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(KGTV) - The California Supreme Court Monday upheld the conviction and death sentence for David Westerfield, the man found guilty of killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in 2002. Young Danielle was reported missing from her Sabre Springs home on Feb. 2, 2002, and her disappearance led to a search that spanned all of San Diego County. Investigators gathered enough evidence to arrest Westerfield, a neighbor of Danielle and her family, for her disappearance and death on Feb. 22. Five days later, Danielle’s badly decomposed body was found along Dehesa Road in Harbison Canyon. In August 2002, Westerfield was found guilty...

On February 2, 2003, when seven-year-old Danielle van Dam disappeared from her family home in the middle of the night, every mother’s nightmare was played out on national television for almost a month while authorities searched for the girl. When Danielle’s body was found at the end of that month, the police and prosecutors discovered a frightening story about a neighbor of Danielle’s who had computer files filled with child pornography and even a sickening cartoon video of the rape of a young girl. According to a report by Robert Peters, president of Morality in Media, on the link between...

ANATOMY OF A MURDER The disappearance of Danielle van Dam was a shocking tragedy that ballooned into more than just a murder case. The parents’ lifestyle—and actions by police, media, lawyers and the district attorney—came into question. As the legal team for defendant David Westerfield begins the fight for his life, here’s a no-holds-barred look behind the scenes of San Diego’s biggest story of 2002. By Kevin Cox

Breaking! After 24 days and 100 witnesses.......

Discovery hearing set as jurors deliberate for ninth day SIGNONSANDIEGO August 20, 2002 A request by the prosecution in the David Westerfield kidnap-murder trial to obtain more evidence or information, originally scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. hearing, has been vacated. Word of the hearing's cancellation was relayed to media representatives shortly after 10 a.m. today.The subject of the discovery motion filed by lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek was not disclosed. No reason was given for the hearing's cancellation.Today is the ninth day of deliberation by jurors. Today's deliberating session began at 9:07 a.m., according to a public information officer.Westerfield, 50, is...

Jurors in the David Westerfield trial began deliberating yesterday after hearing a final statement from the lead prosecutor, who beamed a photo of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam onto the wall and urged the jury to focus on the physical evidence. Finishing closing arguments in the two-month murder trial, prosecutor Jeff Dusek called a blood spot on Westerfield's jacket the "smoking gun." And Dusek imagined what Danielle might tell the jury if someone could bring her back to life "just for a moment" so she could answer the question, "Please tell us who did this to you." "I've already told you,"...

<p>SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) --A San Diego jury began deliberations Thursday in the trial of David Westerfield, accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.</p> <p>The panel of six men and six women adjourned for the day without reaching a verdict. It is set to resume deliberations Friday.</p>

Jury's hands After two months of hearing evidence, jurors have begun deliberating the fate of David Westerfield, who is accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam

Bugs: The best witnesses? A forensic entomologist, who studies the maggots and insects found at a crime scene or autopsy, provided the strongest evidence yet for David Westerfield. By Harriet Ryan Court TV On one side there are Danielle van Dam's fingerprints, her blood drops, strands of the 7-year-old's blond locks, hair from a dog like her weimaraner and carpet fibers that seem to be from her room. There is child pornography and a convoluted alibi even the defendant calls "weird." On the other side, the side for David Westerfield's acquittal, there are bugs. The pile of evidence painstakingly...

Defendant now lives a Spartan existence By Kristen GreenUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERAugust 5, 2002Until six months ago, David Westerfield hosted barbecues by his pool, fixed dinner in his remodeled kitchen and relaxed on white leather sofas in his four-bedroom house. He ran a business from home, logging onto one of several computers. He took his plush motor home on trips to the desert, where his children and friends played on his numerous sand toys.Today, his Sabre Springs home is on the market for $480,000 and his Toyota 4Runner, motor home and computers are in police custody. No matter what the verdict...

Prosecution's bug expert struggles on stand Forensic entomologist Madison Lee Goff, left, testifies for the prosecution at the trial of David Westerfield. By Harriet Ryan Court TV SAN DIEGO — The insect expert prosecutors hoped would destroy David Westerfield's chances for acquittal stumbled badly during his turn on the witness stand Tuesday, capping confusing, overly technical testimony with the admission he made basic math errors in his findings. Madison Lee Goff, one of the most experienced scientists in the small field of forensic entomology, blushed a deep red as a defense lawyer for the man accused of killing Danielle...

