This happened not too far from where i live in san diego, a while back. i remember the mother went through alot of scrutiny (sp) for smoking pot. i thought that was rediculous! focus on the child not the mother!
David Westerfield and Danielle Van Dam
Renowned Death Hag
My sister an I were just talking about this case. every time we go to Sycuan casino we want to visit the site where she was found (there is a makeshift memorial to her there) but she's too chicken. Poor thing.
God, this was a sad one all around. I wonder how the family is today.
Very sad. I do agree that her smoking pot has nothing to do with it.
Her parents sort of had a "unique" life style. I though it was sad the media made such a big deal about the fact they were swingers and probably unfit as parents because of it. Like it was their fault that their daughter was murdered. I must say it made it harder to have sympathy at first. But after hearing them speak it was truely heartbreaking.
I really felt bad for the parents. No one should have to suffer that kind of ridicule .
I mean, unless they were putting their child in danger, then what they did on their own time is really none of the public's damn business.
Plus the fact that they just happened to be innocent of nothing more than living down the street from one SICK FUCK.
has it been proven, i had read somewhere that david westerfield had invited danielles parents to an "adult" parties and they were a bit worried about it, if thats true, then i dont think they had a unique lifestlye, or else that would have been normal for them.
im not sure that i can remember where i read that, but i think it was wiki, or actually i think it was on court tv.com but that has nothing to do with their daughter being abducted, it could have led alot of strange people into their house, but it was said that david westerfield had taped their house, like survaillence.. so im not sure.
Some psycho kidnaps a baby from her bed & murders her & they pick apart the private lives of her parents who had nothing to do with her murder. WTF...our society is messed up!!!!
i remember watching the trial, absolutely gut-wrenching~ & david westerfield tried to say the kiddie porn on the comp in his home was dloaded by his son, how pathetic, to try to blame your own son, since then i read that both of his children have changed their last names~ i always thought it odd, that westerfield, said he wasn't attracted to the mother of danielle that he had seen earlier in the night at a bar, because she was heavy, then he goes into their home & abducts the little girl that same night & she virtually was a mini of her mother in looks~ he was 1 sick ticket i agree, i hope he is getting his in prison~
Here is a video I produced and turned over to San Diego Homicide in regard to the Danielle van Dam murder. She was a 7 year old girl, abducted by her neighbor and murdered. Her killer had the misfortune of getting his RV stuck in the sand 100 yards away from where we were camping and riding our ATV's.................all while video taping our riding and his stuck RV.
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OyEACEaJjuc
Holy Shit! Do you know if the little girl was in the RV? When was she killed?
Wow. I remember that case and when they were looking for her. Didn't a jogger or something find her? I can't really remember, but the 911 call was heart wrenching. The L.A. tv station were all over it.
On the evening of February 1, 2002, a Friday, Brenda Van Dam and a couple of her friends went out to a bar. Her husband, Damon Van Dam, stayed behind to look after Danielle and her two brothers. Damon put Danielle to bed around 10:30 p.m., and she fell asleep. Damon also slept, until his wife returned around 2:00 a.m. with four of her friends. The six chatted for approximately a half hour, and then Brenda's friends went home. Damon and Brenda went to sleep believing that their daughter was safely sleeping in her room. The next morning, Danielle was missing. The couple frantically searched their home for her, but never found her. They called the police at 9:39 a.m.
Law enforcement officials interviewed neighbors and soon discovered that Westerfield and another neighbor were not home that Saturday morning. Westerfield eventually arrived home driving his SUV approximately 8 AM Monday. From that point on, he became the prime suspect. Westerfield stated that he didn't know where Danielle could be, and that he was at the same bar that Brenda had attended with her girlfriends. Brenda was able to confirm this, but denied that she and Westerfield had danced together, as he had claimed. Two eyewitnesses testified to seeing them dance together, however. At the trial, Brenda said she could not remember if she danced with him or not. Two days after Danielle Van Dam went missing a haggard and bare-footed David Westerfield showed up at a dry cleaners dropping off two comforters, two pillow covers, and a jacket that would later yield Danielle Van Dam's blood. When law enforcement first interviewed Westerfield he did not mention going to the dry cleaners.[2]. Westerfield then said that he had driven around the desert and the beach and stayed at a campground. Law enforcement put Westerfield on 24 hours surveillance from February 4,[3] as they found it suspicious that he had given his RV a cleaning when he returned from his trip. The RV, his SUV, and other property was impounded for testing on February 5.[4]
About three days before Danielle Van Dam's disappearance, Danielle and her mother, Brenda, sold Girl Scout cookies to Westerfield who invited them into his home and chatted with Brenda.
*******************************************
The timelines are in sync for her to have been in that vehicle right then, out in the middle of nowhere.
Wow, what a post. What a vibe I got looking at that vehicle.
Last edited by cachluv; 08-19-2008 at 11:52 PM.
Unfortunately, with You Tube resolution you cannot see inside the RV. On my master tape when viewed in slow motion, you can most definitely see westerfield inside the RV. As the rider/cameraman rides by he very quickly moves from looking out the side window (in the door) to moving to the front of the RV and looking through the windshield.
