David Westerfield

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David Alan Westerfield
Born February 25, 1952 (1952-02-25) (age 56)
Flag of the United States U.S.
Penalty capital punishment
Status incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison
Occupation self-employed engineer
Children 2

David Alan Westerfield (born February 25, 1952), of San Diego, California was convicted and sentenced to death for the murder and kidnapping of seven-year-old Danielle Van Dam in 2002. He was a successful, self-employed engineer who owned a luxury motor home and lived two houses away from Van Dam. A divorced father of two college students,[1] he is currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison.

Contents

[edit] The crime

On the evening of February 1, 2002, a Friday, Brenda Van Dam and a couple of her friends went out to a bar. Her husband, Damon Van Dam, stayed behind to look after Danielle and her two brothers. Damon put Danielle to bed around 10:30 p.m., and she fell asleep. Damon also slept, until his wife returned around 2:00 a.m. with four of her friends. The six chatted for approximately a half hour, and then Brenda's friends went home. Damon and Brenda went to sleep believing that their daughter was safely sleeping in her room. The next morning, Danielle was missing. The couple frantically searched their home for her, but never found her. They called the police at 9:39 a.m.

Law enforcement officials interviewed neighbors and soon discovered that Westerfield and another neighbor were not home that Saturday morning. Westerfield eventually arrived home driving his SUV approximately 8 AM Monday. From that point on, he became the prime suspect. Westerfield stated that he didn't know where Danielle could be, and that he was at the same bar that Brenda had attended with her girlfriends. Brenda was able to confirm this, but denied that she and Westerfield had danced together, as he had claimed. Two eyewitnesses testified to seeing them dance together, however. At the trial, Brenda said she could not remember if she danced with him or not. Two days after Danielle Van Dam went missing a haggard and bare-footed David Westerfield showed up at a dry cleaners dropping off two comforters, two pillow covers, and a jacket that would later yield Danielle Van Dam's blood. When law enforcement first interviewed Westerfield he did not mention going to the dry cleaners.[2]. Westerfield then said that he had driven around the desert and the beach and stayed at a campground. Law enforcement put Westerfield on 24 hours surveillance from February 4,[3] as they found it suspicious that he had given his RV a cleaning when he returned from his trip. The RV, his SUV, and other property was impounded for testing on February 5.[4]

About three days before Danielle Van Dam's disappearance, Danielle and her mother, Brenda, sold Girl Scout cookies to Westerfield who invited them into his home and chatted with Brenda.

[edit] Arrest

On February 22, police arrested Westerfield for Danielle's kidnapping after two small stains of her blood were found on his clothing and in his motor home. Danielle's severely decomposed body was found February 27.[5] His attorneys suggested the police were in a rush to solve the case, and had never considered other suspects. Westerfield did not have a criminal record.

[edit] The trial

Westerfield pleaded not guilty, and went on trial on June 4, 2002. During the trial, Westerfield's lawyers, Steven Feldman and Robert Boyce, suggested that child pornography found on Westerfield's computer might have been downloaded by Westerfield's 18-year-old son, Neal. Neal denied this. [6] Part of Westerfield's defense focused on the lifestyle of Danielle Van Dam's parents. The defense suggested that the couple were known for letting each other have sex with other people, and claimed that this lifestyle might have brought the kidnapper to their home. [7]. Westerfield's lawyers charged that he was improperly interrogated for more than nine hours by detectives who ignored his repeated requests to call a lawyer, take a shower, eat, and sleep.[8]

The trial lasted two months and concluded on August 8. On August 21, the jury found him guilty of kidnapping and first degree murder. He also received an additional conviction for a misdemeanor charge of possessing images of subjects under the age of 18 in a sexual pose on his computer.

[edit] Entomology

The science of entomology was a major focus during the trial. Three entomologists, consulted by the defense, testified that flies first laid eggs on Van Dam's body sometime in mid-February - long after Westerfield was under police surveillance.[9] On the other hand, one of these entomologist, David Faulkner, conceded under cross-examination that his time estimate was based mostly on the fly larvae, and that his research could not determine a maximum time her body was outside. The other forensic entomologist, Neal Haskell, using a weather chart prepared by forensic artist James Gripp, stated that the warm temperatures made it likely that insects immediately colonized Danielle's corpse. The third entomologist, Dr. Robert Hall, estimated initial insect infestation occurred between February 12 and February 23. However, under cross-examination Hall acknowledged that the insect infestation of the corpse wasn't "typical" because so few maggots were found in the girl's head. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek questioned Hall about why his calculations were compiled through a method less favorable to the prosecution and why he criticized the findings of the prosecution's entomologist, Dr. Madison Lee Goff, and favored the entomologist hired by the defense. Goff testified the infestation may have occurred February 9 to February 14, but stressed that other factors may have delayed insect arrival.[10] He explained that a covering, such as a blanket, might have kept flies at bay initially, but no covering was found, and he later said the longest delay by such a shroud was two and a half days.[11]

[edit] Pornography

Some of the computers and loose computer media in Westerfield's office contained pornography. His attorneys, however, claimed that police once reported not finding child pornography.[12] According to the prosecution computer expert, James Watkins, 100,000 images were found, including 8,000 to 10,000 nude images and 80 which could be considered child pornography.[13]. The material included brief movie clips found in Westerfield's office which featured an underage girl being raped by one man while another man restrained her. These clips, including sound of the girl struggling, were played in the courtroom.[13] In all, two sets of movie clips, six animated cartoons, and 13 still images taken from computers, zip disks, or CD-Roms in David Westerfield's home were shown, each featuring underage girls.[13]

Westerfield denied that this was for his enjoyment, and claimed that he was accumulating the images so he could send them to Congress as examples of smut on the Internet.[14]

