Murder of Danielle van Dam, ( HER UNFORGOTTEN STORY ).
Danielle van Dam (September 22, 1994 – February 2002 was an American girl from the Sabre Springs neighborhood of San Diego, California, who disappeared from her bedroom during the night of February 1–2, 2002. Her body was found by searchers on February 27 in a remote area. Police suspected a neighbor, David Alan Westerfield, of the killing. He was arrested, tried, and convicted of kidnapping and first-degree murder. Westerfield was sentenced to death and is currently incarcerated at High Desert State Prison.
On the evening of Friday, February 1, 2002, Danielle van Dam's mother Brenda and two friends went out to a bar, called Dad's, in Poway. Danielle's father, Damon, stayed at home with Danielle and her two brothers. Damon put Danielle to bed around 10:30 p.m., and she fell asleep. Damon also slept until his wife returned home at around 2:00 a.m. with four of her friends. Brenda noticed a light on the home's security alarm system was flashing, and discovered that the side door to the garage was open.
The six chatted for approximately half an hour, then Brenda's friends went home. Damon and Brenda went to sleep believing that their daughter was sleeping in her room. About an hour later, Damon awoke and noticed that an alarm light was flashing. He found the sliding glass door leading to the back yard open, so he closed it. The next morning, Danielle was discovered missing, and her parents called the police at 9:39 a.m
on February 27, two searchers found her nude, partially decomposed body near a trail in Dehesa, California, an unincorporated town east of San Diego. The penalty phase ended on September 16 when the jury rendered a verdict of death against Westerfield. In January 2003, Judge William Mudd sentenced Westerfield to death.
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