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In taped interrogation, Westerfield tells police 'my life is over'
San Diego Union Tribune ^
| January 7, 2003
Posted on 01/08/2003 9:24:19 AM PST by TomB
In a videotaped interrogation with San Diego police detectives four days after Danielle van Dam was kidnapped, an exhausted David Westerfield says "my life is over," seemingly coming close to an admission that he murdered his 7-year-old neighbor.
"As far as I'm concerned my life is over, the life that I had, the life that I was living is over," Westerfield says in the interrogation conducted the evening of Feb. 5, 2002. Danielle was last seen the night of Feb. 1.
"But you can't blame anyone but yourself, Dave," answers one of the police detectives.
"And I have no problem with that," Westerfield replies.
In the tapes released Tuesday, Westerfield admits "unusual" sexual encounters with his wife, denies anything improper about his alleged use of binoculars to watch neighbors and says the child pornography found on his computer was simply something he downloaded along with a lot of other pornographic images and that he had no sexual interest in children.
Superior Court Judge William Mudd agreed Monday to unseal the videotape along with hundreds of pages of transcripts, documents and recordings in the Westerfield case, as well as transcripts of police interrogations and court hearings conducted in secret.
Some of the material – audiotape and videotape of Westerfield being interrogated during the early stages of the investigation – was released Tuesday afternoon.
The remainder of the material, which ranges from transcripts of closed-door court hearings to motions regarding potential evidence, will be released Monday, Mudd ruled.
The ruling Monday came three days after Mudd sentenced the former design engineer to death for kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, his neighbor in Sabre Springs.
Monday's court hearing came in response to a request by The San Diego Union-Tribune, which has been seeking access to the information for months. The San Diego-based 4th District Court of Appeal has ruled that Mudd must release the information.
The San Diego chapter of the Society of Professional Journalists made a donation to the legal costs.
Westerfield, who attended Monday's hearing, is scheduled to be moved within days to death row at San Quentin State Prison outside San Francisco.
During earlier court appearances, Westerfield was always dressed in civilian attire, but he appeared in court Monday in a green jail jumpsuit. He sat in a holding area so he couldn't be filmed by a television camera.
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Here are the video clips of the Westerfield interrogation:
Feb 5, 2002 interrogation of David Westerfield, Part 1
RealMedia Video
Cable-DSL/ 56k
Interrogation of David Westerfield, Part 2
RealMedia Video
Cable-DSL / 56k
Interrogation of David Westerfield, Part 3
RealMedia Video
Cable-DSL/56k
After a pause, Westerfield asks one of the detectives to leave his gun, the detective declines.
RealMedia Video
Cable-DSL / 56k
1
posted on
01/08/2003 9:24:19 AM PST
by
TomB
To: TomB; MeeknMing
Westerfield wasn't railroaded, he's guilty as sin.
2
posted on
01/08/2003 9:40:13 AM PST
by
xJones
(Afterall the screaming and yelling that went on...)
To: xJones
I read posts from folks here that said he was innocent. This should put those thoughts to rest.
3
posted on
01/08/2003 9:43:42 AM PST
by
TankerKC
(;-)
To: TankerKC
I read posts from folks here that said he was innocent. This should put those thoughts to rest. Fat chance of that happening.
4
posted on
01/08/2003 9:47:47 AM PST
by
wimpycat
(Nothin' could be finer than to be in Caroliner....)
To: TankerKC
I've read people saying they wouldn't believe it, no matter what. It obviously became a personal issue between two groups.
In the tapes released Tuesday, Westerfield admits "unusual" sexual encounters with his wife, denies anything improper about his alleged use of binoculars to watch neighbors and says the child pornography found on his computer was simply something he downloaded along with a lot of other pornographic images and that he had no sexual interest in children.
Cre-e-e-py. But he's told a friend that he was only collecting child pornography so he could forward it to his congressman in protest.
5
posted on
01/08/2003 9:49:11 AM PST
by
xJones
To: TankerKC
"But you can't blame anyone but yourself, Dave," answers one of the police detectives. "And I have no problem with that," Westerfield replies. Watch and see how this gets spun.
6
posted on
01/08/2003 9:49:56 AM PST
by
wimpycat
(Nothin' could be finer than to be in Caroliner....)
To: TomB
But he didn't do it! He was framed! It was all a conspiracy!....... Didn't you hear the bug guys... it wasn't him....
/Sarcasm.
