Westerfield On Trial (WEEK 1 Recap): Brenda Van Dam, Dad's Bar

KGTV 10 News-San Diego ^ | June 7, 2002 | KGTV

[FresnoDA]

Danielle's mother spends emotional day on stand

By Jeff Dillon
SIGNONSANDIEGO

June 6, 2002

SAN DIEGO – The lead defense attorney for David Westerfield grilled the mother of Danielle van Dam Thursday about her sexual behavior, marijuana use and parenting in advance of her daughter's kidnapping and murder.

Brenda van Dam testified that she had previously had sex with the two women she accompanied on "girls' nights out" to Dad's Cafe and Steak House on Jan. 25 and Feb. 1 – the same two women her husband had said he'd also had sex with on previous occasions.

Defense attorney Steven Feldman pressed van Dam on why she had earlier told prosecutor Jeff Dusek she and her husband had never hosted "sex parties" but admitted they had sex with Denise and Andy Kemal at the van Dam house during an Oct. 31, 2001 Halloween party.

While Brenda became tearful during testimony surrounding Danielle, she appeared irritated when Feldman's questions turned repeatedly toward her sex life, as evidenced by this testy exchange:

Feldman: "Isn't it true that on Halloween evening in the year 2000, you engaged in sex with Denise and Andy and ...Damon?"

Brenda: "Yes."

Feldman: "So when you told Mr. Dusek that you had never had a sex party at your house, had you forgotten that?"

Brenda: "I don't consider that to be a sex party. "

Feldman: "Was October 2001 the first time you had sex with Denise?"

Brenda: "You need to repeat that question, you have the dates wrong."

Feldman: "OK, I'm sorry. What date was it that was the first time you had sex with Denise?"

Brenda: "I have never."

Feldman: "Have you had sex with Barbara Easton before?"

Brenda: "No."

Feldman: "Isn't it true you told (a detective) that you had in fact engaged in consensual sexual behavior with Denise?"

Brenda: (Pause) "Yes."

Feldman: "And you weren't lying ... were you?"

Brenda: "No."

Feldman: "When was it that you had consensual sexual relations with Denise?"

Brenda: "It was October of 2000."

Feldman hopped back and forth among topics during three hours of cross-examining van Dam, gradually walking her through the events of Friday, Feb. 1, the day before Danielle was discovered missing.

"I'm sorry, I'm switching again," Feldman warned her at one point. "But you'll be happy to know I'm winding down."

Brenda van Dam testified:

 

• That afternoon, she had briefly left Danielle alone in a department store while she retrieved her two sons, Derrick, then 9, and Dylen, then 5, from an adjacent toy store and then left all three children alone at home while she picked up a pizza.

   

• She and her two friends – Barbara Easton and Denise Kemal – had locked themselves in the family's garage to smoke marijuana later that evening before heading to Dad's .

  After the first of three cranberry and vodka drinks, van Dam went outside with the two women to smoke more of the joint they'd started earlier in the evening. They were accompanied by Rich Brady and Keith Stone, two male friends they had encountered at the bar.

  "Had the marijuana you smoked earlier worn off or did you want to get higher?" Feldman asked.

  "I guess it had worn off," van Dam said.

  Van Dam, the trio's designated driver, also had a shot of tequila.

   

• That between the 911 call and the arrival of the first police officer 15 minutes later, she and Damon van Dam had not reached an agreement to lie to police about their relationship with Easton and Kemal and their marijuana use.

   

  Lengthy testimony

  Van Dam spent several hours on the witness stand Thursday, the third day of the Westerfield murder trial. Her husband, Damon van Dam, had testified Wednesday that he had initially lied to police about his sex partners and marijuana use.

  Brenda van Dam broke down in tears several times during questioning that covered topics such as the length of Danielle's hair, her handful of encounters with the suspect and her discovery of Danielle's disappearance from her bedroom on Feb. 1.

  "I have an emergency. My daughter's not in her bed this morning. She's only 7," Brenda van Dam is heard telling the dispatcher in an audiotape of her 911 call to police.

  The dispatcher asks for more details, then assures van Dam: "Think positive thoughts and everything will be OK."

  Cross-examined by Feldman, van Dam acknowledged that Danielle occasionally walked to other locations in the neighborhood and that Westerfield had parked his motorhome on the street for such long periods of time that she and others considered it an eyesore.

