Jury in Van Dam Case Deliberates 5th Day Without Reaching Verdict

The jury in the David Westerfield trial Wednesday spent its fifth day of deliberations without reaching a decision, as the judge ordered a closed-door session today to hear a request by Westerfield’s attorney.

Steven Feldman, Westerfield’s lead attorney, has asked repeatedly for Superior Court Judge William Mudd to sequester jurors to keep them from being influenced by what Mudd has called a “tsunami” of media coverage. Westerfield could face the death penalty if convicted of the kidnap and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.

It is unclear whether today’s hearing involves another request by Feldman for Mudd to sequester the jury. Feldman’s co-counsel Robert Boyce, at a hearing Tuesday, decried what he called attempts by the media to sensationalize the case.

As they ponder the charges against the 50-year-old design engineer, the jury has asked to see the pornography that was seized at his home, hear an audio recording of his interview with police, and view a provocative picture he took of the teenage daughter of a former girlfriend.

Meanwhile, visitors to a makeshift memorial to Danielle continue to bring teddy bears, poems, religious materials, balloons, flowers and other items to the site in rural Dehesa where her body was found Feb. 27, 25 days after she disappeared from her parents’ home in the upscale Sabre Springs neighborhood.

One handwritten sign reads: “We Will Never Forget You. We Hope You Find Justice.” Another says: “Danielle: We Love You Angel. The Garcia Family.”

Prosecutors allege that Westerfield dumped Danielle’s body in Dehesa during a circuitous trip he made in his recreational vehicle from the beach to the desert and back again the weekend that she disappeared. Fibers that matched those found in his home and recreational vehicle were found near the body.

The six-man, six-woman jury received the case Thursday afternoon. Before recessing Wednesday afternoon, they had deliberated for more than 20 hours.

Along with murder and kidnapping, Westerfield is charged with misdemeanor possession of child pornography. Prosecutors assert that the child pornography shows that he harbored sexual fantasies about young girls.