SAN DIEGO COUNTY, Calif. — It's been 20 years since Danielle van Dam was taken from her bedroom in Sabre Springs, sexually assaulted and murdered by neighbor David Westerfield.
It was a horrific crime that many San Diegan’s will never forget.
Drivers recall the crime when they drive over the Danielle van Dam memorial overpass on Interstate 8 at 2nd Street in El Cajon.
“I think of Danielle van Dam and people see the sign and know the location where her body was found,” said former San Diego County District Attorney, Paul Pfingst.
Pfingst remembers the day the 7-year-old's body was discovered off Dehesa Road, about five miles from the memorial overpass.
“I’ve never in my career seen a case where someone has actually gone into a home, taken a child out of bed, and taken that child back to his home, sexually abused and taken the child away, killed the child, and dumped the body,” said Pfingst.
Westerfield already had been arraigned in court on kidnapping and murder charges, the day before Danielle’s body was located by volunteer search teams.
The discovery of the body meant there would be no plea bargain in the death penalty case. And, a plea deal was close, according to Pfingst.
“It was minutes between the time that I was about to make a deal with the defendant, through his lawyer, for the return of her body, and my being notified that the body had been discovered,” Pfingst said.
And so began the high-profile trial of David Westerfield in the murder of Danielle van Dam.
“The media's appetite for information in this case was insatiable. The trial was covered day by day on television and on radio. It was a remarkable event probably not to be repeated anytime soon,” said Pfingst. “The parents of Danielle van Dam were put under a microscope with the intensity turned up very high. And then the media found out that there was, outside the marriage by consent, sort of an open marriage type of thing, and that put gasoline on the media fire.”
Prosecutor Jeff Dusek presented convincing forensic evidence at trial, including Danielle’s blood on Westerfield’s jacket and inside Westerfield’s motor home, along with hair, fingerprints, and fibers on the girl’s body.
When the guilty verdict was read, there were cheers on the steps of the courthouse.
“When a conviction was announced there was an enormous expression of relief and celebration that justice had been done,” said Pfingst.
In 2019, the California Supreme Court denied David Westerfield’s automatic appeal.
Currently, the death penalty has been suspended in California. At the age of 69, it seems unlikely Westerfield will ever be put to death.
“It is likely that David Westerfield will die of natural causes in jail, and not be executed. That's just the reality of it in California,” said Pfingst.
After the trial, people built a wooden stairway at the location where Danielle's body was found so they could leave photos, teddy bears, and flowers.
The van Dam family released a music video in tribute to Danielle.
“The video that was put out by the family showing Danielle with the music background, and photographs and so on, if it didn't cause you to tear up then your heart is not working,” said Pfingst.
Twenty years later, a lingering memorial to Danielle van Dam off Dehesa Road still honors her memory and proves San Diegans will never forget.
CBS 8 reached out to Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam. She declined to be interviewed, indicating it would be too painful to comment.
In 2019, Brenda van Dam released the following statement in reaction to the state Supreme Court’s denial of Westerfield’s appeal:
"We are not surprised that his automatic appeal was denied because the trial evidence presented by Prosecutors Jeff Dusek and Woody Clarke amply supported conviction and the defendant's legal representation (by three lawyers!) was more than adequate...The (death penalty) appeal process has already taken too long and has been a waste of taxpayer money...The cruel irony is that Judge Mudd, (co- prosecutor) Woody Clarke, and Danielle are no longer alive, but he is...It's time for justice to be served for Danielle."
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