A LOOK BACK AT THE PROSECUTION'S CASE (180 FRANK)

(07-02-2002) - The prosecution began its case with emotional testimony from Brenda and Damon van Dam. alt

"I asked that the room not be cleaned. So we put one of the dog gates up and put a 'do not enter' sign on the door," said Damon van Dam as he talked about Danielle's room.

"Do you need a moment, or are you able to continue?" asked prosecutor Jeff Dusek on the second day of the trial.

"I'll try. I'll try," replied Damon van Dam as he began to get choked up.

Brenda van Dam then took the stand on the third day of the trial.

"Who is your next child?" asked Dusek.

"Danielle," replied Brenda, sobbing on the stand.

"How old was she?"

"She's seven," said Brenda as she began to cry.

They answered a number of questions about Brenda's "girl's night out" and smoking pot the night Danielle disappeared.

Denise Kemal also talked about their lifestyle.

"So you never engaged in sexual relations with Damon and Brenda van Dam?" asked defense attorney Steven Feldman.

"Yes I did, but with Damon. It was more of a swap," said Kemal.

After that, testimony focused on Westerfield's wanderings. And the prosecution played a portion of Westerfield's tape-recorded interview with police.

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"This whole story sounds weird to everybody else, but it make perfect sense to me," said Westerfield.

The prosecution pointed out inconsistencies in Westerfield's story. He said he left Silver Strand because it was cold, but campers testified it was a nice day.

He also said he didn't have his wallet, but an employee said Westerfield showed it to him.

"He pulled out his wallet and showed me four, three or four twenty dollar bills," said Silver Strand employee, Donald Raymond.

Then at Galamis, a tow truck driver said he thought he heard Westerfield talk to someone. And there was an inconsistency in Westerfield's testimony about his trailer.

The physical evidence was then introduced, starting with two fingerprints next to the bed in Westerfield's motorhome.

"This print, or these two prints from this handprint was made by, were made by Danielle van Dam," said SDPD fingerprint analyst, Jeff Graham.

"How certain are you?" asked prosecutor Dusek.

"Absolutely certain," replied Graham.

And DNA experts testified that bloodstains on Westerfield's jacket and in his RV were without a doubt from Danielle. But when it came to fiber and hair evidence, the experts were not as certain.

An orange fiber in Danielle's necklace and blue fibers around her body matched fibers in Westerfield's laundry. And five fibers similar to Danielle's carpet were found in his RV.

"I believe these carpet fibers from 74, 60, and 155, could have come from Danielle van Dam's bedroom," said SDPD criminalist, Tanya Dulaney.

Experts also testified that Danielle's hairs and 24 hairs similar to the Van Dam's dog were found in Westerfield's laundry, trash, bedding, dry cleaning and RV.

Westerfield, 50, is charged with kidnapping, murder and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in the disappearance and killing of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. The self-employed design engineer could get the death penalty if convicted of the felony charges.

Today, an expert on animal genetics is expected to testify as the prosecution's final witness in the trial of accused child killer David Westerfield.

Dr. Joy Halverson, a canine DNA specialist with QuestGen Forensics in Davis, testified yesterday during a six-hour closed-door hearing held to determine if prosecutors could call one more witness.

Oliver Ryder, a UCSD adjunct professor, who has published articles on mitochondrial DNA, also testified at the hearing.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd is scheduled to announce his decision on the final prosecution witness when the trial resumes this morning.

Mudd has told defense attorney Steven Feldman to be ready to call his first witness today. Feldman has indicated he should be able to conclude his case by July 15.

Feldman told the judge he plans to call insect expert David Faulkner to the stand to try to pinpoint the time of Danielle's death.

In his opening statement, Feldman said the child's nude body could have been placed off a road in Dehesa as late as February 16, a dozen days after his client came under 24-hour surveillance by law enforcement.

Prosecutors theorize that Westerfield, a twice-divorced father, killed the Sabre Springs second-grader and dumped her body at the East County site shortly after she disappeared February 2. Volunteer searchers found the girl's decomposing body on February 27.

Westerfield was arrested February 22.

Quietly lurking. Got my knitting and sewing projects lined up to enjoy the defense presentation.

Anyone else get the impression that most of these witnesses were told that LE had a solid case and they only needed that last little bit of info to nail DW?

Instead, each of the witnesses was left flailing in the deep end while Feldman and Boyce ended up nailing each of their lone little hides to the wall.

All they have is one strand of hair and two drops of blood, easily explained away if Danielle L. gave tours of the MH to neighborhood kids, and if DW happened to have had his jacket on a pool chair the day they were selling cookies.

If Feldman can't pull this one off, he should have his bar # revoked, and give back DW's house! :-)

Dog Handler 'Bursting With Pride' After Westerfield Arrest "Frazee was Van Dam Proud of that Pooch!!"

Canine DNA Specialist Testifies

Posted: 7:54 a.m. PDT July 2, 2002
Updated: 1:02 p.m. PDT July 2, 2002

SAN DIEGO -- A volunteer dog handler testified today that he sent an e-mail saying he "was bursting with pride" on the day David Westerfield was arrested in connection with the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

Jim Frazee

Jim Frazee (pictured, right), who volunteers with the San Diego County Sheriff's Department, sent the e-mail to three friends on Feb. 22 -- 16 days after his dogs examined Westerfield's motor home at an impound lot on Aero Drive.

LIVE Trail Coverage Resumes at 1:30 p.m.

Frazee testified last week that one of the dogs, Cielo, gave an alert signal at the door to an exterior storage compartment on the passenger side of the vehicle while searching for the child's remains.

Under cross-examination by defense attorney Robert Boyce today, Frazee said he did not mention the alert in a report he filed because police investigators asked for the results to remain confidential.

"On Feb. 6, you don't recall telling anyone what the dog found?" Boyce asked.

"I don't recall what I told them," Frazee said.

The defense concentrated on the fact that, with no other report filed, the only evidence of Cielo's alert came from the e-mail after the defendant's arrest.

Boyce quoted Frazee's e-mail, which he said stated: "I wasn't sure, but I thought Cielo was giving his cadaver alert. I thought he may have been doing this just to please me. Today, however, came word of the suspect's arrest and that they found blood in the motor home."

Frazee said the arrest raised his confidence in Cielo's finding.

Frazee's supervisor, reserve sheriff's Lt. Rosemary Redditt, said she watched Cielo's search of the outside of the motor home and had no trouble recognizing the dog's alert at the storage door.

Westerfield, a 50-year-old self-employed design engineer, could get the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and murder. He also faces misdemeanor possession of child pornography charges.

Dr. Joy Halverson (pictured, left), a canine DNA specialist with QuestGen Forensics in Davis, also took the stand today.

Her looming testimony was the subject of a six-hour closed-door hearing yesterday. The defense had filed a motion to exclude her testimony, but the request was denied by Superior Court Judge William Mudd.

Mudd has told defense attorney Steven Feldman to be ready to call his first witness today. Feldman has indicated he should be able to conclude his case by July 15.

Feldman told the judge he plans to call insect expert David Faulkner to try to pinpoint the time of Danielle's death.

In his opening statement, Feldman said the child's nude body could have been placed off a road in Dehesa as late as Feb. 16, a dozen days after his client came under 24-hour surveillance by law enforcement.

Prosecutors theorize that Westerfield, a twice-divorced father, killed the Sabre Springs second-grader and dumped her body at the East County site shortly after she disappeared Feb. 2. Volunteer searchers found the girl's decomposing body on Feb.

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