SAN DIEGO -- The questioning of prospective jurors in the David Westerfield trial enters its third day today, with prosecutors and defense attorneys again expected to focus their queries on the death penalty.

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The prosecution has used 13 of its 20 allotted peremptory challenges to exclude jurors. The defense has used eight.

David Westerfield, a 50-year-old Sabre Springs resident, is accused of kidnapping and killing the child and dumping her body in the East County.

Three men and a woman were dismissed Wednesday immediately because of their responses on questionnaires filled out May 17.

Two men who remained were then dismissed after saying they had already formed opinions on the case.

"Because of media coverage," one young man said he would vote Westerfield guilty.

A woman, who remained in consideration, said she found media coverage of the case "disgusting" and began to ignore it. The former hospital corpsman told Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek she had better things to do with her time than be involved in what could be a lengthy trial.

"Given some other choices, it's not something I'd run to the head of the line for," she said.

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Face-To-Face Questioning Continues

Another woman was asked by defense attorney Robert Boyce if the charges make it more likely that Westerfield (pictured, right) is guilty.

"I don't feel he would be here today if there weren't a set of evidence against him," she answered. "It's not a complete blank slate when you're charged with murder."

Forty potential panelists were brought in for questioning each day in the courtroom of Superior Court Judge William Mudd -- 20 in the morning and 20 in the afternoon. The process will continue until a jury of 12 is picked along with six alternates.

Like Tuesday's panels, those brought in Wednesday were mostly white, of varying ages and divided roughly evenly between men and women.

Of the 40 brought in Tuesday, the first day of questioning, 12 made the first cut.

Steven Feldman, the lead defense attorney, pressed each possible juror about questionnaire responses regarding the death penalty, especially those he felt would automatically recommend execution should the defendant be convicted.

Before jury selection began, Mudd ruled that jurors will hear only limited information on the "swinging" lifestyle of the victim's parents.

The jury also will be allowed to view certain pornographic images that investigators say they found on Westerfield's computer, and they will hear statements he made to police the first day he became a suspect, the judge ruled.

Mudd rejected a defense motion to sever the pornography charge, which would force a trial separate from the murder and kidnapping case.

Prosecutors contend the computer images prove Westerfield's motive was to sexually molest the victim after he allegedly took her from her home the night of Feb. 1.

The victim's blood, hair and fingerprints were found in Westerfield's motorhome, prosecutors said.

Westerfield, under police surveillance since Feb. 4, was arrested Feb. 22. He has insisted on a "speedy" trial as the law guarantees -- one within 60 days of his Superior Court arraignment.