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.

And, anyway, if DW has such an aptitude for spiriting away little children without leaving behind tracks or witnesses, then why is he up for Murder I in the first place?

Very hard to understand how DW, would abandon humanity to steal a child and kill her, after 50 years of (by most standards) a fairly successful life. He has even designed and patented medical inventions.

In a curious parallel, however, Avila worked at Guidant, a manufacturer of medical devices.

Does this give a glimpse of nisight into their psyches? Do they essentially see other humans as machines, composed of interchangeble parts, existing for thier pleasure?

Why ? If he had an accomplice is not guilty ? I don;t get it. If I rob a bank and someone else drives, I must be acquited ?

Of course not. The gas chamber had two seats, didn't it?

If he had an accomplice, then there should be an extra seat at the defense table, and the prosecution needs to convince the jury that's what went down.

But the prosecution in the present case has not introduced any evidence whatsoever of a conspiracy. Thus, if it is shown that someone else dumped the body, you can't therefore jump to the conclusion that the body dumper was DW's accomplice. On the contrary, the new evidence raises serious doubt about the prosecution's whole theory of the case.

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.

I got this tidbit from someone who was making a case that its quite possible to shed 100+ hairs per day. She was making the point that its very possible that Danielle left behind hair in the RV if she played there. At first it sounded like alot until I converted it to minutes.

My intial thoughts were than most of those would be shed while sleeping and your head is in contact with a pillow or while bathing. But so as not to argue my point to much I settled on agreeing that the average would be 1 every 15 minutes. Because even if its ten times that amount the probability she lost it when she was playing there is next to impossible.

I have no idea. I have not been following the trial except for every now and then.

And THE ABOVE is the most commonly heard statement from those that get on the threads, INSIST that DW is GUILTY, and that anyone that doesn't believe them is an IDIOT (or worse).

I would like to Thank you, WILLYONE, for at least being honest enough to admit this. ALL of the other posters on here would be happy to help point you to information, links, testimony, or answer your questions, to help you get the information you need, to then make an INFORMED CONCLUSION. Whatever that ends up being, it ends up.

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2nd Bug Expert Bolsters Westerfield Defense

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