  Danielle's hair and fingerprints were found in the motorhome after her disappearance, Dusek said in his opening statement on Tuesday. Feldman has argued that Danielle could have gotten into the motorhome on other occasions.

   

  Disruption

  Jurors returning after lunch to the courtroom in the David Westerfield murder trial were startled by a heckler in the hallway outside the door. The jury was filing into the jury box when someone shouted an expletive at Westerfield loud enough to be heard inside the courtroom. Westerfield apparently heard it too. He was overheard asking a bailiff "did you hear that?"

  The outburst came before Feldman was scheduled to resume his cross-examination of Brenda van Dam, mother of murder victim Danielle van Dam.

  One of the alternate jurors raised her hand and told the judge, "I'm kind of shaken up after what happened outside." Superior Court Judge William Mudd told the jury that it was done deliberately, but that it should have no reflection on the attorneys for either side or the trial.

  "Take a deep breath, sit back and relax," Mudd said before allowing the trial to resume.

  The heckler, an unidentified woman, was escorted from the building by authorities.

  During the afternoon break a group of jurors was overheard in the hallway discussing the incident. One of them said "it scared me."

   

  Disputed time of death

  Brenda van Dam's testimony came after Feldman challenged the county medical examiner's estimate of when Danielle van Dam died.

  Dr. Brian Blackbourne testified that he estimated Danielle had been dead for at least 10 days – and potentially up to six weeks – before her body was found.

  "Just looking at the body, it was clear to me that she had been there for a considerable period of time," Blackbourne said, based on the degree of mummification and putrefaction of the body found off Dehesa Road on Feb. 27. Danielle disappeared Feb. 1.

  But Feldman questioned Blackbourne's minimum 10-day estimate because the medical examiner had not checked weather reports to find out whether warm weather could have accelerated the decomposition process.

  "To say that she was dead on the 17th of February, you would have to speculate, wouldn't you?" Feldman asked.

  "Well, I have evidence on the body, so that's not really speculation," Blackbourne replied.

   

  Insect evidence?

  Blackbourne also acknowledged that forensic entomologist David K. Faulkner from the San Diego Natural History Museum had collected insects found on Danielle's body to help estimate the time of her death.

  Feldman suggested more evidence would show Danielle hadn't been dead as long as Blackbourne had estimated, proving his client's innocence by showing that she had been killed and her body dumped in Dehesa while Westerfield was under surveillance by police.

  Blackbourne was testifying on the third day of the murder trial of David Westerfield, the 50-year-old neighbor accused of kidnapping and killing Danielle.

   

  Cause of death not established

  Blackbourne testified Wednesday that no cause of death could be established because the body was so badly decomposed and ravaged by animals.

  He said he ruled that the manner of her death was a homicide – as opposed to a suicide or natural causes – based on the position of her body, how far it was away from her home and the fact that searchers had been looking for her for three weeks.

  Under cross-examination by Feldman, Blackbourne said that he couldn't find any signs of traumatic injuries.

  Blackbourne also testified Thursday that decomposition prevented him from determining whether or not Danielle had been sexually assaulted before her death.

   

  Partying hard

  The final witness of the day, Dad's bar manager Sean Brown, testified that he remembered seeing Westerfield and some of his friends and Brenda van Dam and her friends in the bar area on both Jan. 25 and Feb. 1.

  But he said both Friday nights were busy and he couldn't keep track of all the patrons, how sober they were or when they left.

  Brown did refute a police report quoting him as saying he had seen van Dam and her female friends "partying hard" and flirting with men in the bar.

  "That's not exactly what I said," Brown testified. "The way I saw it was Brenda and her girlfriends were out there having a good time as girlfriends do. I think of partying hard as having beer shot after beer shot after beer shot. They were there to have a good time."

  Cross-examined by defense attorney Robert Boyce, Brown admitted he couldn't say whether the women had been "partying hard" after they moved from the bar area to the dance floor.

  Brown testified that Westerfield was something of a regular visitor to the bar and sat in the same seat next to another regular customer named Gary Harvey. Brown said Westerfield always ordered a 16-ounce glass of Baccardi Rum and Coke, rarely mingled with the crowd and was a people watcher.

  Following is the line of questioning by Dusek about Westerfield:

  Dusek: "What's the basis for that opinion or that assessment?"

  Brown: "Well, maybe if there's a conversation between Gary and him and they stopped or hesitated, they would turn around and watch the people in the bar and maybe not talk for a while and observe what's going on. That's what I would consider a people watcher, so I would say he's a people watcher."

