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Preliminary Hearing Witnesses
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Damon van Dam, victim's father
 Said he tucked daughter Danielle into bed on Feb. 1, 2002, at about 10:30 p.m., while his wife was out with friends
Admits that he smoked marijuana that night; says that after his wife Brenda returned home with her friends at approximately 2 a.m., he kissed Barbara, one of the friends, as he lay in bed
Says he learned Danielle was missing that morning when his wife went upstairs to wake her and discovered she was not there
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Brenda van Dam, victim's mother
Recalled meeting neighbor David Westerfield only five or six times before her daughter's disappearance, including when she went door-to-door selling Girl Scout cookies with Danielle and when she saw him at a local bar
The night of Danielle's disappearance, she saw Westerfield at the bar, Dad's, and he bought her and her friends drinks; said Westerfield left the bar before she and her friends departed
Returned home and went to bed at about 2:30 a.m.; at about 8:15 a.m., went to wake Danielle but discovered she was not in her bed
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Jeffrey Graham, latent print examiner, San Diego Police Dept.
Was provided more than 200 latent prints for comparison with Danielle van Dam's
Said a print found inside David Westerfield's motor home matched that of Danielle
Said that Danielle's body was so decomposed that he had to rehydrate the child's hands to obtain her fingerprints
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Annette Peer, DNA analyst, Forensic Biology Unit, San Diego Police Dept.
Conducted DNA analyses of samples collected from Westerfield's motor home and jacket, as well as from the victim's underwear recovered from her room
Also analyzed the DNA of Danielle's parents
Testified that the DNA taken from Westerfield's carpet and jacket matched the DNA taken from Danielle's underwear
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Dorie Savage, forensic specialist, San Diego Police Dept.
Searched the van Dam residence the day Danielle was reported missing
Returned on Feb. 6 to collect mouth swab samples from Danielle's parents
Said she observed three small bright red stains on the wall near the staircase of the van Dam residence
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Sean Soriano, assistant criminalist
Examined the defendant's jacket which was seized from his dry cleaners
Noted there were several stains on the jacket, including one off-white stain, two dark green stains and several reddish-brown stains
Said three reddish-brown stains tested positive for blood
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Karen LeAlcala, forensic specialist
Took photographs and collected evidence at the scene
Helped search the defendant's motor home on Feb. 8, from which she lifted fingerprints
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James Hergenroeather, homicide detective, San Diego Police Dept.
Interviewed Julie Mills, a clerk at the Twin Peaks Dry Cleaners
Testified that two days after Danielle was discovered missing, Westerfield brought in two comforters, two comforter covers and a jacket for dry cleaning
Said that Mills told him that Westerfield, a regular customer, seemed strangely upset
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James Watkins, computer forensics examiner, San Diego Police Dept.
Examined the contents of Westerfield's four computers, Palm Pilot, CD-ROMs and Zip disks
Testified he discovered pornographic images of females who appeared to be under 18
Admitted on cross-examination that he doesn't know who downloaded the photos and that many Internet sites feature photos of women over 18 who look young
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Johnny Keene, detective, San Diego Police Dept.
Questioned Westerfield two days after Danielle's appearance, and said he seemed nervous and was sweating profusely
Claims the night before Danielle was discovered missing Westerfield said he returned home from Dad's Bar between 11 and 11:30 p.m. and then went right to bed
Said Westerfield recounted a whirlwind weekend that took him back and forth from the beach to the desert
Observed scratches on the suspect's hands, wrists and forearms
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Christina Hoeffs, defendant's neighbor
Testified that from her upstairs bedroom window she could see the entire rear of the defendant's house
Said that at about 2 a.m. the night of Danielle's disappearance, she noticed a few things out of the ordinary — the patio light in the rear of Westerfield's home was on and every blind was shut on every window
Hoeffs, whose husband is an officer with the California Highway Patrol, conceded she did not report her observations until after police arrested Westerfield
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Dr. Norman Sperber, chief forensic dentist, County of San Diego
Through a comparison of Danielle's dental records, confirmed the identity of the body when it was discovered
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Dr. Brian Blackbourne, forensic pathologist, medical examiner's office
Performed the autopsy on Danielle
Said that the body, found on Feb. 27, was severely decomposed and was destroyed by animals
Because of the state the body was in when discovered, he could not determine whether Danielle was sexually assaulted or her cause of death
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James Collins, lieutenant, San Diego Police Dept.
Described the body later proven to be Danielle's as being in the advanced stages of decomposition
Said a choker worn around the neck and a Mickey Mouse earring, like those worn by Danielle, were found on the body
Said marks at the scene indicated the body had been dragged and dumped to the spot where it was found
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David Westerfield is tried for the murder and kidnapping of the little girl who lived next door, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
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Jury Instructions
Jurors were given these instructions to use in deciding whether to convict Westerfield of kidnapping and murder
Police Interview
Westerfield tells police about a whirlwind weekend according to this unofficial transcript of his taped interview
The Complaint
This document formally charges David Westerfield with Danielle van Dam's kidnapping and murder as and possessing child pornography
Porn Motion
Calling it prejudicial, the defense seeks to exclude evidence regarding pornography found in Westerfield's home from the trial
Drug Questioning
Prosecutors ask that questioning the victim's parents about their drug and alcohol use be limited
Computer Warrant
This search warrant gives authorities the right to search Westerfield's computer, which prosecutors say contained child pornography
More Documents
See more documents, including various search warrants, motions and the juror questionnaire
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