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<p>Hi, I'm Bill O'Reilly. Thank you for watching us tonight.</p> <p>An absolute disgrace in the murder trial of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. That is the subject of this evening's Talking Points memo.</p> <p>According to a report in The San Diego Union Tribune, convicted killer David Westerfield's attorneys, Steven Feldman and Robert Boyce, knew their client was guilty.</p>

Judge closes Westerfield hearingsKIMBERLY EPLER Staff WriterSAN DIEGO ---- Superior Court Judge William Mudd barred the public and the press Wednesday from pretrial motion hearings in the case of accused child murderer David Westerfield. Westerfield, 50, is accused of kidnapping and murdering his 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam. He faces the death penalty if convicted. He also faces misdemeanor charges of child pornography. The Sabre Springs second-grader vanished from her home in early February. Her nude and decomposed body was found nearly four weeks later. Mudd originally had said he was going to hold open hearings on the defense motion...

Court orders some documents in Westerfield case unsealedKIMBERLY EPLER Staff WriterSAN DIEGO ---- An appeals court found Friday that some of the court documents outlining why police targeted David Westerfield in the days after his 7-year-old neighbor Danielle van Dam disappeared should be unsealed. The ruling was one of several recent developments in the murder and kidnapping case. In a 2-1 decision, the panel of 4th District Court of Appeal justices also ruled that other portions of the seven search warrant affidavits will remain out of public view until the conclusion of Westerfield's trial. Justices said they found "the overriding...

Van Dam volunteer sets up shop to help in search for missing boy By Mark ArnerUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERMay 3, 2002 Elizabeth "Ellie" Elmore's new office is the Moose Lodge at 30th and Date streets. Spread before Elmore on a fold-up table across from the bar are two laptop computers, a video camera, a cellular phone and several stacks of documents. About the caseJahi Turner was reported missing by his stepfather on the afternoon of April 25. Tieray Jones told police he and his stepson were at a playground near 28th and Cedar streets, at the edge of Balboa Park,...

Local couple still mourns tragic loss of grandniece after attending services By HANK BILYEU The Hopewell News The distance is thousands of miles; the days are adding up one by one. But, for the van Dam family of San Diego and the Stelters of Hopewell, there seems to be little closure over the death of Danielle van Dam. The Stelters closed their business here and borrowed money to attend the funeral and memorial services for Danielle, who was taken from her home during the night of Feb. 1; her body was later found several miles from the city. A neighbor...

Parents drug use, sex lives steal focus   Brenda van Dam cries as she testifies Thursday about her daughter's disappearance. SAN DIEGO (Court TV) — The parents of Danielle van Dam took the stand Thursday at a preliminary hearing for their daughter's accused killer and tearfully recalled the circumstances of the 7-year-old's abduction from her bedroom. Asked what she found when she went to wake her daughter on the morning of Feb. 2, a red-eyed Brenda van Dam replied, "an empty bed." But the girl's disappearance and murder quickly took a back seat to questions about her parents' drug...

Disquieting Disclosures - The Unbearable Sadness of the Danielle Van Dam Story by Jennifer King, Senior Editor March 15, 2002 "The Heretical Housewife" There should be no quarter given to those who abuse and defile the trust placed in them by an innocent child. Child molesters are heinous creatures, destroyers of the future who themselves deserve to be dispatched in the most hideous way possible. Whoever murdered Danielle Van Dam (right), whoever dumped her soft little body into dirty scrub brush by the side of the road to be mauled and desecrated by the fangs of wild animals, deserves to...

Parents tell of events surrounding Danielle's disappearance (They kiss and tell) Admit to marijuana, drinking, dancing, extramarital kissingBy Jeffrey J. RoseSIGNONSANDIEGO March 14, 2002 SAN DIEGO – Brenda and Damon van Dam took the witness stand Thursday and publicly described for the first time the events surrounding the death of their 7-year-old daughter, Danielle. At a preliminary hearing for David Westerfield, 50, a neighbor charged with kidnap, murder and possession of child pornography in connection with Danielle's death, Brenda van Dam told of a long night of partying with friends that began with smoking marijuana in the garage of...

Watch a few of the recap videos for a flavor of the days event, if you missed the wire to wire coverage...... Officer describes scene where Danielle was found Police lieutenant, medical examiner testify at hearing for WesterfieldBy Jeffrey J. RoseSIGNONSANDIEGOUpdated 3 p.m. March 11, 2002 SAN DIEGO #150; A preliminary hearing for David Westerfield, charged in connection with the kidnap and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, opened Monday morning with testimony by a police lieutenant who described the scene where the girl's naked, blackened body was found off Dehesa Road. quot;I saw the body of what appeared to...