  Dusek: "Did you ever see him play pool?"

  Brown: "No."

  Dusek: "Did you ever see him dance?"

  Brown: "No."

  Dusek: "What would he do?"

  Brown: "He would just hang out with Gary, that's all I can say."

[FresnoDA]

PING..) ) ) Ok everyone...now shake hands and make up. We have a lot of work ahead of us....

[Asclepius]

Brenda van Dam said nothing else was taken the night Danielle was abducted.

I'm at a loss here. How am I supposed to use this article as an opportunity to bash the Bush administration for not being conservative enough?

[FresnoDA]

Danielle Van Dam's Mother Takes Stand

Crime: She tells of going to a bar where suspect David Westerfield bought drinks for her and her friends the night her daughter disappeared.

By BEN FOX
Associated Press Writer

June 6 2002, 2:16 PM PDT

Brenda van Dam frantically reported her daughter's February disappearance in a 911 call played for jurors today in the trial of a neighbor accused of killing the 7-year-old.

"My daughter is not in her bed this morning. She's only seven," van Dam says in a panicked voice on the tape. She is breathing heavily. The sound of children crying is heard in the background.

The 911 operator questions the mother about Danielle van Dam's description and tells her: "think positive thoughts, everything will be okay."

Danielle was reported missing Feb. 2, prompting a search by thousands of police and volunteers. Her nude body was found three weeks later along a rural road east of San Diego.

Prosecutors played the tape on the third day of the trial of David Westerfield, who is charged with murder, kidnapping and possession of child pornography.

Van Dam, 39, testified today that Westerfield bought drinks for herself and two friends at a bar near their north San Diego homes on the night of Feb. 1.

"He said, 'Ladies don't buy their own drinks,' and he threw some money on the bar," van Dam said under questioning by the prosecution.

Danielle was reported missing from the van Dam residence the next morning.

Westerfield, 50, a divorced engineer whose home is two doors from the van Dam home, has pleaded innocent. He could receive the death penalty if convicted.

Investigators say they found Danielle's blood, fingerprints and hair in Westerfield's motor home and have other forensic evidence linking him to her disappearance.

Van Dam said that several days before the encounter at the bar, she, Danielle and one of her sons went to Westerfield's home to sell Girl Scout cookies.

She said Westerfield mentioned that he had seen her with the other women previously at the bar and wished to be introduced to one of them. She said she told him that they might be at the bar, Dad's Cafe, the following Friday.

She said that until that time she and Westerfield had only a passing acquaintance.

"We may have spoken one or two times but it was very limited," she said.

Earlier today, Dr. Brian Blackbourne, the county medical examiner, testified that it was impossible to determine the exact cause or time of Danielle's death because her body was in an advanced state of decomposition when it was found.

Blackbourne said he concluded the girl's death was a homicide from the position of the body, its location far from her home and because searchers had been looking for her for weeks. Under questioning by the defense, Blackbourne said there was no evidence that the girl was strangled or sexually assaulted.

The uncertainty over the time of death aids Westerfield, whose lawyer has argued that he was under police surveillance and media scrutiny that prevented him from dumping the body where it was found on Feb. 27.

[John Jamieson]

Well that answers my question. Brenda does swing both ways. But, she doesn't like others that do talking to her 7 year daughter.

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

Well Frez.....I'll get the ball rolling by commenting on Brenda's frequent glaring at Westerfield.

I have always wondered why neither Brenda nor Damon showed any anger about the man that LE was sure did it, practically from the beginning.

By the same token, I found it equally weird that now she is suddenly shooting darts across the room at the man.

It appears that the prosecution told Damon to lose the facial hair and Brenda to act like a "normal" mom.

[John Jamieson]

Hair DNA is only subject to female DNA typing? (I can't spell it) So, would it be possible to tell the difference, for sure, between Danielle's hair in RV and Brenda's? I think Westerfield's defence it going to atleast suggest that Brenda was in that RV, probably having sex with DW. Could blow the case wide open. They've lived two doors away for 4 years.

[John Jamieson]

"normal" mom

It didn't work, she came across as a bi-sexual swinging pervert, dope head, drunkard. Westerfield's starting to look like a sober, heterosexual pervert....a considerable improvement.

