Posted on 06/03/2002 9:32:00 PM PDT by FresnoDA
Danielle is dead, gone, never to return. Her life was snuffed out, her life, no one else's in this case. She deserves justice. Whether it is DW or anyone else, I want her killer prosecuted. That is what our justice system is in place for, the victims.
( 06-04-2002 ) - Opening statements in the trial of David Westerfield begin today. Westerfield is accused of the murder and kidnapping 7-year old Danielle van Dam. Today, Danielle's father Damon may take the stand.
Professor David Steinberg from the Thomas Jefferson Law School suggests the prosecution will move quickly against Westerfield.
Danielle van Dam is gone, but prosecutors seem confident that the 7-year old girl left behind the clues needed to convict her killer.
On the eve of the trial, law Professor David Steinberg offered some words of wisdom to the state.
"My advice to the prosecution would be to make this trial simple and quick."
Steinberg says, show the key evidence, like scratch marks on Westerfield's body and Danielle's blood, fingerprints and hair in Westerfield's RV.
"If this case turns into a science class, the prosecution is in trouble," said Steinberg.
Meaning the state needs to focus on outrage.
But keep this in mind: juries love and eye witness and that's where the state comes up empty.
"No one saw David Westerfield kill Danielle van Dam," said Steinberg.
Also missing from the prosecutions' wish list is the murder weapon.
And despite finding images that the police feel look like child porn, Steinberg calls the idea of Westerfield lusting after Danielle, a weak motive.
"Why did this man, with no prior record of violent crime, suddenly kill this seven-year old girl?" questioned Steinberg.
Steinberg feels Westerfield's legal team needs to create doubt: that perhaps in this media frenzy, the police rushed to judgement.
"Trying to show that this is some kind of setup. That the police were looking for someone to blame, David Westerfield was convenient, so they blamed him," said Steinberg.
Remember, if just one juror believes it, this courtroom drama end with a mistrial.
SAN DIEGO ---- Opening statements in the trial of accused child murderer David Westerfield are set to begin today, followed by witness testimony which may include the father of slain 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
The trial comes just four months after the Sabre Springs second-grader vanished overnight from her pink and purple bedroom.
Westerfield, 50, has pleaded innocent to charges he kidnapped and killed Danielle, who lived two houses down from the self-employed engineer. The twice-divorced father of two faces the possibility of the death penalty if a jury of six men and six women convicts him of the charges.
Westerfield's attorneys have insisted on their client's right to a speedy trial.
On Monday, Judge William Mudd ruled the prosecution can show jurors three pictures of Danielle ---- one taken the day before her disappearance to show her recent haircut, another showing her with longer locks, and a third of Danielle with her two brothers.
Prosecutor Jeff Dusek said the photographs are important because the images show the necklace Danielle often wore and the length of her hair compared to her brothers. He said authorities found samples of Danielle's hair ---- the longest being eight inches long ---- in the sink and on the floor of Westerfield's motor home.
"She had recently gotten a haircut, I believe four or five days before she disappeared," Dusek said, adding her mother, Brenda van Dam, estimated four inches were taken off Danielle's hair, shortening the length to 8 inches.
He also said more samples of Danielle's hair were found in a lint trap tossed in the garbage, but did not clarify whether it was retrieved from the van Dam home or Westerfield's residence.
Defense attorney Steven Feldman objected to the photographs, saying the prosecution was trying to "engender sympathy" from the jury. He said the defense was willing to agree to Danielle's hair length.
Danielle's nude body, still wearing the necklace seen in her missing posters, was found under a tree in a rural area east of El Cajon nearly four weeks after she was reported missing in early February.
The first witnesses in the trial will focus on the recovery of her body, attorneys said.
The trial is expected to last about three months.
Contact staff writer Kimberly Epler at (760) 739-6644 or kepler@nctimes.com.
6/4/02
How uplifting... ;-p
And WHAT is with the blonde who looks like she should be on Saturday Night Live?
Courttv just showed him breaking down while speaking at the memorial service.. That didn't look fake.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.
Watch It Live In The Feedroom
Discuss The Van Dam Murder Case