Closing Arguments At Van Dam Trial

The man accused of killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam may have lurked for an hour or more in the sleeping girl's bedroom before abducting her, a prosecutor said Tuesday during closing arguments in the suspect's murder trial.

"He gets penned in and hides somewhere, probably in her room," Jeff Dusek told jurors. "The bottom line is, though, he did it."

It was the first time Dusek detailed the prosecution's theory of how the 50-year-old defendant, David Westerfield, allegedly snatched Danielle from her home two doors away from his house in their suburban San Diego neighborhood.

Westerfield, a design engineer who lived two doors away from Danielle, denies charges of kidnap, murder and possessing child pornography in a case that horrified the quiet suburban community of Sabre Springs near San Diego.

Defense attorney Steven Feldman, challenged the prosecution's theory, holding up a blank poster board to underscore that there is no physical evidence showing Westerfield was in the van Dam home.

"This is a case which entirely relies on circumstantial evidence," Feldman said at the start of his closing argument. "There is no direct evidence in this case."

Feldman urged the jurors to keep an open mind about the case until the attorneys finish their closing arguments and deliberations begin, which could occur as early as Wednesday afternoon following the prosecution's rebuttal.

Westerfield has pleaded not guilty to charges of kidnapping, murder and possession of child pornography. He could get the death penalty if convicted.

Danielle was last seen alive when her father put her to bed on Feb. 1. Her nude body was found nearly a month later along a rural road east of the San Diego suburb of El Cajon.

Dusek said the girl's fingerprints were found on a headboard in Westerfield's motor home, her hair was found in bedding from his house, and her blood was on a carpet in the motor home and on a jacket that he had dry cleaned. They also found strands of Danielle's hair in the motor home.

Westerfield also gave a "phony alibi" about where he was the weekend the girl vanished, Dusek argued.

"He tells us where he went most of the time, but he left off big chunks ... all of the incriminating things," Dusek told the jury.

Westerfield sat impassively as the prosecutor spoke.

Dusek said authorities believe Westerfield left a neighborhood bar where he had seen Danielle's mother and, acting out his sexual fantasies, sneaked into the van Dams' house through an unlocked door at the side of the garage.

Danielle, her father and two brothers were asleep but a short time later the mother and some friends arrived.

Westerfield hid, probably in Danielle's bedroom, while they and the father chatted, the prosecutor said. He waited until the parents went to sleep, then fled with the girl through a sliding glass door at the rear of the home, Dusek said.

Westerfield took the girl to his home and then on a trip in his motor home, the prosecutor said. Dusek speculated that Danielle was killed in the motor home but authorities have not been able to determine how she died.

But Dusek said investigators quickly eliminated friends and acquaintances, as well as Westerfield's 18-year-old son, as suspects.

But during his summation, meanwhile, defense lawyer Steven Feldman reminded jurors that no physical evidence was found linking Westerfield in the van Dam home, and suggested that their sexual swinging attracted Danielle's killer to the home.

Damon and Brenda van Dam, who reportedly belonged to a local swinging club, have admitted that they engaged in partner-swapping, smoking marijuana and drinking alcohol on the night Danielle was kidnapped. Brenda van Dam went to a local bar with two female friends, where she ran into Westerfield, and returned home with two men she met there.

"We don't blame the van Dams," Feldman said. "We don't blame the parents. We don't think they recognized the dangers of the life they lead. If you engage in sex and drug behavior, what happens to your children when you don't check on them?"

"Who are you inviting into your home?" Feldman said. "When you invite the world in you don't know what you bring."

Feldman is expected to conclude his closing argument on Wednesday, followed by a final summation by prosecutors. Jurors are due to begin deliberating Wednesday afternoon after final instructions by the judge.