Westerfield Jury Still Talking It Out

SAN DIEGO -- The jury trying to decide the fate of accused child killer David Westerfield deliberated for a ninth day without reaching verdicts Tuesday.

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

Jurors passed no notes to Superior Court Judge William Mudd.

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Jury Spent Day Talking

The panel has deliberated more than 40 hours since receiving the case Aug. 8. Nearly 100 witnesses were called in the trial that lasted two months.

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, who was discovered missing from her bed the morning of Feb. 2.

The defendant -- a former Sabre Springs resident -- could face the death penalty if the jury convicts him of killing the girl and finds true a special circumstance allegation that the second-grader's murder occurred during a kidnapping.

Mudd was to hear argument on a prosecution "discovery" motion, but that was taken off the judge's calendar.

The judge Monday denied a media request to unseal the transcripts of all closed-door hearings in the case.

Mudd said the fact that both sides deserve a fair trial overrides any right of the public to find out what was not before the jury.

Jurors have also listened to a read back of testimony on how insects found on Danielle's body could help determine when she died.

The jury listened again to the entire testimony of San Diego County Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne (pictured, right) and insect expert David Faulkner.

Blackbourne and Faulkner were among a group of witnesses who testified about how insects found on the child's body could help determine when she had been dumped off an East County road near Dehesa.

Faulkner, a forensic entomologist, found 14 insect species on the girl's body when he examined it at the East County recovery site. He testified that fly larvae first infested the body 10-12 days before volunteer searchers discovered it on Feb. 27.

On cross-examination by prosecutors, Faulkner conceded that he could not give a maximum time that Danielle's body was exposed to the elements.

Blackbourne testified that the body was in an advanced state of decomposition and that animals had been feeding on it. He testified that Danielle died between Feb. 1 and Feb. 18.

Other experts testified that insects could have infested the body as little as four days before it was discovered to six weeks earlier.