The Murder of Danielle Van Dam By: Nevethan Jeyachandran Submitted to Dr.Monica Sauer Student Number: 500-523-913 Course: Intro to Forensics (CCHY-183) December 01, 2014 Introduction The Murder of Danielle Van Dam is a gruesome case which took place in the year 2002. A 7-year old girl went missing from her bedroom in San Diego, California, on Feb1-2, 2002. Her badly decomposed body was found in a remote area far away from her home on February 27. Police suspected a neighbour, David Alan Westerfield for the murder. He was arrested, tried, and convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder. He was sentenced to death and is currently incarcerated at San Quentin State Prison. Danielle missing had sparked a massive search …show more content…
The other forensic entomologist, Neal Haskell, had used a weather chart prepared by forensic artist James Gripp. He said that the warm temperatures made it likely that insects had immediately colonized Danielle’s corpse and there was a chance that this did not prove enough to incinerate Westerfield in the murder. The third entomologist, Dr. Robert Hall, made another observation on the larvae. He estimated that the initial insect infestation had occurred between February 12 and February 23. However, under cross-examination Hall changed his stance and instead said that the insect infestation which took place on the corpse wasn’t that common because there were so few maggots that were found in the girl’s head. On the other hand, the prosecutor Jeff Dusek cross questioned Hall about why his calculations were compiled through a method which was less favourable to the prosecution and why he had spoken against the findings of the prosecution’s entomologist, Dr. Madison Lee Goff. Goff was another entomologist who had testified that the infestation may have occurred February 9 to February 14, but stressed that other factors may have delayed insect
The Danielle Van Dam murder case, in which a seven-year-old California girl was abducted from her bedroom and later found dead in a wooded area does not alter my decision from the first scenario. Because the neighbor, Westerfield did commit the crime, the physical evidence found in Westerfield’s home proved very damaging in court. This case is very much like the first scenario, Westerfield lawyers knew that he did it because they wanted to change his plea in exchange if he revealed the location of Danielle's body. How could they try to break a deal if Westerfield denied the whole time he did not abduct the little girl, but he wants to tell where her body is in exchange for a lighter sentence. Westerfield admitted to his attorneys he did the
What causes the strange actions of the afflicted? In the bread in Salem they used rye to make it. A disease that is known as rye disease which can cause many mental behaviors. Lyme disease in the air. The ticks that hold lyme disease were very common in the salem village area.
February 23, 1983 a man walked into a house with no good intention but to burglarize it. Home during all this was Jeanine Nicarico who was home alone resting because she had the flu. She was taken from her home and raped two days later she was found dead. Jeanine was only 10 years old. The only clue left at the crime scene was a boot print.
The first technique was to graph the correlation between the body’s advanced state of decomposition, and the pattern of daytime and nighttime temperatures. This technique let to the conclusion that she was killed from October 6 to 16. The second technique was to get soil samples, one from beneath the victim’s body and the other from an uncontaminated control sample. The results narrow the window to October 12 to 15. The last technique used was relatively new and involved using a freshly killed pig and using this pig as a “body double.”
He was arrested and charged with kidnapping and rape but the was no evidence at the time. Tracy Habersham of Fort Benning, GA, went missing after dancing with Durousseau at a nightclub. Her body was found two days later. Durousseau was later charged again with her murder. During this time Paul’s wife was pregnant with his second son and there was some major domestic abuse.
On June 9, 1959, Steven Truscott was seen, by several witnesses, giving Lynne Harper a ride on his bicycle, she was sitting on the handlebars well Steven cycled. Eventually, they stopped at the highway 8 intersection, which was approximately a kilometer west of Clinton, where they proceeded to parted ways. Later that evening Lynne’s father reported her missing after she failed to turn up. Two days later the deceased body of Lynne Harper was discovered just off a nearby tractor trail, known as Lawson’s Bush, which was a lightly wooded area.
The article by Karen Sternheimer provides some insight into the stats of murder in America. In doing so, the article also highlights some issues with the media today. We learn that the media turned a statistic in way to help themselves instead of properly providing the real statistic. What the media provided was based on a small number of people, but when looked at from a larger pool of people, it can be seen the opposite had occurred (the murder rate had decreased). We also learn that most murder victims are male, specifically, African American males.
He claimed the Dahmer did not suffer from necrophilia because he preferred live partners. “Another prosecution expert to testify, Dr.
The decomposing body of 2 year old Caylee Anthony was moved twice according to a time line provided by a bug expert on Saturday at the first degree murder trial of the girl’s mother Case Anthony. Prosecutors said Casey smothered Caylee with duct tape wrapped around her head, nose and mouth. Defense lawyer Jose Baez contends Caylee accidentally drowned in the Anthony’s backyard pool and that her death went unreported. Entomologist Neal Haskell testified Caylee’s body had completed a short, initial stage of decomposition before the body allegedly was placed in Casey’s car trunk. Haskell testified he based that conclusion on the remains of flies in a trash bag in the trunk.
Murder on Bamboo Lane by Naomi Hirahara focuses on the young LAPD bicycle police officer Ellie Rush (2 - 3). Ellie first discovers a missing poster of an old college classmate, Jenny Nguyen (3). The girl from the missing posters is later found shot dead in an alleyway (24 - 25). After identifying the body (25), Ellie then because involved in the murder case of Jenny Nguyen after her aunt and Assistant Police Chief, Cheryl Toma (34). She begins working with detective Cortez Williams on the case, whom she starts to develop feelings for (97).
T. Coraghessen Boyle’s tone in his narrative “Top of the Food Chain”, conveys a casual conversation with a senator about the use of DDT in Borneo. This casual conversation also exemplifies his casual and reckless approach to the solution of insects plaguing the people of Borneo. Boyle’s passion blindfolded reasonable and reliable alternatives to help the insect problem. The ramification of dealing with the pesky insects causing disease and burden to this developing country were ill-researched and exemplifies Boyle’s casual approach and tone. Boyle’s passion to help a “2 year old so black with flies and mosquitos it looks like he’s wearing long johns”, blinded all reason to do good research and understand the risks upstream when mosquitos and
After Dr. Neal Haskell’s statement, there was also Elgin Brown, a biologist who told the court “that maggots found on Harpers body probably hatched at 2:30 p.m. on June 10, 1959.” That statement being presented, Sherah Vanlaerhoven “estimated that insects started laying
On August 21, 2002 David Westerfield was sentenced to death for the murder, kidnapping and rape of 7 year old Danielle van Dam. The incident transpired in February of the same year, where Danielle was removed from her home during the night. The body of the child was found 21 days later on the side of a busy freeway. Forensic evidence and a lack of an alibi linked Westerfield to the crime. As of today, Westerfield is still awaiting execution.
Forensic entomology talks about the analysis of insects and their growth to help lawful inquiries in particular conditions relating to death. Blowflies alongside by numerous of other species of fly, suffer an exact growth cycle that is more or less foreseeable. Forensic Entomologist Forensic entomologists are usually call out to decide the autopsy intermission or the time since the demise murder inquiries. Forensic entomologist approximations a portion of the autopsy intermission grounded on the time of life of the insects that are current.
In the essay, “Do Insects Think?” the author Robert Benchley satirizes the scientific community in order to copy the pretentious air of superiority that scientists exude. One way the author proved his point was by using personification. Personification is defined as when human characteristics are given to a non-sentient object or thing.