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ORLANDO -- Hurricane Danielle has unexpectedly weakened, but is forecast to regain strength as it chugs across the Atlantic waters.

Tropical Storm Danielle Advisory Number 3 Statement as of 11:00 PM AST on August 13, 2004 ...Fourth tropical storm of the season forms in the far eastern Atlantic... Satellite imagery indicates that the tropical depression near the Cape Verde Islands has strengthened and become a tropical storm. At 11 PM AST...0300z...the center of Tropical Storm Danielle was located near latitude 12.7 north... longitude 24.8 west or about 235 miles... 375 km... south-southwest of the Cape Verde Islands. Danielle is moving toward the west near 14 mph ...22 km/hr...and this motion is expected to continue for the next 24 hours. Maximum...

<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) Child killer David Westerfield told detectives interrogating him after the disappearance of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, ''My life is over,'' and he asked the detectives to leave him alone with a gun.</p> <p>A newly released videotape of the interrogation, conducted three days after Danielle was reported missing, shows Westerfield sitting in a small room fielding questions from two detectives, who pleaded with him at one point to admit to the crime and tell them where to find the girl.</p>

Early last month, Dave Laspisa, a Poway businessman, opened his mail and discovered a holiday card from his old friend David Westerfield. "Greetings of the Seasons," the card announced, and inside was a handwritten note of thanks for Laspisa's support. Van Dams file lawsuit against Westerfield During the past year, Laspisa has been fairly vocal in his belief that Westerfield, his camping buddy, had nothing to do with the murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. "Please know that I was not involved in the death of this child," Westerfield wrote. "I'm saying this to you not to solicit more help...

SAN DIEGO – The parents of murdered 7-year-old Danielle van Dam sued her convicted killer, David Westerfield, on Thursday, one day before a San Diego judge was expected to sentence him to death for the harrowing crime. Damon and Brenda van Dam seek unspecified damages in their San Diego Superior Court lawsuit against Westerfield, the 50-year-old engineer who was found guilty in August of snatching Danielle from her bed and killing her. Westerfield, a twice-divorced father of two who lived near the van Dams in Sabre Springs and bought Girl Scout cookies from Danielle just days before her February abduction,...

When a person goes in search of enlightenment, it's usually good advice to avoid an Internet chat room. And yet it was a random posting on the Internet that led to a key piece of evidence in the David Westerfield case. At a luncheon in Mission Valley yesterday, prosecutors Jeff Dusek and George "Woody" Clarke told a number of anecdotes – some of them funny, others poignant and revealing – about what happened behind the scenes in the most publicized criminal trial in San Diego County history. The luncheon was organized by the San Diego Crime Commission and about 100...

SAN DIEGO – A state judge declared victory Tuesday in the bitter and tightly-contested San Diego district attorney's race. Bonnie Dumanis won by a margin of about 3,500 votes, upsetting an incumbent tainted by scandal and a no-confidence vote from his prosecutors. Dumanis becomes the first openly gay district attorney in the United States, according to the Gay and Lesbian Victory Fund. About 10,000 absentee and provisional ballots were counted Tuesday, leaving Dumanis with an unofficial lead of 292,361 votes to 288,805 votes for District Attorney Paul Pfingst. Both were Republican in a nonpartisan race. About 200 ballots remained to...

Prosecution witness challenges findings of defense 'bug expert' By Jeff DillonSIGNONSANDIEGO July 30, 2002 Union-TribuneDr. M. Lee Goff An insect expert testifying for the prosecution in the David Westerfield case said Tuesday that flies appeared to have colonized Danielle van Dam's body sometime between Feb. 1 and Feb. 14, far earlier than defense witnesses have estimated. M. Lee Goff, an entomologist and chairman of the Forensic Sciences Department of Chaminade University in Honolulu, said his review of the crime scene photos, morgue photos, weather reports and other evidence suggest that Danielle's body was exposed to insects as early as...

Judge says sequestering of jury possible By Alex RothUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 30, 2002The judge in the David Westerfield trial rejected another defense request to sequester the jury but said he still considers it "a possible option." Superior Court Judge William Mudd said he didn't think it was necessary at the moment but has asked the county to prepare "a back-up contingency plan" just in case.Westerfield's lawyers have asked several times for jury sequestration, and they renewed their request yesterday. Lead defense lawyer Steven Feldman said he worried that the jury might be affected by the publicity in the Samantha Runnion...

Evidence on insects likely to continueTrial winding down; closing statements may be this week By Alex RothUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 28, 2002Expect to hear more evidence about insects as the David Westerfield trial enters what could be the final week of testimony before jury deliberations. On Tuesday, prosecutors are scheduled to call Dr. M. Lee Goff of the University of Hawaii as their final rebuttal witness in a trial that has lasted 23 court days. Goff is a forensic entomologist and the author of "A Fly for the Prosecution: How Insect Evidence Helps Solve Crimes."Whether Goff will be the final insect...

EXCLUSIVE PICTURES OF VAN DAM RESIDENCE!!!A Little Girl LostOn the night of Feb. 1, 2002, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was abducted from her bedroom in the Sabre Springs suburb of San Diego. After a massive search, her naked body was found in a trash-strewn lot 25 miles from her house. Her neighbor, David Westerfield, went on trial for the crime June 3.  The van Dam HouseDanielle lived in this four-bedroom stucco house on Mountain Pass Road with her parents, Brenda and Damon, and two brothers, Derek and Dylen.    In the KitchenThe evening before her kidnapping, Danielle sat at the kitchen table writing...