Doesn't matter how guilty the guy is, still gonna be those rediculous people who refuse to believe he did it.
To: ~Kim4VRWC's~
More vindication.
(not that it will matter)
8
posted on
01/08/2003 10:11:35 AM PST
by
TomB
To: TomB
Yeah, he'll be on death row until he dies--20 years from now from natural causes.
To: TomB
My problem here is that I heard on the news that none of this material was allowed to be presented to the jury. I know that admissability rules allow certain things and not others, but I feel those rules should be re-addressed. I mean, for God's sake, if somebody admits to a crime but a lawyer can disallow their admission on some technicality, the whole idea of being tried by a jury is ridiculous. Juries should be allowed to see anything connected with a case, including past convictions, in determining guilt or innocence. What we seem to be doing is tailoring information one way or another and asking people to make decisions based on incomplete or empty data. If we are to have a trial by jury system of justice, the jury should not only have access to everything concerned with the particular event, but any peripheral information which would clarify the event or put it into context with reality. I think this is one of the flaws in our justice system that is allowing perpetrators to go free and just as importantly, sometimes convicting innocents.
10
posted on
01/08/2003 10:22:01 AM PST
by
harrym
To: TomB
"As far as I'm concerned my life is over, the life that I had, the life that I was living is over," Westerfield says in the interrogation conducted the evening of Feb. 5, 2002. Danielle was last seen the night of Feb. 1.Guilty or innocent, he's right on the money there. Once that accusation is made...
11
posted on
01/08/2003 10:27:22 AM PST
by
Chemist_Geek
(Better Living Through Chemistry!)
To: xJones
No, it belonged to his girlfriend's son, remember?
12
posted on
01/08/2003 10:31:12 AM PST
by
AppyPappy
(If you can't beat 'em, beat 'em anyway)
To: TomB; tetelestai; Ditter; ChiefRon; Starshine; UCANSEE2; Mrs.Liberty; Jaded; skipjackcity; BARLF; ..
Thanks for the ping tom..
13
posted on
01/08/2003 10:36:34 AM PST
by
Freedom2specul8
(''To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.'' T.R.)
To: TomB
I watched the videos late last night. He admitted downloading child porn and he said he thought they were about 13 -14yrs old...the sick s.o.b....he's heartless absolutely heartless.
14
posted on
01/08/2003 10:38:40 AM PST
by
Freedom2specul8
(''To educate a man in mind and not in morals is to educate a menace to society.'' T.R.)
To: Travis McGee; aculeus; general_re; BlueLancer; hellinahandcart; Poohbah
15
posted on
01/08/2003 10:49:01 AM PST
by
dighton
To: AppyPappy
No, it belonged to his girlfriend's son, remember?Actually they tried to pin it on his own son.
Cute, don't you think?
To: cyncooper
Oh that's right. Isn't it amazing how innocent he was at one time?
17
posted on
01/08/2003 10:51:05 AM PST
by
AppyPappy
(If you can't beat 'em, beat 'em anyway)
To: AppyPappy
That was another story. The congressman excuse was on another thread. He told it to a friend visiting him in jail.
I just finished tape 2. He says 3 times that if the dectectives had only gotten him a lawyer 2 days ago, all this could have been settled. Also, "I'm only concerned about David's rights." Later, "I feel abused." He obviously wants to cut a deal and/or be protected. The dectectives beg for the child's body, and he only wants a lawyer. He also talks about it being a weakness that he always does what he wants. Damn, he's a monster.
18
posted on
01/08/2003 10:55:18 AM PST
by
xJones
To: TankerKC
I totally ignored those Westerfield defender posts of last year. Out of curiousity, what was the reasoning behind so many people believing Westerfield was innocent? This seems like an open-and-shut case to me.
To: AppyPappy
That was another story. The congressman excuse was on another thread. He told it to a friend visiting him in jail.
I just finished tape 2. He says 3 times that if the dectectives had only gotten him a lawyer 2 days ago, all this could have been settled. Also, "I'm only concerned about David's rights." Later, "I feel abused." He obviously wants to cut a deal and/or be protected. The dectectives have already begged for the child's body, and he only wants a lawyer. He also talks about it being a weakness that he always does what he wants. Damn, he's a monster, with no remorse, no feeling, except for what *he's* going through.
20
posted on
01/08/2003 10:57:26 AM PST
by
xJones
(Westerfield should burn)
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