BREAKING: BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH WESTERFIELD: (Modern Day Westside Story?)7-9-02 Trial Watch

KFMB ^ | July 9, 2002 | KFMB

[FresnoDA]

WITNESSES SAY BRENDA VAN DAM DANCED WITH DAVID WESTERFIELD

(07-08-2002) - Three defense witnesses testified Monday that Brenda van Dam and David Westerfield, the man accused of murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, danced together the night before the girl was discovered missing.

"Mr. Westerfield and Mrs. van Dam were dancing," said Patricia LePage, describing the scene at Dad's Cafe and Steakhouse the night of Feb. 1.

Since the prosecution introduced hair and fibers found at the defendant's house and motorhome, the defense has tried to show the evidence could have been transferred in some other way, such as dancing.

The 50-year-old defendant would face the death penalty if convicted of kidnapping and killing Danielle van Dam, who lived two houses away in Sabre Springs. He is also charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography.

In testimony near the beginning of the trial, Brenda van Dam told the court she did not dance with Westerfield.

But LePage said van Dam rubbed her hips and chest against Westerfield during several dances together, recalling the movie "Dirty Dancing." That was just part of what LePage described as "frisky" behavior exhibited by van Dam that night.

LePage said she was in a smoking lounge at Dad's with her daughter, Cherokee Youngs, when van Dam came in and struck up a conversation with the younger woman.

"Well, she did ask my daughter if she liked girls," LePage said when asked to describe the conversation. Van Dam, she said, asked Youngs if she wanted to come to her house for a party later that night.

Youngs testified about the encounter last week.

Duane Blake, a fisherman who said he goes to Dad's a couple times a week, said he caught a glimpse of the defendant dancing with van Dam.

Blake confirmed an interview with the District Attorney's Office, in which he described their dancing as, "huggy, huggy." He testified he even thought Westerfield might be trying to pick up on van Dam.

Earlier Monday, another woman testified she saw Westerfield dance with Danielle's mother.

Glennie Nasland, who began her testimony last week, said she was on the dance floor and saw the pair turn toward each other while dancing with other people.

Nasland, who described herself as a friend of Westerfield, said she watched them for 20 seconds before they turned away again.

In other testimony Monday, Dave Laspisa said that going to the desert to look for friends, and without bringing an all-terrain vehicle, was not an unusual activity for Westerfield.

The witness, a self-employed Poway man, said he's known the defendant for 15 years and has camped with him near the Imperial County community of Glamis for 10 years.

The witness was one of several people who testified as the defense began to move away from what happened at a Poway night spot the night before Danielle was discovered missing Feb. 2 to Westerfield's weekend wanderings.

Westerfield's attorney, Steven Feldman asked Laspisa to explain why someone would avoid Interstate 8 while taking a motorhome to the desert. Laspisa said high winds and black ice were common on that route, which traverses altitudes over 4,000 feet.

Heather Mack, a security guard at Coronado Cays, testified that she saw Westerfield drive his motorhome into the exclusive neighborhood in the afternoon or evening hours of Feb. 3.

Mack said Westerfield smiled and waved at her as he drove past her security kiosk, but she never saw him again.

The witness told Dusek that she originally told a police officer that she "vaguely remembered" seeing the defendant's recreational vehicle.

Glen Seebruch, an engineering manager at Nokia, testified earlier that Westerfield called him the morning of Feb. 1 and told him he planned to go to the desert that weekend.

Feldman, told Judge William Mudd that his case may be completed by the end of the week.

Insect expert David Faulkner is expected to testify about how long the victim's body may have been in the East County before volunteer searchers found it on Feb. 27.

Feldman has said Westerfield would have had no opportunity to dispose of the body because he was under constant police surveillance from Feb. 4 until his arrest Feb. 22.

[hoosiermama]

Testing takes time....Maybe the judge realized his VACATION just went down the "tube"?????

[UCANSEE2]

stopped carrying CourtTV years ago

Alright-ee then. I was going to say, if it was CTV, then your source (at least in that case) is like getting your meals out of the open end of a sewer pipe. (JMO)

Since the other source is hopefully a much more informative and balanced format, I think it will be a little easier to discuss this case.

Do you think the Prosecution has proven their case?

[Valpal1]

They don't even equate. Child porn is photographic evidence of criminal abuse that has already occurred. Period. Not even in the same ballpark with with lowlife poly-amorous dopers who are not a proven danger.

That said, I avoid sluts and barflies on gerneral principle, but consider consumers of child porn to be a greater proven 24/7 danger to my children than swingers.

[UCANSEE2]

I wonder if someone has a cabin with a root cellar in the big bear area. And, a blue nylon body bag(xxxxx) I mean snowboarding bag.

