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CNN Live At Daybreak

Son of Man Accused of Killing Danielle Van Dam Testifies Against Father

Aired July 25, 2002 - 05:04   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.
ANDERSON COOPER, CNN CORRESPONDENT: And the son of the man accused of killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam testified as a reluctant witness against his father. Prosecutors used the testimony to show David Westerfield's interest in pornography.

CNN's Thelma Gutierrez is covering the trial in San Diego.

(BEGIN VIDEOTAPE)

NEAL WESTERFIELD: For two weeks I would stay with my mother and then for the other two weeks I would stay with my father.

THELMA GUTIERREZ, CNN CORRESPONDENT (voice-over): The voice of Neal Westerfield, the 18-year-old son of this man, 50-year-old David Westerfield, accused of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Did you know the van Dam family?

WESTERFIELD: No.

GUTIERREZ: The college freshman called to the stand by the prosecution. The court ordered the cameras to turn away, hoping to protect Neal's privacy.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Have there been occasions when you've accessed pornography at his house?

WESTERFIELD: Yes.

GUTIERREZ: At issue, the hundreds of pornographic images found in David Westerfield's home and just who downloaded them.

WESTERFIELD: I found some on his computer and I found some on disks in his office.

GUTIERREZ: But Neal Westerfield claims he never downloaded any pornography at his father's home, only that he found it on his father's computer.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: In the materials that you have accessed over time, were there any small children, elementary school aged children?

WESTERFIELD: No.

UNIDENTIFIED MALE: Any young teens that you saw, or were they all adult women?

WESTERFIELD: They looked all to be adult women.

GUTIERREZ: The prosecution will continue its rebuttal. Closing arguments are expected to begin next week.

Thelma Gutierrez, CNN, San Diego, California.

(END VIDEOTAPE)

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