(07-22-2002) - David Westerfield's trial resumed Monday after an 11-day break with his attorneys again focusing on entomological evidence in an effort to show he was not the one who put Danielle van Dam's body where it was found.
Forensic entomologist Neal Haskell testified that blow flies did not colonize the body of the 7-year-old girl until at least Feb. 12 -- a time when Westerfield was under constant police surveillance.
"I concluded the time of colonization for the decedent would have been the 14th of February to the 20th of February," said Haskell, adding that the colonization could have occurred on the 12th or 13th in extreme cases.
Danielle van Dam's body was discovered beside a road east of El Cajon Feb. 27, five days after Westerfield's arrest.
The defense says Westerfield was under tight police surveillance beginning Feb. 5, making it physically impossible for him to have placed the body there.
Before the break in the trial, the defense called to the stand forensic entomologist David Faulkner, who testified that the victim's body was invaded by insects only 10-12 days before it was discovered.
The defense argues that the testimony on when the insect-invasion occurred proves Westerfield was not the killer because he was under constant police surveillance from Feb. 5 up to his arrest Feb. 22.
Under cross-examination by prosecutor Jeff Dusek, Haskell said he worked under the assumption that Danielle van Dam was placed in Dehesa at the time of her death -- or was killed there.
When Dusek suggested the body may have been transported around the desert in a motorhome for 24-36 hours, Haskell agreed decomposition and the drying effects of mummification could have been enhanced, but not enough to inhibit insect activity.
Dusek also attacked temperature data Haskell used to form his conclusion. Temperatures, according to courtroom testimony, could affect the speed of decomposition of a body and the speed of insect activity.
Haskell said he used temperatures taken from the National Weather Service at Brown Field on Otay Mesa. The airfield is more than 15 miles from where the body was discovered.
Haskell told the court he "was comfortable" using the Brown Field data because the elevation was approximately the same as the recovery site.
Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor possession of child pornography. He could face the death penalty if convicted on the felony counts.
The last time testimony was heard in the trial was July 10, before Superior Court Judge William Mudd took a long-planned vacation with the approval of attorneys on both sides.