Killer of Calif. Girl May Strike Again, Police Say Wed Jul 17, 2:32 PM ET By Jill SerjeantLOS ANGELES (Reuters) - Investigators issued a chilling warning on Wednesday that the sexual predator who brazenly assaulted and murdered a 5-year-old southern California girl was on the loose and may strike again soon.  Reuters Photo Samantha Runnion's nude body was found late on Tuesday dumped beside a rural road about 75 miles from her home in Stanton in Orange County. Investigators said Samantha, who was snatched in a frightening daylight abduction outside her home on Monday, had been sexually assaulted and...

Defense has had no shortage of witnesses to make its caseBy Alex Roth STAFF WRITERJuly 14, 2002 A week ago, Janet Roehr, a neighbor of David Westerfield's, testified at his murder trial about some of his routines, including his occasional habit of parking his motor home in front of his house. Her testimony lasted 15 to 20 minutes, but what she said wasn't as important as what she did: She smiled at Westerfield. Roehr was among a parade of defense witnesses who consider themselves friends of Westerfield's and who seem to like him, even as he stands accused of kidnapping...

Testimony costs flight attendant her job Airline fires witness for admitting pot use By Kristen Green UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 12, 2002 Denise Kemal was fired June 28, more than two weeks after her nationally televised testimony, because the company has a zero-tolerance drug policy. Losing her job has ruined her life, Kemal said yesterday. "I've always wanted to fly," she said. "It took me years to get my job." She said she is appealing the dismissal because smoking marijuana "wasn't an everyday thing." While she waits for an answer, Kemal, 28 and recently divorced, watches the Westerfield trial from...

Here's the new thread, all ready for Thursday. Testimony recently discussed includes fingerprint evidence, as well as Westerfield's clean laundry. The Van Dam home was (strangely) devoid of fingerprints, except for a couple of latents that didn't match any of the pizza party people or, apparently, David Westerfield. Westerfield's motorhome didn't contain any of his fingerprints, but did have one print from Danielle L. (the daughter of Westerfield's ex-girlfriend), Jennifer (a friend of Danielle L.), and a partial from Danielle Van Dam. The prosecution said yesterday that they would be finished "in seven court days".

This is a new thread because the last one has gone over 1000 replies.The last subjects being discussed were the .22 Cartridge spent shell and the possibility Damon wore long sleeve shirts because he had POISON OAK.Danielle's body was found in a patch of POISON OAK.Also being discussed were the , so far, lack of physical evidence, or it being tied to something that could prove Westerfield is guilty beyond reasonable doubt.

Second week of long trial scheduled to resume SIGNONSANDIEGOJune 10, 2002 SAN DIEGO - The second week of what is expected to be a lengthy trial begins today in the case of People vs. David Westerfield, the 50-year-old Sabre Springs man who is accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam four months ago. The trial of David Westerfield -- one of the most closely watched in San Diego County history -- could last up to three months. Westerfield, a self-employed engineer, is charged with murder and kidnapping. He could face the death penalty if convicted. The first witness...

Westerfield trial TV coverage lures viewers with lurid details Remote ControlRobert P. Laurence June 7, 2002 TV is about pictures, and the David Westerfield trial has not been a pretty picture. Carried live on four local stations, and on cable's Court TV, the trial's pictures have been drawn in words, words like "sexual penetration" "putrefaction," "animal activity" and "decomposition" used in describing what might have happened to the body of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam before and after her death. To many, the pictures, again drawn in words, of adults engaged in spouse-swapping, group sex and pot smoking have been nearly...

Pro-capital-punishment jury sought 'Death-qualified' panel in van Dam case may benefit prosecution, experts say By Alex Roth STAFF WRITERMay 26, 2002 By seeking the death penalty against David Westerfield, prosecutors have done more than just raise the stakes in the high-profile case. They've also helped shape the philosophical outlook of the jury. Because the Westerfield trial is a capital case, all the jurors ? whether they're CEOs or janitors, retirees or recent college grads ? will have one thing in common: A stated belief that the death penalty is appropriate under certain circumstances. Under state law, a jury in a...

SAN DIEGO ---- Court papers outlining defense arguments to suppress statements made by accused child murderer David Westerfield to police and evidence collected from his property will remain under seal for now, a judge ruled Thursday. Other court papers, including a defense motion to sequester the jury when the case goes to trial, will be released Monday, Superior Court Judge William Mudd ruled. The prosecution is opposed to keeping a jury in a hotel for what is expected to be a three- to five-week-long trial. Westerfield, 50, is accused of kidnapping and murdering his 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam. Her...

SAN DIEGO ---- Court papers outlining defense arguments to suppress statements made by accused child murderer David Westerfield to police and evidence collected from his property will remain under seal for now, a judge ruled Thursday. Other court papers, including a defense motion to sequester the jury when the case goes to trial, will be released Monday, Superior Court Judge William Mudd ruled. The prosecution is opposed to keeping a jury in a hotel for what is expected to be a three- to five-week-long trial. Westerfield, 50, is accused of kidnapping and murdering his 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam. Her...

After Danielle van Dam was abducted from her Sabre Springs home, neighbors, friends and even strangers volunteered to help out. Some put up fliers in storefronts around the county, and others joined the search party. But many also opened their checkbooks. As of Friday, more than $33,000 had been donated by people from New Jersey to Oregon. During the search for the 7-year-old, donations totaling more than $10,600 flowed into an account in Danielle's name. And since the discovery of her body in rural East County nearly a month after she was reported missing, an additional $22,800 has been deposited....

DAMON van Dam ON WITNESS STAND.....NOW!! Watch it LIVE!!!