Prosecution's Bug Expert Struggles On Stand:08/01/2002 Westefield Trial Nears Finish Lap!

Court TV ^ | August 1, 2002 | Harriet Ryan

[FresnoDA]

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 van Dam repeatedly confronted him with five separate errors in data he used to analyze bugs collected at the 7-year-old's autopsy.

"I made a mistake adding," said Goff, the chair of the forensic science department at Honolulu's Chaminade University and one of only nine certified forensic entomologists in North America.

Entomology has become a battleground as Westerfield's two-month long capital murder trial draws to a close. The strongest evidence for the defense comes from this field in which insect specialists use the age of maggots and flies decomposing a body to help determine a time of death. Danielle, abducted from her bedroom Feb. 1, was missing 26 days and when her body was finally found, the medical examiner was unable to pinpoint when she was killed. Two forensic entomologists hired by the defense said their analyses suggested her body was dumped along a roadside in mid-February, long after Westerfield was under constant police surveillance.

Prosecutors, who have a pile of other evidence against Westerfield, including hair, blood and fingerprint evidence, hired Goff soon after the first defense entomologist testified.

Goff said Tuesday he disagreed with the conclusions of both defense experts, but the time frame he offered, Feb. 9 to Feb. 14, was only slightly earlier than theirs and did not neatly fit the prosecution's theory that Danielle was killed between Feb. 2 and Feb. 4 while Westerfield claims he was on a solo camping trip. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek had to question his own expert in much the same way as he cross-examined the defense experts, hinting that variables in the weather and the disposal of Danielle's body cast doubt on the certainty of any entomological findings.

Goff agreed that very hot, very dry weather conditions in San Diego in February might have mummified Danielle's 58-pound body almost immediately and that flies may not have been attracted to the desiccated body. A forensic anthropologist, called by the prosecution last week to cast doubt on the bug evidence, said the insects may have arrived later and only after coyotes and other animals began scavenging her body and Goff said this scenario seemed possible.

He also said a covering, such as a blanket, might have kept flies at bay initially. No covering was found and Goff later said the longest delay by such a shroud was two and a half days.

Much of his testimony was a detailed view into the mathematical nuts and bolts of his conclusions. Goff did not look at the bugs himself. Instead, he reviewed photos and the reports of the defense experts. He told jurors he came up with four separate time lines based on two different temperatures at two separate locations, a golf course a mile and a half from the crime scene and National Weather Service station farther away.

Goff's testimony bounced between these four sets of findings and even after he said the lower temperature and the weather service station provided the most reliable, appropriate date, it was often unclear which findings he was referring to. He peppered his speech with entomological jargon like "accumulated degree hours" and referred to blowflies by their the Latin names. He talked about temperatures in Celsius degrees, frequently prompting Dusek to ask for a Fahrenheit translation. Much of his work seemed lost on jurors, who stopped taking notes early on in his testimony.

On cross-examination, defense lawyer Steven Feldman grilled him about the way he calculated the day-to-day temperatures which dictate how fast an insect grows. Goff explained the process, but then Feldman handed him a pocket calculator and asked him to review his findings. With the courtroom completely silent, Goff added rows of figures and discovered his errors. Feldman asked him if the mistakes effected the accuracy of his estimates and Goff said they did. Several jurors picked up their notebooks and began writing rapidly.

A few minutes later, under questioning by Dusek, Goff said the slip ups made little difference in the ultimate conclusions. And as he had earlier in his testimony, he emphasized to jurors that his was an extremely narrow study of bugs, not a "stopwatch" for determining time of death.

"We're establishing a minimum period of time the insects have been feeding on the body," said Goff.

"Are you establishing a time of death?" asked prosecutor Jeff Dusek.

"No, that's outside our area of expertise," said Goff.

Danielle's parents, Brenda and Damon van Dam, watched most of the testimony from the back row of the courtroom, occasionally flinching as Goff described the condition of their daughter's remains.

