SAN DIEGO -- Convicted child killer David Westerfield was a creative and talented designer who put the needs of others ahead of his own, a longtime friend and former co-worker testified Thursday.

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

Ron Lawrence, a self-employed mechanical designer, said the defendant was involved in the design of an underwater tracking device when the two met in 1977.

Testifying in the penalty phase of Westerfield's trial -- the 50-year-old self-employed design engineer faces a possible death sentence -- Lawrence told prosecutor Jeff Dusek that the defendant was very generous with his time.

"He would do that (help) strangers, too," Lawrence testified.

The witness also testified that Westerfield designed a continuous passive motion device that helps patients recover from knee or hip surgery.

"David was very key on that project," Lawrence said. "He was there. He did it."

Carmen Genovese, who worked as Westerfield's supervisor a number of times over the past 20 years, testified that the defendant also worked on a silicone implant device for the hand.

"He has a patent on it," Genovese said.

The engineer, a longtime friend of the defendant, said Westerfield also designed a computer device that answers the phone and connects to the Internet, as well as a stainless steel optic device.

"It was a very difficult job," Genovese testified. "He's a very creative guy. If he weren't talented, I wouldn't keep hiring him."

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Defense Trying To Show Westerfield's Better Side

Genovese (pictured, right) said he hired the defendant for three jobs and used him as an consultant on another.

Westerfield was convicted last week of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

Defense attorneys are trying to convince a jury that the defendant led a successful and productive life before he was found guilty of murder, and thus should be spared the death penalty.

Jurors must recommend death by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The judge will have the final say.

In his opening statement in the penalty phase, Westerfield's lead attorney, Steven Feldman, said his client "was not the worst of the worst."

Judge William Mudd has taken under submission a defense motion that California's death penalty represents cruel and unusual punishment and violates the Eighth Amendment to the Constitution.

Factors to be considered in the penalty phase include the defendant's level of intoxication -- Westerfield was said to have been drunk the night before Danielle was discovered missing on Feb. 2 -- possible mental disorders and lack of criminal record, experts said.

Westerfield has only a drunken driving conviction on his record.

A 19-year-old woman testifying for the prosecution accused Westerfield Wednesday of molesting her during a family get-together at the defendant's home years ago.

Identified only as Jenny Lynn N., the sophomore-to-be at San Diego State University testified that she woke up to find Westerfield in the room in which she was sleeping with her younger sister and the defendant's daughter, Lisa.

To read more about her testimony, click here.

Jeanne N., who followed her daughter to the witness stand, said she confronted Westerfield, who explained that Jenny was fussing in her sleep and he comforted her. The explanation sounded reasonable, Jeanne said, and the incident was never brought up again.

Jeanne's sister was one of Westerfield's two ex-wives.

During cross-examination, both women admitted they were unsure how long ago the incident occurred. Jenny had earlier estimated she was 7, the same age as Danielle was when she was killed.

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Pain Of Victims Shown To Jury

Also testifying Wednesday was Brenda van Dam (pictured, left), the victim's mother.

"I don't know where to begin," Brenda van Dam said. "She was one of the most precious gifts that anyone could ever receive."

During her testimony, jurors were shown a five-minute video of the victim, including a recent family trip to Walt Disney World in Florida. Brenda van Dam sobbed during the playing of the tape, which also showed Danielle when she was a baby. The witness said her daughter "wanted to be a mommy like me."

Speaking in a soft voice, Damon van Dam testified that he held out hope for weeks that his daughter, who was reported missing Feb. 2, would be found alive.

When told that Danielle's body had been found near Dehesa on Feb. 27, Damon van Dam felt only "disbelief that she could be gone, really, because your hope is a lot more. It's tough. (I'm) still denying it."

Van Dam said his daughter was a caring person who wanted to help everyone she met.

Prosecutor Jeff Dusek showed Damon van Dam a letter that Danielle wrote to her father apologizing for a fight with her younger brother.

"To Dad," Damon van Dam read. "I'm sorry. I will be try to be nice. Will you forgive me? I love you. You are the best dad ever."

Van Dam told jurors about the routine he and his daughter had when he put her to bed at night.

"She'd give me the big squeezie hug," he said. Danielle would squeeze him tightly, he said, and he would pretend to collapse on her, something she found hilarious.

Danielle's cremated remains sit in an urn on an upstairs mantel in the van Dam home in Sabre Springs.