Posted on 09/17/2002 11:45:39 AM PDT by Bonaparte
Parents of kidnapped girl thank jurors for convicting, recommending death for neighbor
Updated Sept. 17, 2002, 2:08 p.m. ET
SAN DIEGO (AP) — The parents of Danielle van Dam on Tuesday thanked the jury that found their neighbor guilty of kidnapping and killing the 7-year-old girl and said they hoped their "angel" would watch over the panel.
Speaking for the first time in months, Damon and Brenda van Dam said they were pleased with the outcome of the trial, which ended Monday with the jury's recommendation that David Westerfield be put to death.
"We feel that the justice system revealed the truth and that Danielle's murderer has been held accountable. ... That was our hope, that Danielle's death would not go unanswered," Brenda van Dam said, reading from a statement.
On the death sentence, she said, "What matters most is that this monster could never again hurt another child."
A gag order had barred the van Dams from speaking during the trial. The couple spoke to reporters at a seaside park that had been one of Danielle's favorite places.
The van Dams thanked jurors for taking on "an incredibly difficult job."
"We will ask our angel, Danielle, to watch over you and your families," Brenda van Dam said. "We know she will take special care of you."
Westerfield will be sentenced on Nov. 22, when Superior Court Judge William Mudd will either accept the jury's recommendation or impose a sentence of life in prison without chance for parole.
Under California law, all death penalty cases are automatically appealed.
The penalty verdict came after an unusual series of notes from jurors, who first told Mudd they were deadlocked, then asked for more time to deliberate, and finally, told him they had reached a conclusion.
"I think the verdict speaks for itself," the jury foreman, identified only as Tony, told reporters afterward. "There were people on both sides ... but then after discussing it further, we came to agreements.
Westerfield, 50, showed no emotion as the verdict was read. Westerfield's mother shook and cried as one of her son's attorneys tried to console her. The van Dams sat at the rear of the court with their arms linked, and Brenda van Dan cried as the verdict was read.
Danielle was last seen Feb. 1 when her father put her to bed in her second-story bedroom, decorated in her favorite colors, pink and purple. Just days before she had sold Girl Scout cookies to Westerfield, who lived two doors down from her house in the upscale San Diego suburb.
Her nude body was found nearly a month later along a road outside the city, too decomposed to determine the cause of death or whether she had been sexually assaulted.
In the hours before the body was found, defense lawyers were brokering a plea bargain in which Westerfield would have avoided the death penalty in exchange for leading investigators to the girl's remains, The San Diego Union-Tribune reported Tuesday.
The paper quoted sources as saying that Westerfield would have pleaded guilty to murder and be sentenced to life in prison. One source said the deal was minutes away from completion when the lawyers learned Danielle's body had been located and they dropped negotiations.
The van Dams said they were not aware of any such deal. Both prosecutors and defense lawyers declined to comment.
The slaying of Danielle preceded other frightening abductions this year, including those of Elizabeth Smart in Utah, Samantha Runnion in Orange County and Cassandra Williamson in Missouri. Samantha and Cassandra were killed; Elizabeth remains missing.
Westerfield was convicted Aug. 21 of kidnapping, murder and possession of child pornography.
The jury foreman said blood and other physical evidence linking Westerfield to Danielle led him to believe Westerfield was guilty, adding he was not swayed by the character testimony from the defendant's son and daughter.
Both he and another juror, identified as Jeffrey, said Danielle's blood on the defendant's jacket was probably the most compelling evidence in the two-month trial.
"Blood on the jacket. Where did it come from? How did it get there?" Jeffrey asked.
Defense attorneys sought to portray Westerfield as a family man who contributed to society through his patented design work on devices used in medicine and other fields.
The self-employed engineer had no prior felony record and played an active role in the lives of his children and close friends.
"He's a good man but for one three-day weekend of terror," his lawyer Steven Feldman said in court.
Westerfield did not testify during the trial, something the jury foreman indicated disturbed him and others.
"We really wanted David Westerfield to speak to us and give us what his state of mind was," he said.
Oh, this board was proselytizing heavily on the UT forum. It's not that they weren't nice ... they were disruptive on the other forum.
You're always on other threads. Without looking, I'll bet you're on about 8.
At least.
Hahaha ... very funny indeed.
Thank you very much, if I were on the jury I would pass on that offer. I would not want a demonic phenomenon (dead people, whether saved or lost, don't come back as "angels") pursuing me.
How do you know?
I very much hope that all of the 'reasonable doubt' people here read this one statement. It was in our newspaper today too. His very own attorney is admitting his guilt.
That sounds like the friend of Timothy McVeigh who testified that other than bombing the Murrah Building, McVeigh was a great guy!
UCANSEE2 and John Jamieson are particularly adamant that they got the wrong guy.
This happened repeatedly on the Westerfield threads. I started out with an open mind, but the behavior of those who defended this monster eventually turned me against the notion he could be innocent.
"By their works shall ye know them." I can't imagine that anyone whose defenders are so sneeringly nasty could be a particularly wholesome person himself.
And I think the nastiness resulted from putting their faith in such a creepy monstrosity in human form. It caused them to put a lot of humane feelings in a box and store it out of sight.
Above all was the refusal to see how high the evidence stacked against Westerfield. Each new revelation was jeered and treated with humiliating condescension instead of examined logically.
Evidence on the other hand that seemed tentative and inconclusive was hailed as a breakthrough.
These people really had their blinders on, and I hope the humiliation of this "defeat" for their cause will make them leave. I just think they make the forum far less useful for their presence.
Well, I have to say that's not exactly true. Although he is famous for starting most of the threads, FresnoDA posted several "local issue" threads related to where he lives (Fresno, natch) regarding public school issues, etc.
I actually first became aware of him from those, before I caught on to the "Westerfield is Innocent" rage.
Strong enough, however, to convince twelve people--the only ones privy to ALL the information and protected from the misinformation of the type you Westy defenders loved to bandy about--that he was guilty beyond a reasonable doubt.
Strong enough for these twelve to recommend he be put to death--NOT life without parole--in a state where the death penalty is rarely dispensed.
I really think you people need to give it up. Your argument was lost weeks ago.
Feldman is arguing in front of the jury that found Westerfield guilty. He can't argue innocence.
Why do you pretend to be so ignorant?
You got your conviction, why not be happy and move on. For those of us who believe in reasonable doubt, we still have the appeals process to go through if we so choose.
I don't see how your acting like a parrot for the prosecution is going to change any minds.
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