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

NBC/San Diego ^ | July 22, 2002 | NBC/San Diego

[FresnoDA]

2nd Bug Expert Bolsters Westerfield Defense

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

 

POSTED: 6:58 a.m. PDT July 22, 2002

UPDATED: 2:28 p.m. PDT July 22, 2002

 

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.

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.

[Greg Weston]

So in every crime scene in recorded history the perp leaves behind evidence of themselves?

[VRWC_minion]

Are you that new to these threads that you haven't read some of the discussions of probable scenarios for this ?

Yep, but don't bother, The scenarios are speculation and not relevant. The hard evidence is.

[Greg Weston]

Quit making sense Travis! That's not allowed!

[VRWC_minion]

Not DNA testing?

We are talking ABSOLUTE here. DNA isn't absolute. Even if it were we still have other problems like collection, chain of custody etc.

If the standard were absolute proof, no one could ever be convicted of anything.

[185JHP]

"Is that the man?" "No, your honor!" "Well, does he look like the man!" "No, your honor!" "Well then, you, you got to go, you, you can't recognize the man!" (sound of a gavel banging) "Man guilty!" ("Heah Come De Judge", 60s song)

[UCANSEE2]

Who the heck are you to not allow a different opinion?

I have welcomed everyone's opinion and if I don't agree with it, I tell them why and back it up.

Poohbah got mad and blew up. I told him I would have welcomed debating the pros/cons of the case. Did you read that part, or just ignore it ? That does seem to be a common tactic of the HIT AND RUNS. Read what they like, ignore everything else.

I do everything I can to read EVERYONE'S POST whether I like what they say or not. Can you say the same ?

I try to understand their viewpoint . Can you say the same?

[El Sordo]

Umm.. The gear shifting example is a series of related events that are expected to progress in a particular fashion.

VRWC's post was dealing with independent events happening in a particular series.

More like a series of coin tosses or lotto numbers.

[John Jamieson]

I love it when millions of people who watched an average of one percent of a trial, question the judgement of 12 people who watched it all, and make a unanimous decision. The jury system is bound to work better, than televised trials and 100 million ignorant voters.

[gigi]

"Hair in trap = 80% a single hair was dropped (at rate of 1 every 15 mins),"

Wouldn't that suggest that she was only in the MH for 15 mins.?

"The lack of finger prints by Danielle if she did play in there, there should be more. Especially in that so many un I'd prints were found."

But if she was in the MH over the weekend wouldn't there be more fingerprints? Do you think he let her roam around? Or did he have her gagged and tied up?

If DW had her in the MH for however long the prosecution thinks, wouldn't there be more trace evidence of a murder?
She had to be in there for awhile, why didn't the dogs smell her?

If he killed her before he placed her in the MH how did her prints get there?

[Freedom2specul8]

http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020702-9999-am1.html

The dog gave an alert at the door and then went around the MH.

The second time he came around the door was opened.

Supervisor said the dog became animated...

Feldman objected.

Supervisor said the dog entered the storage area and sniffed a lot.. and didn't give the second alert but she referred to the original alert as the "first alert".

She said the dogs were specific scent dogs, but didn't define specific scent.

---

from transcript
Is this referring to the original alert or another one?

reading from his email..."I ASKED IF I COULD WORK CIELO AGAIN AROUND THE OUTSIDE. I HAD WORKED BOTH OF THEM EARLIER IN THE WEEK AT THE LOCATION WHERE THE MOTOR HOME WAS NORMALLY PARKED. STARTING AT THE PASSENGER'S FRONT TIRE, I GAVE HIM THE CADAVER COMMAND BONES AND HAD HIM CHECK OUT ALL THE SEAMS IN THE STORAGE COMPARTMENTS ALONG BOTH SIDES."BY MR. DUSEK:Q WHAT DID YOU WRITE IN THE NEXT PARAGRAPH?A "WHEN WE GOT TO THE SECOND COMPARTMENT, HE SHOWED ME -- HE SHOWED INCREASED INTEREST, INTENSE SNIFFING AND TAIL-WAGGING, ON THE FRONT SIDE, AND AT THE BACK SIDE MADE EYE CONTACT WITH ME, SAT DIRECTLY IN FRONT OF ME, AND BARKED. I WASN'T SURE, BUT I THOUGHT HE WAS GIVING ME HIS CADAVER SCENT.""
http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/metro/danielle/transcripts/20020702-9999-am1.html

[crypt2k]

DW is a genius inventor and mensa member.

Does the risk of carrying a child on the street in full sight of a police patrol or neighbor returning from a local bar fit this assessment?

[crypt2k]

DW escorts Danielle down the Street

[John Jamieson]

Westerfield will not be convicted.

[NatureGirl]

DNA isn't absolute. Even if it were we still have other problems like collection, chain of custody etc

Thank you. After following this today, I'm glad that we have reached this point. I don't expect absolute proof. My whole point has been that, if the two bug "experts" testimony/science can be doubted, then there is reason to believe that any other "expert" who has testified can be doubted, as well, for the reasons given - collection, chain of custody, which tests were done/not done, experience, etc, plus "margin for error".

[John Jamieson]

"I WASN'T SURE" is useless testimony.

[NatureGirl]

LOL! Thanks! Now I'll have that "song" going through my head for the rest of the night!

[VRWC_minion]

And yet, I do it several times a day, despite the odds being stacked against me.

The odds are not against you. Your shifting isn't random.

[Freedom2specul8]

Dern, I just found an article within the past week..sorry I didn't bookmark it..posted the quote "somewhere". Mensa does not have him listed as a member. It was a rumor.

[theirjustdue]

"Read the whole scenario. She was playing there. Apparently we lose one hair every fifteen minutes. Assuming she was there for only a short period of time she would only shed one hair."

Do you really think a hair falls out, on cue, every fifteen minutes? I have no reason to doubt this drop rate, but don't you think it likely that this is an "on average" figure? This would indicate to me, that multiple hairs could have been dropped, or, on the other hand, possibly none were dropped during the time she would have been in the MH. It's all an unknown factor. In fact, we have no way of knowing at what rate of Danielle's hair loss compared to the median, or average drop rate of hair.

[cyncooper]

Feldman misrepresented the amount of porn..so Mudd allowed for it all to be brought in.

Which is what Feldman wanted as he was able to bring in the porn that was being accessed at the house while DW was at the police station doing his 22 hour interrogation.

Sorry if someone else pointed this out. I had to be away from the computer for a bit.

Feldman began this line of inquiry before the judge's ruling and one had nothing to do with the other.