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.
20 Q. How about Danielle? What was she doing? 21 A. Danielle played or read at the table for a while, 22 and asked me the spellings of a few words, because she was 23 reading her book and then writing it in her journal, and 24 she asked us to turn the TV down. And then after a while 25 she moved into the family room, which is just behind where 26 we were sitting. 27 Q. Where were you with the boys, which room? 28 A. Living room -- the room with the TV, which Page 636 1 I believe is the living room. Is that right? 2 Q. Do you remember what was on TV? 3 A. Project Gotham racing. 4 Q. It wasn't a TV show? 5 THE COURT: That makes three of us. Go ahead. 6 BY MR. DUSEK: 7 Q. What happened after you guys were done watching 8 the computer stuff on TV? 9 A. At about a little before 10:00 I asked 10 them -- the kids to all go up and brush their teeth and get 11 in bed, and I turned off that and I watched TV downstairs 12 for a little while while they went up and got ready for 13 bed. 14 Q. Did they get ready by themselves? 15 A. Yeah. They got ready by themselves. 16 Q. And as they were upstairs getting ready, you were 17 doing what? 18 A. Watching TV. Cleaned up the kitchen a little. 19 Q. Then what? 20 A. Went up at about 10:00, went up and put them into 21 bed, and went in Dylen's room first, and Danielle was 22 reading to Dylen, and I asked her to go to bed, 23 and -- well, I checked that they had brushed their teeth 24 and all. I asked her to go to bed. I tucked Dylen under 25 the sheets and gave him a kiss good night, said good night 26 to him. Then I went to her room and she'd already gotten 27 in her bed, and I gave her a kiss good night. And I went 28 to Derrick's room, and he was still reading, and I asked Page 637 1 him just to turn the light off when he was done reading, 2 because he usually puts himself to bed a few minutes later. 3 And cracked all their doors a crack. They wanted them 4 open, but I was going to watch TV. So I just left them a 5 crack open. 6 Q. When you say a crack, can you estimate for us 7 about how big the opening -- 8 A. Six inches, eight inches. 9 Q. Did you leave any lights on upstairs? 10 A. When I left Derrick's room, his light was left 11 on. All the upstairs lights were off. There may have been 12 a bathroom light on in our room, but I'm not sure. 13 Q. Do they have any night lights either in their 14 rooms or in their bathroom? 15 A. There's a night light in their bathroom. There's 16 a night light in Dylen's room. Danielle's room did not 17 have a night light. The blinds were open. And I'm not 18 sure if Derrick's room had one at the time or not. 19 Q. After you tucked them in, where did you go? 20 A. Went back downstairs and watched TV a little 21 longer.
You say that is a direct quote...at least you use quotation marks. Could you please post a link to the transcript of Damon's original 9ll call? I want to see for myself.
The gloves were at the crime scene - that doesn't prove OJ was wearing them,
I'm not sure where you're going here because I didn't follow the OJ trial or even vaguely implicate it in the post of mine you are referring to.
anymore than that the presence of the blood and hair in the MH prove that the MH was a crime scene.
I don't belive I ever implied that it was a crime scene. I also don't belive that we have found the primary crime scene, (where DVD was killed) the Dehusa Rd. site would be the secondary crime scene. JMO
BTW, the answer is it is not in the original 911 call.
You can bet the people in that neighborhood are praying for a conviction. Just the thought of what killer Westerfield will do to their property values as well as their peace of mind if he slithers back to his house.
Glad to see your right on top of things, Greggie. ROFL !!!!!!!!!!!!
But he DID say it. That's the significant point.
Of what?
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