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Police were on to killer quicklyInvestigators say first few days key to cracking case By Kristen Green STAFF WRITERSeptember 18, 2002 San Diego police detectives who investigated Danielle van Dam's kidnapping said if it had taken a day or two longer to identify David Westerfield as a suspect, it's likely the case would have ended differently. "If we hadn't homed in on him so quickly, it would have given him a little more time to think up better stories, do some more cleaning," Lt. Jim Collins said. More importantly, police might never have found his green sport jacket stained with...

Parents of kidnapped girl thank jurors for convicting, recommending death for neighbor Updated Sept. 17, 2002, 2:08 p.m. ET SAN DIEGO (AP) — The parents of Danielle van Dam on Tuesday thanked the jury that found their neighbor guilty of kidnapping and killing the 7-year-old girl and said they hoped their "angel" would watch over the panel. Speaking for the first time in months, Damon and Brenda van Dam said they were pleased with the outcome of the trial, which ended Monday with the jury's recommendation that David Westerfield be put to death. "We feel that the justice system revealed...

Plea deal 'minutes away' when body found By J. Harry Jones STAFF WRITERSeptember 17, 2002 Minutes before Danielle van Dam's remains were found Feb. 27, David Westerfield's lawyers were brokering a deal with prosecutors: He would tell police where he dumped the 7-year-old girl's body; they would not seek the death penalty. Law enforcement sources told The San Diego Union-Tribune yesterday defense lawyers Steven Feldman and Robert Boyce were negotiating for a life sentence for the 50-year-old design engineer, a neighbor of the van Dams in Sabre Springs. The deal they were discussing would have allowed Westerfield to plead guilty...

The judge in the David Westerfield case said yesterday that he has decided which prosecution witnesses will be allowed to testify at the penalty phas e of the murder trial, but he refused to be specific. Superior Court Judge William Mudd made his announcement following a closed-door hearing with the lawyers. He didn't identify the witnesses or the nature of their testimony. He simply said some prosecution witnesses "will testify, others will not". Westerfield was convicted last week of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam. She was discovered missing from her bedroom Feb. 2; her body was found more...

TALE OF TWO LAWYERS...... DEFEATED and DECIETFUL

I just heard this at noon.

<p>A jury Wednesday found David Westerfield guilty of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, whose nude body was dumped near a desert road last winter.</p> <p>Westerfield, a 50-year-old engineer, sat slightly trembling, his face impassive, as the verdicts were read and the jurors were polled individually on each count.</p>

JUST ANNOUNCED, WESTERFIELD GUILTY IN VAN DAM CASE.

Breaking! After 24 days and 100 witnesses.......

David Westerfield Verdict in 7-year-old Danielle Van Dam murder .... Guilty !

Just announced that the Westerfield jury has reached a verdict. Verdict will be read at 11:30 am Pacific time.

Discovery hearing set as jurors deliberate for ninth day SIGNONSANDIEGO August 20, 2002 A request by the prosecution in the David Westerfield kidnap-murder trial to obtain more evidence or information, originally scheduled for a 10:30 a.m. hearing, has been vacated. Word of the hearing's cancellation was relayed to media representatives shortly after 10 a.m. today.The subject of the discovery motion filed by lead prosecutor Jeff Dusek was not disclosed. No reason was given for the hearing's cancellation.Today is the ninth day of deliberation by jurors. Today's deliberating session began at 9:07 a.m., according to a public information officer.Westerfield, 50, is...

Jury veterans say emotions can take overFeelings could impede addressing 'real issues' By Kristen GreenUNION-TRIBUNE STAFF WRITERAugust 18, 2002Jurors have deliberated on the David Westerfield case for seven days, and still no verdict. Commentators speculate about the reasons on every radio and television station. But only 12 people know what's going on inside the jury room, out of sight of the attorneys, the judge and the media.Jury consultants say the panel is probably quite organized and that deliberations are taking "a little long" because it's a complicated case. The experts say the jurors probably have been methodically sifting through evidence.But...

Letters to judge opened to public SIGNONSANDIEGO August 14, 2002 The judge in the trial of David Westerfield today allowed reporters to see court log entries of notes from jurors, as well as letters to the judge from the public about the murder of Danielle van Dam. The letters from the public included a variety of theories about the case. Jurors ask to review pictures, interview   One letter-writer sent the following theory to Judge William Mudd: "Danielle van Dam killed herself.'' A nearly illegible postcard with a Spokane postmark alluded to at least one ex-wife "with a drinking...

Jurors ask to hear recorded Westerfield interview Judge Mudd lashes out at talk radio 'idiots,' bars KFMB radio producer from courtroom SIGNONSANDIEGO STAFF and WIRE SERVICES August 13, 2002 The fourth day of deliberations in the David Westerfield trial has ended with no conclusion by the jury. The jury will resume deliberations Wednesday morning at the San Diego County Courthouse. Earleir today, jurors asked to hear Westerfield's only recorded explanation of what he was doing the weekend 7-year-old Danielle van Dam was kidnapped. Superior Court Judge William Mudd said he was granting a request from the jury for a tape...

SAND DIEGO, CA -- August 13, 2002 -- At approximately 8:45 AM this morning (PDT), two slices from a Thomas’ English Muffin entered the toaster and have yet to emerge. Onlookers, camped around the toaster on the west side of the kitchen, have been waiting impatiently, casting insults at this valiant duo. "I can’t believe it’s taking this long," said Mrs. Margarine. "This is an open and shut procedure that should be completed in just a few minutes." "I guess English muffins can be just as thick as broccoli stocks," declared Berry Jelly, a sweet preserve for the past six...

Jury's time Jurors will resume deliberations Monday in the capital case of David Westerfield, who is accused of killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam DAY TWO: FRIDAY, AUG. 9, 2002 12 noon ET    Jury enters jury room. 2:30 p.m. ET    Jury goes home for the weekend. DAY ONE: THURSDAY, AUG. 8, 2002 1:10 p.m. ET    Jury begins deliberating. After two months of testimony, the capital murder trial of David Westerfield is in the hands of the jurors, who began their deliberations following more than two days of closing arguments. 2:50 p.m.   Jury sends a note to the...

Jurors in the David Westerfield trial began deliberating yesterday after hearing a final statement from the lead prosecutor, who beamed a photo of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam onto the wall and urged the jury to focus on the physical evidence. Finishing closing arguments in the two-month murder trial, prosecutor Jeff Dusek called a blood spot on Westerfield's jacket the "smoking gun." And Dusek imagined what Danielle might tell the jury if someone could bring her back to life "just for a moment" so she could answer the question, "Please tell us who did this to you." "I've already told you,"...

<p>A Clovis chiropractor was at the heart of an international child pornography ring that transmitted images so despicable they nauseated investigators, authorities said Friday after they unsealed indictments in Fresno.</p> <p>Lloyd Alan Emmerson, 45, was among nine Americans and six foreigners charged with taking sexually explicit photographs of minors and sending them over the Internet as part of a ring whose members sometimes referred to themselves as "the club."</p>

<p>SAN DIEGO, California (CNN) --A San Diego jury began deliberations Thursday in the trial of David Westerfield, accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.</p> <p>The panel of six men and six women adjourned for the day without reaching a verdict. It is set to resume deliberations Friday.</p>