The prosecution rested its rebuttal case after Goff's testimony. There will be no witnesses Wednesday and the defense will put on its sur-rebuttal case Thursday. Closing arguments could happen as early as next Monday.

Also Tuesday, a lab technician testified that orange clothes some law enforcement officers wore when searching Westerfield's house were not the source of fibers found in both the defendant's home and in Danielle's necklace.

The trial is being broadcast live on Court TV.

[clearvision]

From a crime investigation website:

In sex offenses, assaults, and some other cases, it may be possible to indicate or demonstrate contact between two individuals or between one other individual and some other object, such as a car seat, by comparing fibers. Such examinations are only of value when it is known no contact occurred between the two individuals or an individual and some other object prior to, or subsequent to, the offense. Extra care must be taken to keep each article of clothing of each individual or other object separated. Each garment should be-laid on a clean sheet of paper, and separately rolled up in the paper after marking the exhibit. If the clothing of one subject touches the clothing of another, or if it is laid down on the table of placed on the car seat contacted by the clothing of the other suspect, the comparisons may be of no value.

[Karson]

I agree. It's just that when you mentioned dog bed, it reminded me how much Damon talked about the dog chewing up her bed that night -- and him putting it downstairs -- as if that was gonna be a large factor in this case. Fizzled out I guess.

[John Jamieson]

They never explained the burned idea, they just said that it was not burned. They also said the body showed no evidence of frezzing. Most refigerators don't have a big enough frezzer compartment but the regular cooled volume would be big enough on most.

[demsux]

Some of the "old timers" will recall that I pegged "viagra boy" as the likely perp, long ago.

"Viagra Boy" was hopped up on viagra, wanting to "hook up" with Brenda, unfortunately Brenda "hooked up" with Damon.

What's a guy with "increased libido" to do? He lives nearby, he's single, probably leaves his hose out, unrolled at that.

Drop Rich Brady off at his home and head back for some "action".

[John Jamieson]

My 3 sisters and 1 brother are all UTA, or UT. Several masters, too.

[JudyB1938]

http://www.courttv.com/trials/westerfield/jurors.html

Here's the jury's profiles ...

Juror #1 in the pool. A woman who works as a welfare-eligibility worker for San Diego County. During jury selection, she expressed concerns about the behavior of Brenda van Dam, the victim's mother.

Juror #51 in the pool. A Hispanic father of four who has two granddaughters, ages 10 and 2. One of his children works in daycare. He was drafted into the Army as a young man and believes in the death penalty.

Juror #65 in the pool. This 83-year-old white male retired from a 32-year military career as an Army colonel. He has a 7-year-old granddaughter, and takes medications for back problems, blood pressure, and arthritis. He expressed concerns about the death penalty because he has a mentally handicapped son, and knows some states execute regardless of mental capacity.

Juror #34 in the pool. An older white female born in Germany, she is a supporter of the death penalty. She takes care of her husband, who is ill, and works at a German cultural center. She has a friend who is a retired prosecutor.

Juror #33 in the pool. A white female who takes the anti-anxiety drug Paxil. She listens to conservative talk radio, including Rush Limbaugh, and believes in the death penalty.

Juror #85 in the pool. A white male who studied theater arts and now works as an insurance claims adjuster. He says he considers his position of the death penalty a five on a scale of one to 10, and says that if someone is arrested, there must be facts to support it.

Juror #61 in the pool. An older white woman who works as a county probate examiner, she has served on two juries previously and also worked for a criminal defense attorney at one point. She supports the death penalty.

Juror #38 in the pool. A black female who suffers from stress. She believes pornography is "sick" and "immoral," and hopes to get a masters degree in Christian education.

Juror #74 in the pool. An older black female who was born in Panama, she has one child and two grandchildren, ages 13 and 5. She has served on two juries in the past, including one that ended in a hung jury. She says she has never seen pornography before, but says, "I'm an old lady, nothing would shock me." She supports the death penalty.

Juror #95 in the pool. A male who has a 7-week-old child and works as a certified public accountant. He believes the death penalty is a deterrent in certain cases and a legitimate means of punishment.