[BunnySlippers]

You think it's David Alan Westerfield because of a zip disk on his self.
I think it's some member of the swingers club because of their DEPRAVED SEXUAL BEHAVIOR, they have admitted to.

I agree we both want the killer. But I don't think that way only because of the CHILD porn. I think that because of the forensic evidence and the the fact that this guy thinks the rape of children is entertaining. But the forensics weighs the most for his guilt.

[Angelique]

I do remember reading that, and I thought it strange. While Westerfield was charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography, didn't they also find some stuff in his computer?

[UCANSEE2]

Do you think that someone that has PORN on their computer is worse than someone that molests and kills their own daughter ?

So here's the rub. I would say someone who views child porn on their computer and murders their neighbor's child is worse than someone who swings. I think you understand.

Yes, I do. You are afraid to answer the question. You can't give an honest answer. You do this time and time again when you post. You ignore questions, and pose other questions as a way of avoiding the issues. You only care about one issue. I can understand you view of the importance of that issue. None of us think that pornography leads to angelhood.

But we live in the United States, and our system of Justice says that We are NOT GUILTY until it has been PROVEN IN COURT.

Apparently, as your earlier statement indicated, you have already decided he is guilty of murder, based on his possession of PORN.

Tell me you believe different!

[UCANSEE2]

You have porn on your computer. We will be over shortly with a rope, because we know you are guilty of something, and we must hang you right away. (/sarcasm) Is this the way you want justice to operate ?

[Freedom2specul8]

Sorry it took so long to answer. You are right..there are a lot of holes..it's just weird how everyone can't agree on what they are.

[juzcuz]

I don't know.... could be.. except the material on Danielle was all nylon I believe... Also, she was only about 4'5" tall she could a just as easily fit in a duffle bag, the type that little league coaches use for bats, etc... "see Burton Bags the last picture...

Rob Brady was with the pizza gang, he was are is a little league coach and he could have a bag like that, might be blue/gray..

[John Jamieson]

"Child porn is photographic evidence of criminal abuse that has already occurred. Period."

I think you'd better reread the latest SCOTUS ruling on that subject to understand the current law in this country.

"lowlife poly-amorous dopers who are not a proven danger." Gee, don't you think they ought to be investigated carefully....I mean living in the same house with the dead kid and all?

Do your children live with "consumers of child porn" or "swingers"? Mine never did and I raised 10.

Do you think bisexual swingers as a group, might be into child porn more than the average group? I do.

[spectre]

Angelique, I don't want to be flip, but it is really difficult to explain all this, if you haven't been following the trial daily. Yes, they found porn on his computer, but an Expert testified it belonged to Neal...the teen kiddie porn stuff..etc. There may be some question remaining who viewed it?

So, in the end, it will be up to the jury to decide if it belonged to the Father or the son and what significance it has to the kidnapping and murder.

[cyncooper]

You know, hundreds of thousands of small children die of malnutition and desease all over the world every day. I would think that child porno probably kills only a small fraction of that.

Your comment could be interpreted as, at the least, minimizing child pornography.

[Valpal1]

But nobody has even charged with, much less proven to have molested and killed their own child in this case. Some one has been charged with, but not yet proven, kidnaping and murdering their neighbors child.

There are lots of posters who pin this on Damon with far less evidence than the DA has against the defendent. IMO

[UCANSEE2]

the the fact that this guy thinks the rape of children is entertaining.

B.S. this is where you will get the greatest fight from people on FREE REPUBLIC.

YOU ARE ADVOCATING MIND POLICE. MIND CONTROL.

You insist he is guilty because YOU KNOW what HE IS THINKING !

I assure you, you do not know what is in his mind. You don't know if HE EVER watched that particular file. He may have watched it and vomited for ALL YOU KNOW.

So, I am disagreeing with you on the basis that you want him charged with a crime because of his thoughts, when you don't have any proof of what they are, nor can you.

[John Jamieson]

"the fact that this guy thinks the rape of children is entertaining"

Where do you get this stuff? Do you have some inside information on the "facts" that the rest of us don't have?

[Freedom2specul8]

wrt: #925

DW's black boots missing ... presumably blood soaked. But if DW is innocent then Feldman had better have his client wearing them next time they are in session for full effect. If he has them ... he will have to produce them.

produce them or somethin!

[BunnySlippers]

You have porn on your computer. We will be over shortly with a rope, because we know you are guilty of something, and we must hang you right away. (/sarcasm) Is this the way you want justice to operate ?

Hey, you're a swinger we'll be over with a rope.

[BunnySlippers]

YOU ARE ADVOCATING MIND POLICE. MIND CONTROL.

Well, maybe we can solve this by my asking you one little question: Do you think child porn should be illegal?

[Politicalmom]

That's because no evidence not pointing to DW was collected.