SAN DIEGO — A juror deciding whether David Westerfield should live or die for the murder of Danielle van Dam fell ill Tuesday, prompting a judge to suspend deliberations.

The female juror, who appears to be in her 30s, was rushed to the hospital before court Tuesday morning by her husband, who later told Judge William Mudd that she was undergoing tests, including x-rays, for an undisclosed illness. The husband told Mudd that his wife had suffered from the illness several times in the past and on at least one occasion took a week to recover.

The judge said he would reevaluate the situation Wednesday morning after speaking with the juror and replace her with an alternate if she was not well enough to return to the courthouse.

Her hospitalization came as the jury prepared to enter a fifth day of deliberations in the penalty phase of Westerfield's trial. The six-man, six-woman panel must decide whether to sentence the 50-year-old to lethal injection or life in prison for the February abduction and killing of Danielle, his 7-year-old neighbor.

"It's not unusual in penalty phase deliberations when a juror gets stressed, gets sick and sometimes calls out because of the intense pressures of the jury room," said Marjorie Cohn, law professor at Thomas Jefferson School of Law in San Diego.

Westerfield appeared to follow discussions about the juror's health very closely Tuesday, leaning over the defense table several times to whisper to defense lawyer Robert Boyce.

His other lawyer, Steven Feldman, told the judge he was inclined to wait for the juror to recover. The ill panelist, a black woman sitting in seat #8, told lawyers during jury selection that she suffers from stress. She also said she hoped to earn a Master's degree in Christian education and believes pornography is "sick" and "immoral." Westerfield was convicted of possessing child pornography as well as first-degree murder and kidnapping. During the Aug. 21 verdict, juror #8 was one of two jurors who cried.

Prosecutor Jeff Dusek said "it's too early to pull the plug on" the juror now, but he favored replacing her if she was seriously ill.

If Mudd decides to replace her, he will randomly choose from six alternates who heard the case. California law instructs jurors to begin deliberations over when a new juror joins the panel.

During the four days of deliberations, the jury asked to rehear testimony from Westerfield's niece and former sister-in-law as well as audiotaped interviews the defendant gave after Danielle's disappearance. The alternates were not present for the readbacks of this evidence and it is unclear whether the jury would have to make their requests a second time if a new juror is seated.

"It may be that the 12th juror doesn’t require hearing that evidence," said Cohn, "or it may be that the juror wants to hear it all."