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Westerfield Uses 'We' When Describing Supposedly Solo Trip

Aired June 14, 2002 - 11:06   ET

THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.


THIS IS A RUSH TRANSCRIPT. THIS COPY MAY NOT BE IN ITS FINAL FORM AND MAY BE UPDATED.
DARYN KAGAN, CNN ANCHOR: We move west from there into the latest developments in the trial of David Westerfield. He is the man charged with kidnapping and killing seven-year-old Danielle van Dam. Testimony resumes Monday in Westerfield's trial in San Diego.

Earlier this week, a police detective testified that Westerfield made reference to "we" when we questioned about a trip into the desert in his RV. Jurors also heard a tape recording of Westerfield talking about the trip that took place the weekend that Danielle disappeared -- let's listen in to that tape.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

PAUL REDDEN, SAN DIEGO POLICE: During the interview, he had been using the singular "I." He changed his tense, and said "we" twice, when he was at the Superstition Mountain area.

DAVID WESTERFIELD: Sat around for a little bit, but then decided to go ahead and take off. This is the little place that we were -- we were at. It was just a little small turn-off type place.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

KAGAN: Want to get some perspective on the developments in the trial of David Westerfield. Joining us by phone from San Diego, our legal analyst, Jeffrey Toobin, who spent much this week inside that courtroom -- Jeff, good morning.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Daryn.

KAGAN: How significant is the slip of saying "we" instead of "I"? He only did it once, and it could be something that anybody could do under the pressure of a police investigation.

TOOBIN: Well, boy, Daryn, I'll tell you, I was in the courtroom when they played the tape, and it went on for about 40 minutes. And you really couldn't pick up that "we" very carefully. It was very hard to hear. It was almost all "I".

And I think, frankly, that, you know, Westerfield has a lot of problems in that case. But it's not really because of the "we." Because it really is very much his own narrative of what he did by himself, and maybe it was a slip of the tongue, but, boy, it wasn't very obvious to me even in the courtroom. KAGAN: What about the testimony of the tow truck driver? At one point over this weekend when Danielle was missing, Westerfield takes his RV out. It gets stuck in the sand in the desert. A tow truck driver helps him get out, but there was something suspicious, apparently, about Westerfield's behavior at that time.

TOOBIN: Everything Westerfield did was strange over that weekend. He went back and forth, even by his own account, several times to this desert area for no discernible purpose. And the tow truck driver just emphasized that. It was not clear why he was going back and forth. And obviously, the fact that hovers over the whole trial is that Danielle -- her -- van Dam's blood is found inside that RV.

KAGAN: Right. And one thing he does not mention when he talks about all the places that he went -- and the trip that he describes to investigators adds up to something like 600 miles that he was driving around the San Diego area. But one place he does not mention is going to a dry cleaners, where he dropped off a blanket and some other items that might have had blood on them.

TOOBIN: Right. A highly, highly significant fact that he omitted. But I have to say, I mean, one of the things -- I mean, the case is so strong against Westerfield that, you know, he's fairly calm in talking to the police detective. And he has a lot of detail in the course of that interview with the detective.

So, you know, it wasn't as incriminating as I thought it would be, because he talks about buying gas with a credit card so they, you know, can check that out. But it is not a -- it is not as incriminating a tape as it sounds when you hear about that "we." That "we" is very fast, very hard to hear. And it's not -- I'm not even sure it really happened.

KAGAN: Other than that, from your time in the courtroom, what impressions do you take away? And has your opinion on anything about this case changed now that you've actually been there?

TOOBIN: Well, the thing that is so striking about that courtroom, it is tiny. Danielle van Dam's parents were initially told they were not allowed to be in the courtroom because they were witnesses. Now they are back in the courtroom. They are literally 10 feet away from David Westerfield.

And the fact that they are so close to the man that they believe killed their daughter is just so haunting and so troubling. But, you know, you see it on TV and it doesn't -- it looks like a big courtroom, but it's just a tiny, tiny room.

KAGAN: Incredible. Jeff Toobin in San Diego, thank you so much. Safe troubles back here to the East. Appreciate your time.

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