Westerfield's Family and Friends Plead for His Life.
Aug. 29, 2002 -- The defense for Danielle van Dam's convicted killer, David Westerfield, sought to convince jurors to spare his life today as family and friends portrayed the self-employed engineer as a loving brother and parent who created devices to help society.
The jury that convicted Westerfield last week of snatching Danielle out of her home and killing her to fulfill what prosecutors called his sexual fantasies must decide if he will face death by lethal injection or life in prison.
Testimony has stopped for the holiday weekend and is scheduled to resumeTuesday.
In his opening statements in the penalty phase Wednesday, defense attorney Steven Feldman asked jurors to keep an open mind and promised to show them that Westerfield is not the "worst of the worst." Today he hoped Westerfield's sister would be able to convince jurors that her brother is not a monster.
The sister, identified only as Tania P. because of concerns for her safety, broke down on the stand as she described how her brother took care of their family after their father died in 1993. She said Westerfield was "very sensitive to everybody else's needs" and paid the hospital bills.
"He just stepped in and took everything," she said.
Westerfield, who had appeared stoic throughout his trial, wiped away tears while Tania testified.
She told jurors how she and her brother enjoyed happy childhoods on a farm in Maine and spent summers water-skiing and winters ice-skating. She also recalled how a teenage Westerfield moved with his family to San Diego, graduated high school and worked his way through a local junior college before becoming a design engineer and starting his own business.
Outburst from a Grieving Mother
Westerfield's defense today began with two friends and colleagues who worked with and have known Westerfield for 20 years.
"He's a very creative guy … a very talented guy," said Carmen Genovese, a San Diego businessman who winked at Westerfield as he took the stand today.
Both Genovese and Ron Lawrence, a former business partner of Westerfield's at Spectrum Designs, described him as a talented engineer who helped design products used in physical therapy and underwater photography. Lawrence said a remote underwater camera Westerfield helped create has protected deep-sea divers from risky work and the medical devices he helped design have helped thousands of patients recovering from surgery.
However, during cross-examination, prosecutor Jeff Dusek attempted to downplay Westerfield's alleged good deeds and contributions to society, saying at one point, "Basically, this was his job."
A friend of Westerfield, Marie Gunther, testified that he was an involved parent who frequently attended school events for his son Neal and daughter Lisa. Tania added that when Westerfield divorced his second wife in 1996, he was very concerned how it would affect his children.
However, on cross-examination, Dusek, in an apparent reference to Danielle van Dam's shortened life, noted that Westerfield "got to enjoy his daughter's development through life." At that point, Brenda van Dam, Danielle's mother who was in attendance, burst into tears and left the courtroom. Judge William Mudd instructed jurors to disregard the outburst.
Overcoming a Tearful Courtroom
Westerfield's defense was attempting to overcome the heart-wrenching testimony of Danielle's parents, who told a tearful California courtroom Wednesday how their daughter's kidnapping and murder had devastated them.
Brenda van Dam could hardly find the words to describe the heartbreak her only daughter's murder has caused.
"I don't know where to begin," she said, wiping tears from her eyes. "She was one of the most precious gifts anyone could ever receive. I was so happy when I learned I was pregnant because I had miscarried before. … It's just too hard to explain."
Danielle, Brenda said, was very loving and caring and was always concerned about the welfare of others. Damon van Dam said his daughter loved school and playing the piano and talked about becoming a teacher or veterinarian. His daughter's death, he said, left him and relatives in a state of "shock and disbelief" that continues to linger.
"Sometimes it seems like years since Feb. 2," he said. "Sometimes it seems like minutes."
Damon told jurors Danielle's abduction and death have left her brothers so frightened and introverted that they now share a bedroom.
"We make sure everything's locked up real tight now," he said.
Over the objections of Westerfield's attorneys, Judge Mudd allowed prosecutors to show a video montage of Danielle's life to the jury while Brenda van Dam was on the stand. Her crying and sniffles could be heard over the microphone in the silent courtroom.
Backlog on California’s Death Row
Jurors also heard from a 19-year-old woman who said Westerfield apparently tried to molest her when she was a child following a family outing. The young woman, identified as Jenny N., took the stand and told the court that Westerfield came into her bedroom when she was about 5, and stuck his fingers in her mouth. She at first pretended to be asleep, but bit him when he did it a second time, she said.
Danielle was last seen alive on the night of Feb. 1 when her father put her to bed. Danielle's parents discovered her missing the next morning. She was missing for almost a month before her nude, decomposing body was found off a road near an unincorporated town east of San Diego. Investigators soon focused on Westerfield, who lived two doors down from the van Dam family in suburban San Diego.
To recommend death, the jurors' decision must be unanimous. Judge Mudd will then consider the jury's recommendation and make the final decision.
Westerfield was also found guilty of possession of child pornography for materials found on his home office computer.
If the jury recommends death, Westerfield will join a large backlog of 616 prisoners on California's death row. According to California's Department of Corrections, only 11 people have been executed in California since the state reinstated the death penalty in 1978.