[FresnoDA]

Brenda Van Dam Testifies

Mother Of Victim Breaks Down On Stand

POSTED: 12:05 p.m. PDT June 6, 2002
UPDATED: 4:46 p.m. PDT June 6, 2002

SAN DIEGO -- The mother of Danielle van Dam answered probing questions Thursday about her sex life and lifestyle during the trial of a neighbor accused of murdering her 7-year-old girl.

Brenda van Dam began her testimony on an emotional note under friendly questioning from prosecutor Jeff Dusek. Early on, she broke down in tears as the Dusek asked her questions about her children and her home. Dusek asked her about visiting the defendant, David Westerfield, with Danielle and one of her sons to sell Girl Scout cookies. She also recounted two outings to a local restaurant bar when she interacted with Westerfield. And she admitted smoking marijuana the day of her daughter's disappearance.

The behavior of the Danielle's parents has come under intense scrutiny during the trial. Yesterday, Danielle's father Damon van Dam admitted to having sex with other women, sometimes with his wife in the room.

The questions became much more probing when Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman, began questioning the 39-year-old mother. Under Feldman's cross-examination, van Dam testified about her relationships to the two men and two women she went out with on the night before Danielle was discovered missing. During the questioning, van Dam acknowledged that she had had sexual relations with the two women in the past, though not on the night in question.

Feldman attempted to question her about what he termed "sex parties," but Judge William Mudd stopped van Dam from answering broad questions about her sex life, ruling that the questions were irrelevant to the case.

Earlier in the day, San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne testified. He said that he was not able to determine exactly when Danielle died or how she was killed. On cross-examination by Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman, Blackbourne added that he found now evidence on the body of a sexual attack. But he said that could have been because of the state of the body, which had been damaged by animals and was in an advanced stage of decomposition.

Under questioning from Feldman, Blackbourne said that Danielle could have been alive as late as Feb. 17, more than two weeks after she was reported missing. The uncertainty over the time of death helps Westerfield's case. Feldman has argued that his client was under police surveillance and media scrutiny starting on Feb. 4, when he returned from a weekend trip to the beach and the desert. It would have been impossible for him to dump the body after that date, according to Feldman.

  The trial is expected to continue until at least mid-July. You can see gavel-to-gavel coverage of the proceeding in the NBC 7/39 FeedRoom.

[DoughtyOne]

Breaks down my a--!  I'm not buying it.                                                                                                         

[Southflanknorthpawsis]

It didn't work, she came across as a bi-sexual swinging pervert, dope head, drunkard. Westerfield's starting to look like a sober, heterosexual pervert....a considerable improvement.

Yep.......it was hard to even imagine her as a mother while she was answering the questions today.

That's why I have been upset from day one that LE didn't think these folks and their circle of friends seemed much more the type to have harmed the child. Good grief......is there anything or anyone with which they wouldn't have sex?

[FresnoDA]

Ping...

[John Jamieson]

Something tells me Westerfield's going to testify. He's what he'll say:

1. The whole neighborhood knew these people were swingers and Brenda was bi.

2. Yes, I have a large collection of nude pictures of adult woman. I'm a single, heterosexual male. Any pictures of kids in there came from downloading collections from others. I'm not into kids.

3. Brenda did me once or twice in the RV just for fun, that's why the VD dna is in there.

4. I was interested in Barbara, but not that interested, I don't have to beg.

5. I know my driving the RV all over that weekend looked weird, but it's really not, I was "campground hopping" looking for some of the hot women, I'd found there before. I was going places where there are lots of people. I didn't know anyone was looking for me.

6. I didn't kill Danielle, or dump her body and I don't know who did.

[FresnoDA]

Ditto...her Valley Girl speak...gag me...it is so fake....Oh My Gosh!!! Voice Raised In Example...

[John Jamieson]

"Is there anything or anyone with which they wouldn't have sex?" Nope

[martin_fierro]

It didn't work, she came across as a bi-sexual swinging pervert, dope head, drunkard.

But ... Mom cried!

And as we all know from Baba Wawa and The View, the presence of tears means we've arrived at the Truth. Right? < /sarcasm >

[martin_fierro]

The wench looks like she's been rode hard and put away wet.
(no double-entendre intended) <|:)~

[John Jamieson]

But in sex years, she's 674 years old.

[blondee123]

"The wench looks like she's been rode hard and put away wet."

That's an understatement; how old is she supposed to be??? She looks over 50 at least and not at all the motherly type! YUK, who'd want to swing with her anyway?

[Canticle_of_Deborah]

Somebody finally said what I've been thinking all along....