SAN DIEGO -- The jury trying to decide the fate of accused child killer David Westerfield returns to court Thursday for a sixth day of deliberations.

WESTERFIELD TRIAL Judge William Mudd Issues Death Penalty Sentence Hear Jury's Death Penalty Recommendation Watch The Jury's Verdict Being Read Share Your Thoughts DANIELLE VAN DAM 1994-2002 Watch Danielle Video Montage E-mail: daniellevandam @yahoo.com Send mail to: P.O. Box 501515 San Diego, 92150

Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in connection with the death of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, his Sabre Springs neighbor.

A bailiff for Superior Court Judge William Mudd told reporters there was no record in the file indicating the jury had passed any notes to the court. But the bailiff said there might be more information Thursday on what happened during Day 5 of the deliberations.

A closed-door "sealed" motion submitted by Westerfield's defense team is scheduled to be heard Thursday as well.

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Sometimes Evidence Needs A Second Look

Westerfield, a self-employed design engineer, could face the death penalty if the jury convicts him and finds true a special circumstance allegation that the murder of Danielle happened during a kidnapping.

Many experts and self-appointed pundits have speculated on how long it might take to reach verdicts, or whether a hung jury is possible.

Since it got the case last Thursday, the jury has asked to review all the pornographic evidence in the case, as well as look at photographs that Westerfield took of his ex-girlfriend's teenage daughter, according to court documents.

Prosecutors told the jury one photo of the daughter lying by the pool was sexually suggestive.

Jurors also listened again to a taped interview the defendant gave a police interrogation specialist on Feb. 4, two days after Danielle's mother discovered her missing from her bed.

In the interview, Westerfield refers to "we" when describing his 550-mile trip through San Diego and Imperial counties on Feb. 2-3. The defendant told authorities he took the drive by himself.

Letters from the public in the court file included theories of what could have happened in the case.

One missive needed only a single line to get the writer's point across: "Danielle van Dam killed herself."

One man was concerned about entomologists the defense called in an attempt to show that Westerfield could not have left the child's body beside an East County road because he was under constant scrutiny by police and the media.

"The OJ Simpson case was a miscarriage of the state's justice mainly because Judge (Lance) Ito was too lenient with the ACTORS defending OJ," the writer warned Mudd.

An e-mail copied to District Attorney investigator Richard Cooksey and KFMB-Radio's Rick Roberts said the talk show host was stupid, unethical, and possibly criminal for airing information gained from a source about a recent closed hearing involving a security matter.

The trial, which started June 4, included 23 days of testimony, 98 witnesses and 199 court exhibits.