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Neighbor convicted in girl's murder
©Los Angeles Times SAN DIEGO -- After nine days of deliberations, a jury Wednesday convicted David Westerfield of the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in a case that gained nationwide notoriety when the defense blamed the girl's murder on the "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll" lifestyle of her grieving parents. Superior Court Judge William Mudd set next Wednesday to begin the penalty phase of the trial. The jury of six men and six women will be asked to recommend to the judge either the death penalty or life in prison without parole for the 50-year-old, self-employed design engineer, who lived two houses away from the van Dams and had once bought Girl Scout cookies from Danielle. Under state law, kidnapping is a special circumstance that makes a murderer eligible for execution. The judge can accept or reject the jury's recommendation. "Oh my God!" Brenda van Dam, Danielle's mother, said softly as the first guilty verdict was read aloud by a court clerk. She and her husband, Damon, wept and embraced as jurors were polled on the charges against their former neighbor. Westerfield trembled slightly and stared directly at jurors. The jurors -- two of whom were in tears -- refused to look at Westerfield, his attorneys or the prosecutors. Westerfield's sister, brother-in-law and former brother-in-law left the court badly shaken. "I am in shock. I am just in shock," said David Neal, Westerfield's ex-brother-in-law. "He thought he was going to get off." Until the jury decides what punishment to recommend, Mudd continued a gag order keeping jurors, lawyers and witnesses from discussing the case. During the penalty phase, prosecutors are expected to present testimony from Danielle's parents and family friends to explain the devastating impact her murder has had on them. They also can present evidence that would not have been admissible during the first phase of the trial, which could show that Westerfield had a propensity to violence. Defense attorney Steven Feldman told Mudd he has 10 out-of-state witnesses who are expected to beg the jury for mercy for Westerfield, who had no prior criminal history except for a drunken-driving conviction in 1995. Westerfield, who did not testify during the trial, might testify during the penalty phase. The Feb. 2 kidnapping of Danielle, a light-haired girl with a quick laugh and a gap between her front teeth, proved to be the first in a series of crimes against children that has gripped the nation this year. Two weeks ago, President Bush mentioned the van Dam case and that of Samantha Runnion, 7, who was kidnapped from outside her Orange County home and slain last month, in announcing a Sept. 24 conference to find ways to stem what he called "a wave of horrible violence" against children. In San Diego, dozens of downtown workers assembled outside the courthouse and cheered when the verdict was announced. San Diego police Chief David Bejarano told reporters that "we're satisfied and relieved with the verdict." While not required to prove a motive, prosecutors asserted that Westerfield kidnapped and murdered Danielle because he harbored sexual fantasies about young girls. The jury also convicted him of misdemeanor possession of child pornography found on his computers. During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence that Danielle's blood, fingerprints and hair were found in Westerfield's home and recreational vehicle. Feldman countered that there was no evidence that Westerfield was ever in the van Dam home, two doors away from his home in the upscale neighborhood of Sabre Springs. He also asserted that the van Dams' lifestyle left Danielle vulnerable to strangers having access to the family home. Brenda, 39, who sold books to school libraries, and Damon, 37, a software engineer, testified that they had swapped sex partners with other couples and occasionally smoked marijuana -- admissions that have led to a daily drumbeat of critical comment by callers to local radio talk-show programs. Feldman, who described the couple's lifestyle as "sex, drugs and rock 'n' roll," told jurors during his closing arguments that "we don't think they realized the dangers of the lifestyle they engaged in." On the night that Danielle disappeared, Brenda van Dam and two female friends were at Dad's Cafe and Steakhouse in nearby Poway for a "girls' night out" of dancing, drinking, shooting pool and smoking marijuana. Westerfield was also at Dad's, bought drinks for van Dam and her friends, but left before them. Prosecutors alleged that Westerfield, angry at not being able to strike up a relationship with Brenda van Dam's friends, broke into the van Dam home through a side door to the garage that Brenda had left open earlier that evening when she and her friends were smoking marijuana. Damon van Dam, who also had smoked marijuana that night, had tucked Danielle into bed around 10 p.m. and gone to bed. Arriving home with her friends after Dad's closed around 2 a.m., Brenda van Dam did not check on Danielle. Prosecutors said that Westerfield may have been hiding in Danielle's bedroom when Brenda returned home and that he waited for her to go to bed and her friends to leave before carrying Danielle out of the house.
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