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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...

MUDD MAD!!! Wed Jul 24, 8:33 PM ET Judge William D. Mudd admonishes the media about attempts to photograph Neal Westerfield, son of defendant David Westerfield, as the son left the courtroom during a break in his testimony Wednesday afternoon, July 24, 2002, in San Diego. The judge had ordered the media not to film the teen. David Westerfield is accused of the kidnapping and murder of 7-year old Danielle van Dam from her home in February. (AP Photo/Pool, Dan Trevan)

2nd Bug Expert Bolsters Westerfield Defense Expert Says Fly Infestations Show When Danielle's Body Was Dumped   POSTED: 6:58 a.m. PDT July 22, 2002 UPDATED: 2:28 p.m. PDT July 22, 2002  SAN DIEGO -- The trial of David Westerfield resumed Monday with more testimony about insects, as defense lawyers tried to show that their client was not the person who dumped Danielle van Dam's body along a two-lane road in East County. Before testimony began, Judge William Mudd warned jurors to ignore last week's murder of a young girl in nearby Orange County. Mudd said that the abduction, sexual...

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...

Never out of sightParents, experts on children agree this is the rule of the day  By Jane CliffordUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJuly 20, 2002Carolyn Burke answered the question even before it was asked: "I never let her out of my sight." It's the mantra of parents this week, following the abduction and murder of 5-year-old Samantha Runnion, grabbed outside her Orange County town house Monday.It's also the mantra of child-development experts who say that no child under the age of 6 should be playing unsupervised. They simply are incapable of making all the right decisions at the right time. And when...

Bug for bug: Prosecutors hire their own entomologist A forensic entomologist provided the strongest evidence yet for David Westerfield, left. By Harriet Ryan Court TV Prosecutors in the David Westerfield capital murder trial have hired a top national forensic entomologist in an apparent attempt to neutralize the defense's strongest argument for acquittal — insect evidence indicating the defendant could not have killed Danielle van Dam. M. Lee Goff, a professor of forensic sciences at Chaminade University in Hawaii, said that as of Friday morning, he is working for the San Diego District Attorney's office on the case. "[P]roviding testimony...

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...

Judge allows Danielle's dad back in courtKIMBERLY EPLER Staff WriterSAN DIEGO ---- The father of 7-year-old murder victim Danielle van Dam will be allowed to attend the remaining days of her accused murderer's trial, Judge William Mudd ruled Thursday. But he warned Damon van Dam that one more incident will result in him being banned from the courthouse. Two weeks ago, Judge Mudd deemed Damon van Dam a "security risk" for repeatedly staring down his daughter's accused murderer, David Westerfield, in courtroom hallways despite several warnings from sheriff's deputies and prosecutors. Mudd then barred Damon van Dam from the third...

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...

New evidence implicates WesterfieldBy Steve Perez andGreg MagnusSIGNONSANDIEGO July 9, 2002 A police specialist says she linked 46 fibers from four locations in David Westerfield's motor home, in every way she could measure, to 19 blue fibers found in the sheet that was used to wrap the body of Danielle van Dam, recovered in East County. The witness, Tanya DuLaney, criminalist with the San Diego Police Department, was called Tuesday as the defense presented its case because she offered new prosecution evidence.DuLaney testified she recovered 46 fibers from four locations in the motor home that Westerfield took on a weekend...

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...

<p>SAN DIEGO (AP) --  The night Danielle van Dam disappeared, the girl's mother was "dirty dancing" with the man accused of killing her 7-year-old daughter, a witness testified Monday.</p> <p>Brenda van Dam was rubbing her hips and bosom against defendant David Westerfield on a crowded dance floor in February, said bar patron Patricia LePage.</p>

Defense could pin hopes on insect life By Kristen Green UNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERJune 30, 2002 In the first four weeks of David Westerfield's murder trial, jurors were schooled in scientific evidence such as blood and DNA, fingerprints and fibers. Now they'll get a crash course in the life cycle of flies. Westerfield's team of lawyers is expected to launch his defense this week, and lead attorney Steven Feldman has hinted that he will use insect biology to prove 7-year-old Danielle van Dam died after police and reporters began tracking his client's every move. That would mean Westerfield couldn't have killed...

A LOOK BACK AT THE PROSECUTION'S CASE(07-02-2002) - The prosecution began its case with emotional testimony from Brenda and Damon van Dam. "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...

Expert Links Porn Images To Westerfield's Son Defense Hopes To Show Child Porn Wasn't Downloaded By Defendant   POSTED: 12:15 p.m. PDT July 3, 2002 UPDATED: 2:55 p.m. PDT July 3, 2002  SAN DIEGO -- A computer expert hired by David Westerfield's defense team said that at least some of the pornography seized from his home was downloaded by the defendant's son. Marcus Lawson (pictured, right), president of Global CompuSearch of Spokane, Wash., testified Wednesday that he found two photographs of naked women and Japanese "anime" computer animations on the hard drive of a Gateway computer in an upstairs...

WAS IT ENOUGH??? Westerfield Defense Begins Presenting Its Case Defendants Neighbors Testify On RV And Children   POSTED: 12:06 p.m. PDT July 2, 2002 UPDATED: 6:43 p.m. PDT July 2, 2002 SAN DIEGO -- The defense in the David Westerfield murder trial began presenting its case Tuesday. The defendant's neighbors testified Westerfield did not follow his typical routine with his motorhome the weekend 7-year-old Danielle van Dam disappeared. Janet Roehr, who lives across the street from Westerfield in Sabre Springs, said Westerfield typically left the 35-foot motorhome at his house overnight before leaving for a trip. He usually unloaded...

Westerfield attorney's begin defense By Jeff Dillon and Steve PerezSIGNONSANDIEGO July 2, 2002 A recovery dog behaved normally during an inspection of the motor home of murder defendant David Westerfield, a police investigator testified at the outset of the defendant's case this afternoon. Prosecutors rested their case Tuesday morning against the man accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, but the judge said there is an unspecified witness the prosecution may call before the trial ends. Attorneys for Westerfield began calling defense witnesses this afternoon. Dog's behavior recounted San Diego police homicide investigator James Tomsovic was the...

Animal genetics experts testify at closed-door sessionsSIGNONSANDIEGO July 1, 2002 Two experts on animal genetics testified today in a closed-door hearing to determine if the prosecution will be able to call one last witness in the David Westerfield trial before resting its case. One of the witnesses seen entering the courtroom for the hearing outside the jury's presence was Oliver Ryder.Ryder is an adjunct professor of biology at UCSD and works for the Center for Reproduction of Endangered Species at the San Diego Zoo.Joy Halverson, a canine DNA specialist with QuestGen Forensics in Davis, also testified.A third man who took...

Anatomy of a MurderThe disappearance of Danielle van Dam was a shocking tragedy that ballooned into more than just a murder case. The parents’ lifestyle—and actions by police, media, lawyers and the district attorney—came into question. As the legal team for defendant David Westerfield begins the fight for his life, here’s a no-holds-barred look behind the scenes of San Diego’s biggest story of 2002.By Kevin Cox Amid the superstores and strip malls that pass for community in the suburbs of San Diego, some small-town traditions remain. Parents still come out to watch their kids play Little League baseball, just like...