SAN DIEGO -- Prosecutors have no evidence that David Westerfield sneaked into Danielle van Dam's home, killed her, then dumped her along a road in San Diego's East County, defense attorney Steven Feldman told jurors Tuesday.

WESTERFIELD TRIAL Judge William Mudd Issues Death Penalty Sentence Hear Jury's Death Penalty Recommendation Watch The Jury's Verdict Being Read Share Your Thoughts DANIELLE VAN DAM 1994-2002 Watch Danielle Video Montage E-mail: daniellevandam @yahoo.com Send mail to: P.O. Box 501515 San Diego, 92150

Westerfield, 50, is charged with murder, kidnapping and misdemeanor possession of child pornography in the death of the 7-year-old in February.

In his hourlong opening statement, Feldman told the six men and six women there was uncertainty as to who murdered the Sabre Springs second-grader.

"So we have doubts," Feldman said. "We have doubts as to cause of death. We have doubts as to the identity of Danielle van Dam's killer. We have doubts as to who left her where she resided ... where she remained. And we have doubts as to who took her."

He told the jury police found no evidence that Westerfield was in the van Dam home, despite a thorough search.

"You will hear no evidence of any kind linking David Westerfield to that residence, absolutely nothing," Feldman said.

"There's not a shred of evidence that puts David Westerfield in that residence. There is tons of evidence to indicate that law enforcement tore the van Dams' residence apart desperately seeking for clues."

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Feldman spent much of his opening statement -- such recitations are legal roadmaps, but not evidence -- pointing the finger at Brenda van Dam, detailing the night and morning her daughter vanished.

The attorney said the mother partied with two girlfriends and brought them home early on Feb. 2, along with two men.

Feldman said Brenda van Dam and her husband Damon initially lied to police about what went on that night.

Damon van Dam was awakened about 1:45 a.m. by his 60-pound Weimaraner, then stayed up until his wife got home a few minutes later. The couple went to bed after their guests left.

About two hours later, the dog woke Damon van Dam again, so the father went downstairs and noticed a security alarm on, Feldman said. He saw an open sliding glass door and shut it, the attorney said.

Neither he nor his wife checked on any of their three children, Feldman said, adding that Westerfield didn't do anything wrong that Super Bowl weekend.

The attorney said the "nightmare" of the van Dams losing their little girl is still a mystery.

"Who did this?" Feldman asked. "Who could get in? Who could get past that dog? Who would know where to go? Who would know which door was unlocked?"

The attorney also reminded jurors that because of the decomposition, county Medical Examiner Brian Blackbourne couldn't determine a cause of death.

"It is impossible to know how she died," Feldman said. "You can guess at it, but you can't prove it."

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Dusek Attacks Inconsistency Of Westerfield

Earlier, Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek (pictured, left) said he would build the case against Westerfield through hair and fibers found in his house and motor home.

In his 90-minute opening, Dusek also told jurors and six alternates that he will produce witnesses who will testify that Westerfield acted strangely during his weekend journey in the motorhome to the Silver Strand and Imperial County desert.

Police technicians found hair in Westerfield's Sabre Springs house, two doors from where the victim lived.

The technicians looked in a trash can in the garage where "they found a little lint ball from the dryer," Dusek said.

"They found three hairs in there. They ultimately had hairs to compare them with. You'll find out the hairs from the lint and the hair from Danielle van Dam -- they matched microscopically," he added.

Dusek said DNA testing also showed the hair could only have come from Brenda van Dam or her offspring. He said Brenda's hair had been chemically treated, so it was ruled out, and her two sons' hair was too short for the strand the criminalists found.

He told the jurors hair also was found in several places in the motor home.

Fibers found in Westerfield's laundry, he said, matched those from a towel found in the bag in which Danielle's body was placed.

More fibers found in a rear bed of the motorhome were similar to those in the carpeting of Danielle's bedroom, the prosecutor said.

Dusek then said blood evidence, including a spot on Westerfield's jacket, matched Danielle's.

Her fingerprints were found on the headboard of the bed in the motorhome and a nearby cabinet.

Dusek also told the jury that witnesses will say Westerfield acted strangely when he took the motor home to the desert and got stuck in sand, but did not have off-road vehicles or other "sand toys."

Dusek said the tow truck driver who pulled the motorhome from the sand thought he overheard Westerfield talking to someone, then asked him what it was about. According to Dusek, Westerfield shrugged it off as "nothing."

At the Silver Strand, there were witnesses, the prosecutor said, who thought it was strange that the motorhome was closed up, despite the great weather.

Westerfield later told detectives he left the strand because the weather was "crummy."

The Strand was also the site of a major event staged by the Chula Vista Police Department and was "crawling with cops," Dusek said.

Westerfield told police he tried to return to the Strand the next day, but was late, according to the prosecution.

Instead, he parked in the Coronado Cays neighborhood across Highway 75, but a Coronado police officer is scheduled to testify that he went to an illegally parked motorhome that was not Westerfield's.

Dusek also told the jury that he will introduce evidence to support the child pornography charge to answer the "why" of Danielle's death.

In describing the images found on the defendant's computer, Dusek said, there were photographs of naked young girls in sexual poses.

"He had young girls actively involved in a sex act," Dusek continued. "He had animations of little girls being attacked by males. What you will see is adult males sexually assaulting young females -- or certainly dressed to look like young females."

Dusek had little to say about the "lifestyle issue" that has surrounded the case. He said a friend of Brenda's jumped onto a bed with Damon van Dam after returning from a Poway restaurant early in the morning of Feb. 2.

"They rubbed, they kissed, he rubbed her back," he said, but the activity lasted only a few minutes.

Dusek told the jury this was "just some of the evidence." By the end of the people's case, he promised the jury would understand how Westerfield "got in and out of the home and what he did to Danielle van Dam."

The first witness was Julie Hennes, who lives across the street from the van Dams. After police arrived and secured the scene, the van Dams were seated in their driveway while officers searched their house, she testified.

Damon van Dam's head was in his hands as he cried, "Someone took my baby," Hennes said. She described him as devastated, while Brenda was more calm.

Other witnesses included two men who found Danielle's body under a tree near a road in Dehesa, and a sheriff's deputy who was the first to respond to the scene.

The day ended before Damon van Dam could be called to the stand. He and his wife were in the courthouse most of the day. Damon could testify Wednesday.

Mudd provided a bit of levity Tuesday in the somber trial -- after inadvertently telling legions of television viewers how to call his courtroom.

The judge told jurors they could call him and recited the number. The problem was that people listening to the Court TV or local coverage heard the number along with everyone in the courtroom.

And the lines starting ringing almost immediately.

"Little did I know that every weirdo, wacko and dime-store comedian in this country was going to call my line with suggestions about my hairdo ... my weight," the judge said later as laughter broke out.

Programming Note: Due to the trial coverage on Channel 10, "One Life To Live" and "General Hospital" will be aired Wednesday, June 5 starting at 1:40 a.m.