2nd Bug Expert Bolsters Westerfield Defense: (Dusek Melting Down Before Juries Eyes!!)

SAN DIEGO -- The trial of David Westerfield resumed Monday with more testimony about insects, as defense lawyers tried to show that their client was not the person who dumped Danielle van Dam's body along a two-lane road in East County.

Before testimony began, Judge William Mudd warned jurors to ignore last week's murder of a young girl in nearby Orange County. Mudd said that the abduction, sexual assault and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion "bears no relation" to the trial of David Westerfield.

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.

Neal Haskell, forensic entomologist 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.

We're all watching the same thing, aren't we? I believe this guy is guiltier then hell and if I were on the jury, that's how I would vote.

So you have condemned Westerfield BEFORE all evidence has been brought forward? You should never make a judgement based on feelings alone.

If Westerfield is guilty, he should fry - but if per chance he is innocent, should he still fry in order to make us all feel better knowing that someone is going to pay for this crime?
I have not yet been convinced by the defense that the man is guilty. I have spots of all sorts of DNA from my children and their friends - God forbid that any thing bad happen to them!

You wrote:

Not arguing that. Apparently some want to take this experts opinion and put it on the same level as DNA testing. I don't think that its that exact and if its not that exact one could arive at different conclusions using the same data and still be considered to be giving a valid opinion.

When the other evidence strongly suggests that Danielle was in the MH and their is no reasonable explanation (I don't buy the snuck in to play one for several reasons) and that Danielle has fibers on her that belong to Westerfield, I think the experts testimony contradicts facts and his opinion must be wrong.

While it is true that the level of sophisticated measures for bugs isn't upto the level of DNA, you CAN note the lifespan of those bugs, note the signs of successive generations, and note the signs on the dead body. The lifespan and habits of these bugs can be readily reproduced in a lab and can be observed in the wild. Even assuming these guys are off 50% stills makes it difficult for the prosecution.

Also, as far as the evidence in the MH goes - we know that Brenda and Damon weren't always checking on the kids. An open motor home would be an inviting place to check out for elementary school kids.

IMHO, that is.

FRegards,
PrairieDawg

Anyone who thinks they can get that close to a time of death by insect castings alone is full of it.

So, you are an entomologist ? An expert? You have spent years studying the life cycles of these particular insects and their invasion of a host for reproductive purpose ?

Unless of course the OJ jury has been reincarnated.

Funny how everyone that gets on these threads and hasn't "SEEMED" to have spent enough time to be informed of all the evidence, all the testimony, KEEPS REFERRING to the OJ CASE. Like that proves something by them using those words.

Just this a-holes actions that weekend are weird enough to point to him.

Do you have some specific facts you wish to refer to that have not been covered in testimony where it was determined that this those actions were normal and reasonable?

I understand your opinion, and that you believe he is guilty. Do you think he should be allowed to have a trial? That he should be allowed to finish it before a jury convicts him ?

Just wondering .

Funny how minds work, stubborn, shallow, and not very subjective! We have the DNA of Daniel on his jacket,
one drop in the motor home, one hair in the sink drain
and all kinds of mysterious fibers we do not know from
where! What troubles me at this point, is the amount!
IF she was in the Motor Home for an extendend time then there should be a great amount of evidence! We know from testimony that the Motor Home was NOT cleaned, either was the compartment that Ducsek related to, where, common sense
will tell you that it should of been full of evidence!
I had the experience to find a dead body, about 28 hours after death, and I can tell you, if the body was in that compartment, you wouldn't have missed it in digging him out of the sand. Westerfield may be guilty, BUT, the procecusion strayed up the wrong tree! THIS is a POLITICAL decision by the DA to make him FRONT PAGE, unfortunately it has backfired, even the most fanatical participants will have to admit!

Attorneys can be (and are) subject to discipline for this behavior.

Yeah, sure thing, sweetie (wink wink nudge nudge).

But the jury is not allowed to consider the attorneys in their evaluation of the case.

If either attorney has been caught lying, then that behavior should be open for jury consideration, because that raises the question of "and what ELSE are they lying about? How did they hire the expert witnesses, what evidence are they hiding, how are they shading the testimony?"

But some folks think that this is a good thing and should be as zealously punished as it currently is (wink wink nudge nudge chuckle chuckle).

Are you not listening to what I've been explaining?

Forgive me for saying this, but you sound like you've drunk too much of the legal system Kool-Aid to realize what you've said.

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2nd Bug Expert Bolsters Westerfield Defense

Expert Says Fly Infestations Show When Danielle's Body Was Dumped