[edit] Selby confession

In 2003, after Westerfield's conviction, James Selby wrote to the police confessing to the Van Dam murder. He was wanted for raping women in San Diego in 2001, and for kidnapping a 9-year-old Oklahoma girl from her bedroom in the middle of the night and raping her in 1999, and was charged with a spring 2001 sexual assault on a 12-year-old girl in Sparks, Nevada, but police don't believe that he murdered Van Dam. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek, who did read the confession, viewed it as not credible. It is believed that James Selby was in the Tucson, Arizona area when Van Dam was kidnapped in February 2002. Selby is believed to be responsible for a series of rapes in Arizona from October 2001 to May 2002. Selby - a divorced father of three - worked as a handyman and machinist and traveled often between San Diego and Tucson. He had a prior rape conviction in Colorado. In addition, Selby admitted responsibility in the slaying of JonBenét Ramsey.[15] According to Deputy County Attorney Bradley Roach, "It was an aspect of his personality to confess to something to see what other people would say," said Roach. Selby committed suicide in his jail cell on November 22, 2004.[16]

[edit] Conclusion

In January 2003, a California judge sentenced David Westerfield to be executed. He was transported to San Quentin State Prison. The Van Dams sued Westerfield, but the case was settled out of court. The Van Dams were awarded $416,000 from several insurance companies who insured Westerfield's home, SUV, and motor home. The settlement also prevented Westerfield from ever profiting from his crime. [17]

When the trial was over, the media, quoting unnamed police sources, reported that Westerfield's lawyers were just minutes away from negotiating a plea bargain when a private citizen's group, started by the Laura Recovery Center and concerned local citizens, found Danielle's body. According to these reports, under the deal, Westerfield would have taken police to the site where she was located in exchange for life without parole.[18] Both the prosecution and the defense declined to comment on these reports.[19] [20]

During the penalty phase of the trial, Mr. Westerfield's nineteen-year-old niece testified when she was seven-years-old her uncle entered his daughter's bedroom where she was spending the night with her parents attending a party, to check on the kids, and woke up finding him rubbing her teeth, and said she bit his finger as hard as she could. She went downstairs to tell her mother. Mr. Westerfield was questioned about the incident at the time by his sister-in-law, where he explained that he was trying to comfort her. The incident was then forgotten.[21]

In the months following the end of the trial audio tapes of Westerfield being interviewed were released to the media. In one police interview he tells investigators that he doesn't feel emotionally stable. He is told that he failed a polygraph test. Westerfield tells him that he wants a retest and that he was not involved in Danielle's disappearance.[22]

[edit] References

  1. ^ Ryan, Harriet, Court TV (June 11, 2002),"Detective: Westerfield appeared nervous when asked about his whereabouts". Retrieved on December 26, 2006.
  2. ^ San Diego Union Tribune. "Clerk says defendant was 'very distant'". Retrieved on November 8, 2006.
  3. ^ Ryan, Harriet, Court TV (June 6, 2002), "Grieving mother recalls day she found her daughter missing". Retrieved on December 18, 2006.
  4. ^ Hughes, Joe, San Diego Union-Tribune (February 7, 2002), "Anxiety, worries grip missing girl's parents". Retrieved on September 24, 2006.
  5. ^ Court TV (February 28, 2002), Missing 7-year-old girl believed found near wooded area outside San Diego . Retrieved on October 9, 2006
  6. ^ CourtTV. "Westerfield's son takes stand against him". Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  7. ^ San Diego Tribune. "'Girls' night out' under scrutiny". Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  8. ^ Court TV (June 3, 2002),“A 'little girl lost' is found dead, allegedly killed by neighbor”. Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  9. ^ CourtTV. "When Was Danielle Van Dam Killed?". Retrieved on September 19, 2006.
  10. ^ San Diego Union Tribune. "Jury appears weary of sparring by insect experts". Retrieved on September 19, 2006.
  11. ^ Ryan, Harriet, Court TV (July 30, 2002), “Prosecution's bug expert struggles on stand”. Retrieved on October 8, 2006.
  12. ^ Roth, Alex, San Diego Union-Tribune (March 7, 2002), "Detectives' bid to visit Westerfield protested - Attorneys contend his rights violated". Retrieved on October 14, 2005.
  13. ^ a b c Bean, Matt, Court TV (June 25, 2002), Jury sees graphic child pornography taken from Westerfield's home. Retrieved on October 8, 2006.
  14. ^ San Diego Union Tribune. "Child killer has proclaimed innocence in cards, visits". Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
  15. ^ KFMB stations, San Diego, California. "Local 8 News Exclusive David Westerfield's Letters from Death Row Part 2". Retrieved on October 6, 2006.
  16. ^ Tucson Citizen. "Rapist's 'confessions' could reopen a case". Retrieved on October 6, 2006.
  17. ^ CourtTV. "Van Dams settle civil suit against daughter's killer". Retrieved on January 16, 2007.
  18. ^ San Diego Union Tribune. "Plea deal 'minutes away' when body found ". Retrieved on January 17, 2007.
  19. ^ Roth, Alex, San Diego Union-Tribune (December 12, 2002), “A chat room helped Westerfield prosecutors”. Retrieved on June 23, 2003.
  20. ^ Roth, Alex, San Diego Union-Tribune (January 3, 2003), “Child killer has proclaimed innocence in cards, visits”. Retrieved on October 16, 2006.
  21. ^ Ryan, Harriet, Court TV (August 27, 2002), Niece says Westerfield fondled her when she was 7. Retrieved on January 14, 2007.
  22. ^ San Diego Union Tribune(January 9, 2003) "Westerfield failed polygraph test" access date September 19, 2006

[edit] External links