This paper examines the 2002 abduction and murder of seven-year-old Danielle van Dam of San Diego, California, and the subsequent investigation and trial of neighbor David Westerfield. The paper traces the timeline from Danielle's disappearance in February 2002 through Westerfield's arrest, the discovery of her body, and the presentation of evidence at trial. Key topics include the DNA and blood evidence linking Westerfield to the crime, the role of child pornography in establishing motive, expert commentary on pedophilia, and the defense's attempt to establish reasonable doubt. The paper concludes with the guilty verdict and reflects on the strength of the physical evidence assembled by prosecutors.
The disappearance of Danielle van Dam in February 2002 had all the markings of an abduction and murder. The primary suspect appeared to fit the stereotypical description of a person likely to harm a child. As the details unfolded, there were no significant twists or turns to lead police astray from identifying David Westerfield — a neighbor who lived just two doors down from the van Dam family — as the primary suspect, and ultimately convicting him of the abduction and murder.
David Westerfield was a quiet, professional design engineer who kept mostly to himself. Other than washing his RV in the driveway in front of his home, Westerfield lived a reclusive life. He did not appear to be hiding any deep secrets, but he also did not let friends or acquaintances close enough to look too deeply into his life. The following information provides a detailed examination of the facts of the case.
On the morning of February 1, 2002, Danielle was put to bed by her father. Her mother was out at a coworker's party at a local bar. Her father initially told police he woke up around 1:30 a.m. Saturday to let out the family dog and noticed a burglar alarm light was blinking. He discovered an open sliding glass door at the back of the house but thought nothing of it. He put the dog out and back in, then returned to bed. Mrs. van Dam arrived home around 2:30 a.m. and stayed up for another hour with her husband and friends who had returned from the bar with her. She was reported to have been dancing with the suspect, Mr. Westerfield, while at the bar. Multiple witnesses reported that she and the suspect were very physically familiar as they danced, although Mrs. van Dam denied it. The couple went to bed without looking in on their daughter, even after finding the back door had been left ajar.
The following morning, the couple called police, reported the kidnapping, and initiated a three-pronged search, rescue, and reward campaign. Investigators looking for the missing seven-year-old announced that they believed the second-grader had been kidnapped from her home. Police interviewed the girl's parents, relatives, and friends of the family as they looked for clues. According to news reports, investigators also spoke with her teachers and read a journal Danielle van Dam had kept in class at Creekside Elementary School. According to the San Diego Union-Tribune, Assistant Police Chief Steve Creighton said officers working nonstop on the disappearance had begun to develop a number of leads, though he would not elaborate at that time. "We have dedicated 24 hours a day on this case, and we are pulling in more officers and detectives," Creighton said (signonsandiego.com, online).
Police followed their slowly unfolding leads until February 22, when they arrested David Westerfield on the basis of clear evidence linking him to the girl. San Diego police investigators announced that the blood of missing seven-year-old Danielle van Dam had been found on an article of clothing owned by David Westerfield, as reported by 10 News.
Westerfield, 49, who lived just two doors down from the van Dam family's home, was arrested at his attorney's office early in the morning of February 22. He was placed in the back seat of an unmarked police car and driven away by authorities.
At a press conference, San Diego Police Department Chief David Bejarano told reporters that Westerfield had been arrested on charges of kidnapping, and that additional charges could be issued in the near future. The key piece of evidence — and the most important link in the evidence chain that led police to Westerfield — was a drop of Danielle's blood found on one of Westerfield's blazers. No comment was made at the time as to whether this was the coat he had been wearing while dancing with Mrs. van Dam, though that question was later raised during the trial. At the time of the arrest, Chief Bejarano stated: "We believe without a question that the DNA evidence links Mr. Westerfield to Danielle's disappearance . . . Danielle's blood was found in an article of clothing which belongs to Mr. Westerfield and also in his motor home . . . The analysis of these blood sources was conducted here in our lab and it's a real methodical, complex procedure — requiring hours and days of processing." (The Sandiegochannel.com, online) The chief called the DNA evidence "a very, very strong link" between the divorced father of two and the missing seven-year-old girl.
At the time of the arrest, Danielle's body had not yet been found. However, before the trial began, her body was discovered in a remote region of the desert. Additional evidence that subsequently surfaced also connected Westerfield to the location where the body was found.
David Westerfield was a twice-divorced engineer who had gone largely unnoticed in his suburban neighborhood. Yet prosecutors suggested that Westerfield had another side that none of his neighbors knew about. While searching his home, investigators found child pornography, which led officials to believe that Westerfield had kidnapped Danielle for sexual purposes and then killed her. Danielle's body was discovered on February 27th, just days after Westerfield's arrest. Westerfield remained in jail without bail, charged with murder, kidnapping, and possession of child pornography.
Experts noted that pedophilia is a lifelong condition that most individuals try to keep secret because of the shame and stigma associated with it. No one truly knows how many pedophiles exist, because no large-scale surveys have been conducted, and most never act on their sexual impulses. "If they don't act out and don't get caught, it's unlikely that people will know they are pedophiles," said David Finkelhor, director of the Crimes Against Children Research Center (signonsandiego.com, online). According to the same news report, forensic psychiatrist Park Dietz said that occasionally people who have been law-abiding for years suddenly commit an offense due to overwhelming stress. Numerous studies on sex offenders have suggested that such pressure remains hidden until brought into the open by outside forces, personal trauma, or an unexpected intensification of desire.
In opening statements, the prosecutor disclosed the physical evidence he said linked David Westerfield to the kidnapping and murder of seven-year-old Danielle van Dam. This included the blood evidence on Westerfield's clothing and on the interior of his motor home. Fingerprint and trace evidence identified as belonging to van Dam was also found inside the motor home.
"Prosecution evidence versus defense reasonable doubt arguments"
The trial was thorough, and at the end, all the evidence led to a guilty verdict. In this case, in the absence of high-profile lawyers and wealthy clients, the wheels of justice found their target and convicted Westerfield.
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