and this whole talk of desert is very misleading to people that don't live around here.
Don't waste your money on this one ....,
July 27, 2001
Reviewer: A reader from Cardiff UK
This was a very disappointing book, particularly considering the good reviews it has obtained. The author bores his audience throughout with his stilted academic prose and the scholarship is weak, sometimes to the verge of pseudoscience. The section on premature burials is pure fantasy and many references are distorted or misquited to fit Iserson's preconceived theories. This book may well suit would-be morticians, but has little to offer any serious scholar.
I need to know more about this guy before I accept what he says as fact - let me know if you find anything else to support this stuff.
Was the defense lawyer under the same obligation to ignore and avoid investigating ?
My prediction-The Hawaian bug guy is going to turn the other bug guys upside down.
Read my posts and link regarding this guy above. I know they are long but you will see that this guy thinks outside the box.
Did you miss this
Desert climates with low humidity not only decrease or obliterate fly and maggots activity, but can also halt other forms of decomposition. Very dry climates may cause a body to naturally mummify, converting its skin and tendons to a leathery and parchment-like wrapping surrounding the bones, while the organs decay by autolysis and putrefaction. Paradoxically, heavy rainfall also slows fly activity, including egg laying. Maggot activity, however, continues-but with fewer maggots.
May well be less convincing to the jury. I doubt the unconventional is what they are seeking.
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