Frustrated prosecutor swats at final bug expert David Westerfield, seated in court Thursday, faces the death penalty if convicted in the slaying of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. By Harriet Ryan Court TV SAN DIEGO — David Westerfield was sitting in the defendant's chair, but forensic entomology was on trial Thursday. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek, whose seemingly unshakeable case against Westerfield for the murder of Danielle van Dam has been jostled by this tiny, somewhat obscure scientific field, poured out his frustration on the last of three insect experts to testify for the defense. Like his colleagues before him, forensic entomologist...

LOS ANGELES (Reuters) - With national nerves raw after a series of high-profile child kidnappings, Los Angeles County officials on Tuesday approved a plan to post the general locations of sex offenders' homes on the Internet. The Internet map would follow the design of San Diego County's "Regional Sex Offender Pin Map," which designates within about a half-block the areas where convicted sex offenders are living after being freed from prison. As in the San Diego model, Los Angeles County residents would have to go to sheriff's stations to get addresses, photos and criminal histories of offenders because state law...

Evidence on insects likely to continueTrial winding down; closing statements may be this week By Alex RothUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 28, 2002Expect to hear more evidence about insects as the David Westerfield trial enters what could be the final week of testimony before jury deliberations. On Tuesday, prosecutors are scheduled to call Dr. M. Lee Goff of the University of Hawaii as their final rebuttal witness in a trial that has lasted 23 court days. Goff is a forensic entomologist and the author of "A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes."Whether Goff will be the final insect...

Man Arrested was Found Innocent in 2000 Molestation Trial Lewis Davis the brother of the ex-girlfriend of Alejandro Avila in an exclusive interview with ABC7 Eyewitness News said that Avila had gone to the complex of Stanton townhomes where Samantha Runnion lived to visit his ex-girlfriend’s daughter.   RIVERSIDE — The man arrested in the investigation of the kidnap-murder of little Samantha Runnion, has in the past been accused of molesting two girls under the age of 14. This was two years ago and at that time a Riverside County jury found Alejandro Avila innocent.Deputy District Attorney Paul Dickerson...

COP SUSPECTS SAN DIEGO MAN??? Hmmm... Could Local Man Be Samantha's Killer? Convicted Kidnapper, Rapist At Large, Former Officer Says Posted: 4:34 p.m. PDT July 18, 2002 Updated: 5:38 p.m. PDT July 18, 2002 SAN DIEGO -- The suspect in the sexual assault and slaying of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion is probably still in the Southern California area, and may live, work or have family in the Stanton neighborhood from which the girl was kidnapped, according to Orange County Sheriff Mike Carona. Retired National City police officer Merrell Davis told 10News that the man police are looking for may be...

Oak Park children kept inside after abduction attemptBy Deborah EnsorUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITER July 18, 2002Most days, children of all ages run around the courtyards of a sprawling Oak Park apartment complex. They dash in and out of one another's homes, play video games, goof off with their friends. But yesterday, no children were out playing. Hardly anyone was outside.All afternoon, school buses dropped off many of the 300 children who live here, but within minutes they were gone, spending a beautiful sunny day inside because their parents were afraid for their safety.Afraid because, on Tuesday, someone tried to snatch an...

SAN DIEGO (AP) - The father of slain 7-year-old Danielle van Dam has been barred from the trial of her alleged killer amid concern he might try to harm the defendant. Judge William Mudd ordered Damon van Dam out of the courtroom and told him to stay away from the third floor of the courthouse, officials said Tuesday. Damon van Dam recently had asked detailed questions about how deputies transported defendant David Westerfield to and from trial, said sheriff's deputy C.K. McKenzie. "That raises a bunch of red flags. It suggests he might try to do something," said McKenzie, one...

Outside David Westerfield's impeccably landscaped house, police searching for Danielle van Dam noticed a garden hose stretched across the grass, and it made them suspicious, according to testimony yesterday. "That told me that whoever left that hose out was in a hurry," San Diego police Detective Maura Mekenas-Parga testified during the fifth day of Westerfield's trial on charges of kidnapping and murdering the 7-year-old girl. The detective said she and her partner noticed the hose Feb. 3, but no one appeared to be home. A day earlier, Danielle had been reported missing from her Sabre Springs home two doors away....

Detective: Westerfield appeared nervous when asked about his whereabouts   San Diego Police Sgt. Johnny Keene, left, testifies about the focus on David Westerfield early in the investigation of Danielle van Dam's disappearance. By Harriet Ryan Court TV SAN DIEGO — An errant garden hose, heavy sweating and a convoluted weekend itinerary. Police officers investigating Danielle van Dam's abduction initially zeroed in on her neighbor for those reasons, two detectives testified Tuesday. "I noticed that he was sweating profusely from under his arms," said San Diego Police Detective Johnny Keene of his first encounter with David Westerfield, an engineer who...