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American Morning

Trial of Man Accused of Killing Danielle Van Dam Winding Down

Aired July 31, 2002 - 09:32   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.
PAULA ZAHN, CNN ANCHOR: The trial of the man accused of killing Danielle Van Dam is winding down with closing arguments expected to begin next week. David Westerfield accused of kidnapping and strangling the 7-year-old.

One big question: with all of the recent attention on other child abductions, including the abduction and murder of Samantha Runnion, should jurors in this case be sequestered?

CNN legal analyst Jeffrey Toobin has been covering the trial, and he joins us from San Diego.

Good morning, Jeffrey.

JEFFREY TOOBIN, CNN LEGAL ANALYST: Hey, Paula.

ZAHN: So, do you want to try to answer that question? Should this jury be sequestered?

TOOBIN: I'm sorry. You know it was a hot topic in court yesterday. And it was really interesting to watch the biplay between the judge and jury. The jury was looking at the judge, but pleading in their eyes, please don't sequester us. And the judge was sort of smiling, I know your feelings about this, but I'm very concerned about the publicity.

My sense is he's not going to sequester them, based on him body language, based on the fact that, sadly, the Samantha Runnion case is sort of over now. The great publicity has already happened. The judge has instructed them over and over again not to pay attention to anything in the press about that case.

So I think he's probably not going to sequester them, and, boy, this is a jury that doesn't want to be sequestered.

ZAHN: Let's talk about what seems to be the emphasis in most recent days. This is on this the very bizarre bug testimony. Where is the defense going with it?

TOOBIN: It's a simple argument, but it's very hard to make scientifically. Westerfield was under 24-hour surveillance starting February 5th, a couple of days after Danielle Van Dam disappeared. What the defense is saying that based on the analysis of the bugs, the maggots that were found on Danielles' body, she could not have been found -- she could not have been placed in the desert until after February 5th.

If someone else placed her after February 5th, Westerfield couldn't have done it. So there's been incredibly detailed complicated, difficult to follow testimony from both sides about whether the analysis of these bugs showed when her body has been placed in the desert.

Yesterday it was the turn for the prosecution expert, and I have to say I don't think very effective export, and I think the real problem here for the government is that somehow this issue is taking over the case, when, in fact, this is really a DNA case. The issue, I think the prosecution should be trying to focus on, is how did Danielles' blood get on -- get inside Westerfield's trailer, get on his jacket.

But instead they're spending all this time on this bizarre bug testimony.

ZAHN: Jeff, we are going to have to leave you and go straight to Washington. Thank you for the update on the trial.

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