Danielle van Dam was most definitely inside that RV at that time. The only speculation is whether the girl was dead or not.
When I called San Diego Homicide and spoke to the detective and told him what I had, he wanted me to MAIL the tape to him.
I told him, NO WAY. You want the tape? Come out to Glamis next weekend, we will be there.
They came out the following weekend, we showed the detective the tape and they took the testimony of my fellow rider who had westerfield walk up and ask him to help pull his stuck RV out of the sand.
When we showed the tape, the detective face just froze and he requested we give him the tape immediately.
We did.
My friend was the second or third witness when the trial began.
If any one of you were out there alone, that person may have been hurt as well to prevent witnesses.
Damn. Just.....damn. I'm glad they got him, and I don't know what you believe but I believe you guys were placed there for a reason that day. And that business of telling the cops he failed the lie detector because he felt so badly for the family, please. That was weak. But not nearly as weak as him telling the Feds that he was collecting child porn not for his own enjoyment but he was gathering it to turn it in to the police because it disgusted him. That's so full of holes and sounds like some shit a little kid would make up.
Motherfucker. Rot in hell. Soon.
That is amazing.
A RV stuck in the sand in the desert is suspicious to me even if there is no murder.
How long after you had the tape did you link it to the murder?
This is awesome. I love this site more and more by the day. This is just one more reason why.
You recording the RV and having helped to catch the killer is awesome. The little girl dying, not so much. Just wanted to clarify.
We got you, bloodIt is awesome and a chance in a hundred million that these guys got Westerfield's vehicle on film.
He blamed his kiddy porn on his computer on his son. Is that the shit or what?
Last edited by cachluv; 08-20-2008 at 12:47 AM.
Thanks for this koolstrike...and welcome to the forum...
Oh, yeah yeah, I was so struck that I forgot my manners.....
Welcome koolstrike. You got the haggitis for sure......
i watched this trial faithfully as i did the search for her~ when she was found i was devestated~ david westerfield is a horrid arrogant man~ his own kids changed their last names as to not be associated w/ him~
god bless you!!!~Originally Posted by koolstrike
Yeah good for you guys...there are many who would not get involved..and you did..bless your heart. This isint the guy who had people in the trailor with him and they knew he had her in the bedroom and did nothing?? Sick fuck....I think there is a special hell for people who hurt children.
This is possibly one of the coolest things I've every seen on this site!!!!...It's amazing to think as your minding your business riding your toys this killer is inches away from you and you don't have the slightest clue as to what he's up to..I believe this tape helped put this piece of shit away.....
Wow...amateur footage...evidence.
We had the tape about 2 weeks or so.
What happened was that my friend #1 who was riding with us was watching TV, he saw westerfield coming out of court after his arraignment. The TV told a little about what westerfield did and showed a picture of the RV in the impound lot.
My friend #1 recognized the RV and called our other friend #2 who was approached by westerfield and asked him to describe what the guy looked like who approached him in the desert.
Friend #2 described him, friend #1 realized they were the same guy. Friend #1 then called me as I was editing the video to make a riding tape and asked if there was any footage of the RV. Not 5 minutes before I had just uploaded the RV scene for editing.
Odd thing was, friend #2 called SD tip line to tell them what he knew. The operator blew my friend off, twice. He said forget it they don't want to talk to me.
I am a bit more persistent.
I got the phone number for homicide and called directly, THAT operator took my name and number, I was called by an detective that evening. That is when they asked for me to MAIL the tape and I responded NO WAY.
The next weekend that detective met with me back out in Glamis. When we first met I think they thought it was going to be a joke, once we showed the video, his face went blank.
They wanted to take a statement from me, that is when I told the detective, speak to friend #2, he is the one who met westerfield in the desert.
And the rest is history.
Interesting case to be involved in, sad for the family, but I am glad I was able to help.
As a side note about a week after Danielle van Dam went missing but before her body was found, I received and email from an off road group that is a lobbying group for off road recreation. They were asking if anybody saw anything, but their description of events did not match up with what we saw, so it did not jar our memory.
Police thought westerfield buried Danielle's body in the desert.
The TV arraignment is what started the chain of events.
Renowned Death Hag
I totally rememeber this. She was found in San Diego(East County/El Cajon area) under a tree near the Sycuan Indian Casino. Every month when my sister and I go for Girls Nite Out to Sycuan for Bingo we try to get the courage up to check out the memorial that's there under the tree. I'm gonna have to take photos when I go out there next month for you guys.
Last edited by Cubican; 08-20-2008 at 08:44 AM.
That is amazing. Kudo's to you and your friends for getting involved. I tried to look at the link on youtube to see the still but it takes me to a generic page that says if you are looking for cnn click here. Do you know where from there I can go to find the still?
Renowned Death Hag
Yeah he is a sick bastard...still proclaims his innocence
Last edited by findadeathaddict; 01-16-2009 at 04:50 PM.
Renowned Death Hag
You and your friends ROCK!!! welcome to the forum!
youtube keeps truncating the hypertext you need to either type in the URL or try these links:
http://www.courttv.com/trials/wester...vidence17.html
http://www.courttv.com/trials/westerfield/
Thanks for that info!