Juror #70 in the pool. A white male who is the father of a 9-month-old child and works as a software engineer. He spent some time in the military working in naval intelligence, and his father was a state trooper for 25 years. He believes this case is a big responsibility. He considers himself a strong supporter of the death penalty, was brought up Christian, and believes in "an eye for an eye."

Juror #80 in the pool. A married male who has taken classes at a local college for business management. He expressed his desire to be on the jury and believes that a defendant should testify, but says he has an open mind concerning the case. He says the death penalty is fair and believes in an "eye for an eye."

The Alternates

Alternate #1 Juror #119 in the pool. An older white male, he opposes the death penalty but would consider it in certain cases. Watches the television show, "CSI: Crime Scene Investigation."

Alternate #2 Juror #115 in the pool. A middle-aged, Asian-American woman who works as a public health nurse and investigates allegations of abuse against the elderly and disabled populations. She has reservations about the death penalty, but supports it in cases that involve heinous crimes.

Alternate #3 Juror #96 in the pool. A white woman who lost her job after September 11, she has been to the same bar where the defendant and victim's mother had a chance meeting the night of Danielle van Dam's disappearance. She says she can impose the death penalty in certain cases.

Alternate #4 Juror #125 in the pool. A white woman who supports the death penalty and also regularly watches "CSI."

Alternate #5 Juror #121 in the pool. A female who says she "isn't really for or against the death penalty."

Alternate #6 Juror #120 in the pool. A white woman who has a 4-year-old child, she thinks the death penalty is sometimes warranted for first-degree murder.

[juzcuz]

burned body--

How about dehydration from a sauna. It gets incredibly hot, water pours from the skin after 10 min. A person could certainly dehydrate in one and smother (asphyxiate) if somehow locked in one. -Just a wild thought-

[Spunky]

little Danielle's own mother and father, Barbara and Damon Van Dam.

Now we all know Damon sleeps around but do you really think Brenda was raising Damon's and Barbara's daughter. ;-)

[John Jamieson]

Could be, probably wouldn't even need 10 days!

[John Jamieson]

Barbara would have to have given birth at 42 or so, but it's possible. I certainly think Damon hated that little girl, based on little but gut feelings.

[Jrabbit]

Interesting about the military members. Beth on CTV today said one juror who is retired military really seemed to like Dr.Hall and smiled at juror #1 during Halls testimony. Of course, CTV is not the best source. Also glad to see a comp. software engineer.

[juzcuz]

Sauna's--
Alot of ski resorts feature them. I still wonder about Billy's cabin and how well equipped it is. Who knows he might have a sauna, hot tub, the works...

[John Jamieson]

Looks like there's a couple that can explain the math to the others if they want to know.

[John Jamieson]

A lot of the swingers were in Realestate and would access to all the above, including empty houses with friges.

[JudyB1938]

I hadn't read the jury profiles before. It made me feel better to know that most of them have had higher education, and a few are already familiar with the judicial system.

[I. Ben Hurt]

To Spunky...back at post 591 (sorry, don't know how to link and it's long) a guy testified that it appeared the body had been placed and then drug under the tree where it remained and decomposed. There's another issue of dogs dragging off entrails of the body. (I'm a newbie, but hope that helps.)

[Spunky]

I don't think the fibers came from anything owned by DW. Someone, like his family or ex would have remembered it

I think you are right. The prosecuter would surely have pushed Susan L. Danielle L. or Neal to say that David owned something brite orange. Blanket, Jacket, Sweater, etc.

[Jrabbit]

The VD's have a hot tub. Damon said it was the 1st place he looked for her. Hmmmmm...

[demsux]

The VD's have a hot tub. Damon said it was the 1st place he looked for her. Hmmmmm...

I have wondered about the "clumps" of hair and the few fibers found on the body.

Drown in the hot tub while DVD away? Would the scalding water make her dehydrate?

[Jrabbit]

My biggest worry is that porn emotion will overcome all logic. I also think it's the biggest issue for appeal, if it comes to that.