SAN DIEGO -- David Westerfield has been found guilty of kidnapping and murdering 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

DANIELLE VAN DAM 1994-2002 Watch Danielle Video Montage E-mail: daniellevandam @yahoo.com Send mail to: P.O. Box 501515 San Diego, 92150

The verdict, which includes a special circumstance finding that the murder took place during a kidnapping, means Westerfield, 50, could be sentenced to death during the upcoming penalty phase of the trial.

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Westerfield was also convicted of misdemeanor possession of child pornography in connection with the girl's death.

The verdict came this morning after jurors began their 10th day of deliberations.

They spent more than 40 hours in discussions after receiving the case Aug. 8. Nearly 100 witnesses were called during more than two months of trial testimony.

The guilty verdict means jurors must return to court for the penalty phase of the trial. They will then be asked to recommend a sentence to the judge, who will make the sentencing decision.

Westerfield could face the death penalty.

Judge William Mudd decided to wait until next Wednesday to begin the penalty phase of the trial.

After the verdict was read, and while Westerfield remained in the courtroom sitting without expression, Mudd warned jurors that they should not discuss the case with anyone during the break or during the penalty phase.

"It is very, very important" they continue to avoid talking about the case, he told them.

A gag order on participants in the trial remained in place, and thus reporters were unable to talk with jurors or attorneys or others in the case after the verdict.

Damon and Brenda van Dam were in the courtroom when the verdict was read. Brenda van Dam broke into tears and buried her head in husband's shoulder as a clerk read the verdicts. Others in the packed courtroom gasped, while the victim's mother continued to cry, accordng to 10News.

Westerfield was taken to the third floor of the downtown county jail and placed under close watch following the verdicts, 10News reported.

Westerfield was placed in a single cell directly across from where deputies monitor inmates.

Case Focused On Bugs, DNA

A major point of contention by the defense throughout the trial was that Westerfield was under tight surveillance by police and the media beginning Feb. 5, three days after the Sabre Springs second-grader was discovered missing.

The defendant was arrested Feb. 22. Volunteers found Danielle's body near some dumped trash and under a tree off East County's Dehesa Road five days later.

Defense attorney Steven Feldman told the jury that every expert who testified said the girls' corpse could not have been placed beside the road until well after Feb. 5. Prosecutors say that the defense is not accurately representing the information provided by experts who study insect infestation of corpses.

Prosecutors focused on physical evidence linking Westerfield to the crime: the discovery of Danielle's fingerprints, hair and blood in his motor home, and her blood on a jacket.

In his final statement to jurors, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek said that blood found on Westerfield's jacket was the "smoking gun" needed to prove his guilt.

"This is the smoking gun ... Danielle's blood on that jacket," he said pointing to a photograph of the blue, hooded coat. He said the defense had been unable to offer an explanation for the evidence.

Danielle was last seen on Feb. 1 when her father put her to bed in their two-story home in suburban northern San Diego. After a massive search, the girl's nude body was found on Feb. 27 along a rural road east of San Diego.

The trial, which began on June 4, saw Feldman argue that the lifestyle of Danielle's parents, which included marijuana use and spouse-swapping, exposed their family and home to a number of people who might be responsible for the girl's disappearance.

"We don't blame the parents," Feldman said Tuesday. "We don't think they recognized the dangers of the lifestyle they led."

The trial captivated much of San Diego, with local television and radio stations broadcasting gavel-to-gavel coverage and talk-radio programs delving into minute details of the case and speculation about the van Dam family and Westerfield.

Jurors heard testimony from more than 100 witnesses -- from friends who partied with Danielle's mother, Brenda, the night of the abduction to several entomologists who spoke at length about how bugs found on the body indicated a range of potential times of death.

Prosecutors also called Westerfield's 18-year-old son, Neal, to testify after a defense witness suggested the college student owned some of the pornography seized from the defendant's home.

The son admitted looking at pornography on the Internet but said the thousands of images, including some that contained minors and violence, on computer discs belonged to his father.

Brenda van Dam and her husband, Damon, testified early in the trial about their marijuana use the night their daughter disappeared and previous extramarital sex. But the parents, and prosecutors, asserted their conduct was not relevant to Danielle's death.

After concluding their testimony, the van Dams watched the trial with friends from the rear of the courtroom, looking down when details of their daughter's death or their lifestyle arose. Westerfield appeared impassive throughout the proceeding.

Jury services manager Neal Methvin testified that 5,625 summons were sent out in an effort to get jurors for the Westerfield case.

He said 611 people appeared at the San Diego Hall of Justice on May 17, when there were no other trials that needed jurors.

Of those 611, 140 people had their jury duty postponed and 207 out of the remaining 471 were excused for hardship, Methvin said.

The 12 jurors and six alternates were selected from a pool of 263 citizens, Methvin said.