crimesandcuriosities: “It disgusts me that your sick fantasies and pitiful needs made you thin
crimesandcuriosities: “It disgusts me that your sick fantasies and pitiful needs made you think that you needed Danielle more than her family" - Brenda van DamOn the evening of Friday 1st February 2002, 7 year old Danielle van Dam was tucked into bed at around 10:30pm. Her mother, Brenda, had gone out that night to a bar with friends, meaning that Danielle and her two brothers were left at home in the care of their father, Damon. After the children were in bed, Damon slept until his wife returned home at around 2am. They chatted in the kitchen for a while, and then went to bed without checking the children, assuming they were sleeping soundly. However, by this time, Danielle had already been taken from her bed. At approximately 9:30am the following morning, her parents alerted authorities after desperately searching the house and finding no trace of their daughter. On that same Saturday, police interviewed all neighbours and noted that two local residents were not home during this time, one of those being 49 year old David Westerfield. Westerfield had been in the same bar as Brenda the night before, but had suddenly disappeared and did not return home until 8am on Monday 4th February.When police questioned his whereabouts, Westerfield claimed he had taken a road trip to explore San Diego in his SUV. However, it was considered suspicious that he had impulsively vanished for the entire weekend, and upon his return he had immediately set out to thoroughly clean his vehicle. It also emerged that Westerfield visited a dry cleaners two days after Danielle’s disappearance and dropped off duvets, pillowcases, and a jacket, but Westerfield did no mention this stop off when interviewed by the police. As a result, he was made a prime suspect in the case, and his SUV and other possessions were taken for examination on 5th February.Later the same month, on 22nd February, police returned to arrest David Westerfield for the kidnapping of Danielle van Dam. An analysis of his belongings had identified traces of the little girl’s blood in his SUV and on his clothing, including the jacket which he had taken to the dry cleaners. Fingerprints, hairs and fibres belonging to Danielle were also found on Westerfield’s property, including in his bed. Just five days later, on 27th February, volunteers sadly located Danielle’s decomposing body almost 25 miles from her home. She was found nude and her teeth were missing due to trauma. Westerfield now faced charges of kidnapping and first-degree murder.During court proceedings in June 2002, jurors were presented with the physical evidence and were also informed that violent child pornography had been found on Westerfield’s computer. The defence attempted to suggest that the pornography may have belonged to Westerfield’s son, Neal, but Neal vehemently denied this. His adult niece also testified and spoke of how she was subjected to her uncle’s inappropriate behaviour during childhood. The jury, comprised of six men and six women, deliberated for 40 hours over a 10 day period, which indicated that there may have been some initial uncertainty amongst the panel. However, David Westerfield was eventually convicted and sentenced to death on 21st August 2002. He currently remains imprisoned at San Quentin State Prison in California, USA. -- source link
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