Happened to catch this live a little while ago. Got to agree with Daneille's mother: Westerfield is "an empty shell, a nothing." He showed absolutely no sign of anything that I could see, not remorse, not fear, nothing. Mrs. Van Dammm said she hoped that the cons at San Quentin would take care of him. Good for her.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003

Answers

Westerfield Gets Death for Danielle Van Dam's Kidnapping, Murder Friday, January 03, 2003

SAN DIEGO — David Westerfield was formally sentenced to death by lethal injection Friday for the kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

Judge William Mudd decided against the option of life in prison without parole, which legal observers said had always been unlikely.

Before the formal sentencing, Mudd announced that he was rejecting the appeal from Westerfield's attorneys that he modify the recommendation of the jury, which decided Sept. 16 that Westerfield deserved death by lethal injection.

"The court finds that weight of the evidence as outlined above supports the jury's verdict of death," he said. "The motion to modify the sentence is hereby denied."

After defense attorney Steven Feldman argued that Westerfield suffered from media prejudice during the trial, Mudd responded that the evidence for that was "zero, zip, nada."

The judge added that the physical evidence in the case was overwhelming, and the facts that Danielle's body was naked and some of her teeth missing "weigh heavily" in favor of the death penalty. He also said previous molestation allegations against Westerfield were "disturbing."

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003

The sentence was handed down after emotional testimony from Danielle's parents.

"What were you thinking as you killed her? Did she not touch your heart one bit? If not, you are heartless. You are an empty shell," Brenda van Dam told Westerfield while fighting back tears.

"You did not deserve any leniency, any mercy, because you refused to give it to Danielle."

Westerfield did not show much of a reaction to the testimony, but he could be seen shaking slightly as Danielle's mother spoke.

"Our precious Danielle was taken by a monster seeking only self-gratification," she said. She recalled that her daughter was "a real girly girl" who enjoyed cooking and having her nails painted.

She urged Westerfield to apologize to Danielle's brothers for his actions, but Westerfield did not make a statement before sentencing.

Danielle's father, Damon van Dam, said he regretted that he would never see his daughter come of age.

"I'll never get to see her be a doctor or a teacher. I'll miss seeing her going to the prom. I'll miss her graduation. I'll miss seeing her go off to college and seeing what she will become," he said. "We know we have a whole lot of hearts that will never heal."

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003

Danielle was last seen Feb. 1, when her father put her to bed in the family's home in an upper-middle class neighborhood of San Diego. Her nude body was found nearly a month later along a road outside the city, too decomposed to determine the cause of death or whether she had been sexually assaulted.

Westerfield, who lived two doors away and bought Girl Scout cookies from Danielle days before her disappearance, became a suspect early on. Investigators learned he was at the same bar as Danielle's mother and two of her girlfriends the night Danielle vanished.

The 50-year-old engineer left on a meandering trip in his motor home early the next day as police and volunteers searched the neighborhood.

Ultimately, the girl's blood was found on one of Westerfield's jackets, and her hair was discovered in his bedroom. Investigators also found Danielle's blood, hair and fingerprints inside his motor home.

In motions filed last week, prosecutors said there was no justification for anything less than the death penalty for such an "evil, selfish, cold-hearted child killer."

"Civilized society cannot contemplate the enormous cruelty shown by the evidence in this case," prosecutor Jeff Dusek wrote.

Westerfield was convicted Aug. 21, 2002, of murder, kidnapping and possessing child pornography, after a two-month trial in which the defense suggested Danielle's parents' lifestyle had put the little girl and her two brothers in danger by opening their home to other potential suspects.

Westerfield's attorneys argued that Danielle was killed in her bedroom and that the kidnapping charge was thus unwarranted, which would have made Westerfield ineligible for the California death penalty.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003

Attorneys for Westerfield said police misconduct would justify a lesser sentence. They contend detectives interrogated Westerfield without reading him his rights or letting him talk to a lawyer.

For reasons the defense has not explained, Westerfield decided to opt for a speedy trial.

Judge Mudd was forced to delay sentencing Nov. 22 when defense attorneys said they needed more time to file a motion arguing against the death penalty. Such motions are required by California law, which also mandates automatic appeals in all death penalty cases.

Westerfield now becomes the 617th inmate on California's death row.

California's death row is by far the largest of any state. Just 10 people have been executed there since 1976, including one in 2002.

-- Anonymous, January 03, 2003