When Westerfield approached your friend in the desert, what did he want, help getting the RV unstuck?
Death Hag
thanx for letting us watch the video~ this case struck a chord w/ me~ i will never forget danielle~
Death Hag
Westerfield approached my friend at day break. That early in the desert can be very cold, my friend was sleeping in an uninsulated trailer, it was 29 F, he was COLD. He got out of the trailer in a jacket and was trying to warm up by walking around the trailer and stamping his feet etc. The kind of stuff you do when you are cold.
The westerfield RV was only about 100 yards from out campsite. It was superbowl weekend so the dunes typically have very few off road riders during that weekend. Actually, it is a great weekend to go since so few people are there.
Westerfield asked my friend "hey is that your truck?" (a ford F150 s WD), my friend said yes it is, westerfield said, "hey I got stuck in my RV, it just needs a little pull out, can you help me?"
My friend said "no I can't, there is no was a F150 with street tires will free a 36' long RV, sorry".
Another thing my friend noticed was that he was COLD, westerfield walked up wearing a leather type vest and a long sleeve tshirt and he was sweating profusely. Sweating bad enough that my friend noticed his sweat right off the bat.
When the rest of us woke up an hour or so later the first thing we all noticed was that an RV was stuck 100 yards from us, with no ATV's. One of our group is a very light sleeper and has a small dog, he said westerfield drove by our camp at 1:50 AM.
We all kind of laugh and said "what kind of idiot arrives late sunday evening with no ATV's?", he probably got a dead body in there.
Little did we know.
When we all got dressed and went riding our camera man decided to take a quick ride past the stuck RV, that is where the youtube footage came from that was turned over to San Diego homicide.
After our ride while we were packing up we saw the tow truck driver pulling the westerfield RV out, there was a small group of people (5 to 8 people) all standing around watching the westerfield RV being pulled out.
In my opinion westerfield had probably killed the girl that night (or had her restrained in the RV) after he arrived. If he had not, the girl probably would have been making enough noise that somebody would have likely noticed.
Last edited by koolstrike; 08-21-2008 at 10:06 AM.
Thanks for posting this info. Myself, like so many others, followed this case and knew innately this horrid person was responsible.
It took someone like yourself committed to doing the right thing that helped in conviction.
Renowned Death Hag
I still don't get his motive....was he pissed at her mother and did it for revenge? or did he have his eye on her for sometime?
Bella, your signature quote is so familiar, where's it from?
Back on topic, I was riveted to the Danielle case. Felt terrible for her mom, regardless of the lifestyle. That woman looked completely broken on the stand. I hope the family is doing well. Kudos for your contribution....
I remember that when the police examined the RV, it had been cleaned and smelled of bleach. This guy deserves everything he gets.
Death Hag
its from Josephine Hart's book, "Damage"
Ah! That's it. I read that recently and watched the movie. Knew it rang a bell. Good death hag book and flick.
Sorry, carry on...
I will never understand people who hurt children or animals..never.
Renowned Death Hag
bump - this guy is at San Quentin with HB Scott Peterson
ahhh two peas in a pod... cant what for scott peterson to bite the big one, Im having a hag party and you are ALL invited!
Renowned Death Hag
I found some of the comments interesting (and depressing).... Who is that "preacher4thedeaf " I wonder? A Westerfield supporter I suppose, but rather a novel way to go about it, claiming there may have been a "child abuse ring" (channeling McMartin Preschool "conspiracies") involving a pediatrician, and mentioning some distressing facts about Mark Lunsford. In short, it's all a police plot against poor, poor Mr. Westerfield.
Hey, if there WAS some messing with the evidence, and it can be proven, by all means, try to do something about it, because the chap IS on Death Row.... But trash-talking about other victims' parents' shortcomings and speculating on pedo rings that may or may not exist, while claiming moral superiority because "preacher4thedeaf" refused to sue a motorist who ran down and injured his/her own child does not strike me as the way to accomplish this.
Last edited by Linnie; 01-16-2009 at 05:56 PM.
Renowned Death Hag
ahhh two peas in a pod... cant what for scott peterson to bite the big one, Im having a hag party and you are ALL invited!
lol, many people are awaiting this.......has Peterson or Westerfield exhausted their appeals yet?
Yea Linnie.....I was wondering about that also after reading the comments. Preacher is a good "Post" name for whoever they are. All his/her yapping doesn't quite add up????
Local ... California case with little progression that I can find. Unless the stats have changed, 12 years from the point of conviction to death.
Westerfield remains in San Quention on death row.
Danielle's, (family), Weimeraner provided evidence in dog hair transference from the family home to Westerfield's RV.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/David_Westerfield
Guest
Senior Death Hag
Wow, I never have heard of this case. Poor litlte girl. That is amazing that you got his rv on tape.
This was a local case, San Diego. I find myself interested in cases within Ca and SD, (Chelsea King, James Arthur Ray, Scott Peterson, etc.)
If interested you can scroll back and find a post by someone who mentions he saw Westerfields RV in the desert and was interviewed by police.
I feel so much sorrow for this child whose end could not have been pleasant.
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