Return to Transcripts main page

American Morning

'L.A. Times' Writer Discusses Westerfield Trial

Aired June 27, 2002 - 09:05   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.
BILL HEMMER, CNN ANCHOR: There's a strange turn in San Diego in the case of David Westerfield. He's the man accused of kidnapping killing Danielle van Dam. The Judge barred Danielle's father, Damon, from the courthouse for the rest of the trial. The reason, the judge says, is that Damon van Dam is a security risk to the defendant.

Tony Perry of the "Los Angeles Times," following the testimony, joins us live today from San Diego.

Tony, good morning to you.

TONY PERRY, "LOS ANGELES TIMES": Good morning.

HEMMER: What happened that made the judge make this decision?

PERRY: Well, Damon van Dam has been looking through the courtroom door at David Westerfield. He's been asking sheriff's deputies about how Westerfield gets each day from the jail to the courtroom. And finally, the judge had enough. He called Damon van Dam into a hearing asking what he as doing. Damon said that he wanted Westerfield to know that he was there.

And Mudd said I understand the disdain you must feel for the defendant, but you, sir, are a security risk, and you, not only you cannot be in this courtroom, you can't be in the courthouse. So Damon Van Dam is back at work -- actually, as software engineer. His wife is attending the trial each and every day.

HEMMER: You mention Mudd -- that is Judge Mudd, the presiding judge in this case. Did you or others notice the behavior of Damon?

PERRY: I think what we actually have always noticed about the behavior of both Damon and Brenda van Dam is how passive they've been towards David Westerfield during those agonizing weeks before Danielle's' body was found -- and Westerfield was the suspect just two doors away. They seem to direct no anger towards him; pay no attention to him; and even at the prelim, when asked to pick him out at the defense table, they rather matter of factly pointed to him. Same thing in the trial. They both had to identify him, but showed no anger, no hard glances, none of that when they were asked to identify, unlike other witnesses who've shot really dirty, angry glances at Westerfield as he sits there.

So if Damon has arrived at anger, he's done it rather late in the process, according to some who've been watching. A lot of parents in this situation would be angry immediately and stay angry.

And banning relatives of murder victims from the courthouse is not new in San Diego. It happens, if not every day, quite frequently.

HEMMER: It's somewhat common, then, you're saying?

PERRY: Very common because one of the peculiarities of this courthouse, which is an old, somewhat decrepit facility, Judge Mudd keeps complaining about the ants in the courtroom and the lack of airconditioning in the courtroom. One of the idiosyncrasies of this building is the criminal defendants, even suspected murders, even mass murderers, have to be brought down the hallways right past the press, and the public, and witnesses. There's just no back entrance, no safe way to do it.

And so, an abundance of caution, and Mudd, even though he understands Damon van Dam's anger, has said you're out of here for the duration of the trial. He can come in if, indeed, there is a conviction and then penalty phase. He can come in at that point.

HEMMER: Tony, quickly, in the time we have left. I want to get to the evidence in the case. Listen to one of the police investigators who testified in court earlier this week.

(BEGIN VIDEO CLIP)

JENNIFER SHEN, POLICE CRIMINALIST: I can tell you that based upon the tests conducted, that the fiber taken from the victim's necklace could share a common source with the fibers taken from the laundry and the bedding.

(END VIDEO CLIP)

HEMMER: Talking about DNA evidence, talking about fiber evidence. How strong is the evidence, in your view, so far, to the prosecution's case?

PERRY: It looks absolutely compelling, not just to the press, but any number of legal analysts. The defense attorneys in town are serving as commentators, and they're all saying this looks like a very, very powerful case.

Of course, we haven't heard the defense attorney's case, Steven Feldman. He's very good. He starts next week. He may yet have rabbits to pull out of a hat. But so far, it looks very powerful. They've found Danielle van Dam's blood, hair, and fingerprints in the motor home and in the home of David Westerfield. And, as that clip indicated, they found fibers that were common to the laundry and the master bedroom of the Westerfield home. They have found those fibers similar to those, identical to those, on and near Danielle van Dam's body, that was found in a rural area. That seems very powerful. The defense has offered no explanation of how the fibers could be that identical.

HEMMER: Tony, thank you. Tony Perry at the "Los Angeles Times," in San Diego, watching this case for us. Thank you, Tony. PERRY: My pleasure.

TO ORDER A VIDEO OF THIS TRANSCRIPT, PLEASE CALL 800-CNN-NEWS OR USE OUR SECURE ONLINE ORDER FORM LOCATED AT www.fdch.com