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.

[Angelique]

I admit that I have mainly learned about the case here, but someone chopped my head off when I made the point that child porn was worse than swinging, saying there was no proof about Westerfield being into that. Sheesh Whose stuff did the police confiscate?

[jacquej]

Bunny = Spunky... now I am the one with a visual problem... too much of that cheap white chablis, I guess!

[UCANSEE2]

why would she be testifying without all the evidence present? very odd...

Not in this case.

[Mrs.Liberty]

Wow. I have been posting on these threads since day one. Can you please point me in the direction of any posts that indicate anyone here has stated or believes that swinging is worse than child molestation or pedophilia?

[Politicalmom]

I agree. That was one of the most disgusting things I have read on these threads.

[NatureGirl]

Whose stuff did the police confiscate

There was quite a bit of testimony last week from the defense's computer expert, that the porn in question was accessed by Neal, Westerfield's teenaged son. Do try to keep up.

[Mrs.O'Strategery]

DW's black boots missing ... presumably blood soaked

Highlights without bias?? I'd hate to see it with bias.

[Krodg]

Is there an ignore feature on this board?

[spectre]

The Defense was not allowed to get any computer porn info or tapes from the Van Dams, which is not to say they did or did not have it...It simply could not be introduced if they did.

sw

[John Jamieson]

I don't know about the porno vs. swinging on a scale of depravity. But I do know that the swinging was inside the vanDam home and the "live porno" was thousands of miles a way. Which would be the biggest threat to your home?

[Jaded]

LOL

[UCANSEE2]

Is there an ignore feature on this board?

YEP. I use it all the time.

[BunnySlippers]

Thats a lie. I have never heard anyone say anything such thing. You are welcome to prove me wrong.

What's a lie? The news article? The Dow Jones broadtape which runs during the market is exclusively the big news outslets. Do you have a Reuters machine and I can tell you how to pull it up? I will have to go to work to pull the story up there.

What do you find so unbeliveable? That child pornographers actually film infants? How naive you are! They film every such attrocity that gets them off.

[Jaded]

As far as I know the prints have never been addressed since the PH. Dang, wish they'd tell us. Enquiring minds and all that.

[UCANSEE2]

NEVER argue with an idiot. By the time you are done, no one will be able to tell the difference.

[UCANSEE2]

See, that button works.

[cyncooper]

This is the speculation-----that DW is being framed by the doing of laundry at DW's. There are such huge holes in this theory it is almost ridiculous to address it.

BUT, here are some points:

DW went to fetch his MH very close in time to Danielle being found missing. The testimony of Keith S. of DW picking up the MH and the 911 call is objective evidence of this. So planting of evidence in the MH is out.

Then no knowledge that DW was gone or for how long. In fact, DW did return to the neighborhood later that day. He never said his laundry room had been used----he never denied doing the laundry *from his camping trip* himself.

There are other holes, but you get the pic.

[BunnySlippers]

I don't know about the porno vs. swinging on a scale of depravity. But I do know that the swinging was inside the vanDam home and the "live porno" was thousands of miles a way. Which would be the biggest threat to your home?

I would say that if I have swingers next door I would disapprove wildly of their activities. But they probably wouldn't present a danger to me.

But if my children were still small that the person who gets off on sexual acts of children and fantasizing about such would be the greater danger ... definately.

[UCANSEE2]

I don't understand your first comments, Cyn.

-----that DW is being framed by the doing of laundry at DW's

What do you mean there?

[BunnySlippers]

How dare you assume that ME or any of us think that raping little children and babies is OK and Swinging is worse? What's up with you, anyway? How disgusting you would think that of us...cheap shot, kiddo!

Look at past posts, dear.