SAN DIEGO -- Convicted child killer David Westerfield's eyes welled with tears Thursday during the penalty phase of his trial, as his sister testified about their childhood and his adult years.

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

Tania P. described an idyllic childhood on an island in the middle of a lake in Maine, followed by sometimes difficult adult years marked by the defendant's divorce from his first wife.

Westerfield, who could get the death penalty for killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, divorced a woman known as "Jackie" in 1996 after about 17 years of marriage.

Tania said her brother still loved Jackie, but she wanted to divorce. The sister said Westerfield was worried about the impact the split would have on his two children.

Westerfield's eyes pooled as he watched Tania cry frequently during her testimony. He rubbed his cheek once and his right eye as she described his divorce.

The defendant has remained almost stoic during months of suspicion, arrest, pretrial hearings and trial testimony. Reporters who looked closely thought he trembled, though, when the verdicts that could send him to death row were read last week.

Under cross-examination by Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek, Tania said her brother lacked for little during his childhood, and agreed there was no drug and alcohol abuse, physical abuse or molestation among family members to provide a negative influence.

When the family moved back to San Diego in 1967, Westerfield entered Madison High School. He married Jackie in 1979. Their first child, Lisa, was born two years later. A son, Neal, came a couple of years later.

"He got to enjoy his daughter's development through life?" Dusek asked, implying that Brenda and Damon van Dam will never get that opportunity.

"Yes, he did," Tania said.

"He got to see all the milestones through life?"

"Yes, he did."

After discussing Lisa's graduation from high school, Dusek pressed on.

"What I'm concerned with is he's then able to enjoy the growth of his children?"

"Yes, he has," she agreed.

"And he seems to know how important that is to a parent, doesn't he?"

"Yes."

That brought a loud sob from Brenda van Dam, who got up and left the courtroom.

Westerfield, 50, was convicted of kidnapping and killing Danielle and possessing child pornography. The same jury is listening to evidence which will help them decide between a recommendation of death by injection or life in prison without parole.

Superior Court Judge William Mudd will make the final decision.

Earlier Thursday, former co-workers and employers described Westerfield as a creative, talented design engineer who put others' needs ahead of his.

Ron Lawrence (pictured, left), a self-employed mechanical designer, said the defendant was involved in the design of an underwater tracking device when the two met in 1977.

Lawrence told Dusek that the man convicted of killing the Sabre Springs second-grader was generous with his time.

"He would (help) strangers, too," Lawrence testified.

The witness said Westerfield designed a continuous passive motion device that helps patients recover from knee or hip surgery.

"David was very key on that project," Lawrence said. "He was there. He did it."

Carmen Genovese, who worked as Westerfield's supervisor a number of times over the past 20 years, testified that the defendant also worked on a silicone implant device for the hand.

"He has a patent on it," Genovese said.

The engineer, a longtime friend of the defendant, said Westerfield also designed a computer device that answers the phone and connects to the Internet, as well as a stainless steel optic device.

"It was a very difficult job," Genovese testified. "He's a very creative guy. If he weren't talented, I wouldn't keep hiring him."

Genovese (pictured, right) said he hired the defendant for three jobs and used him as a consultant on another.

Another witness who described Westerfield's helpful nature was David Petch, now the principal engineer at Torrey Pines Research. Petch shared an office with the defendant for two years at another firm in the mid-1980s before being let go for what he called "attendance reasons." But he got his job back.

"Dave was instrumental in doing that," Petch testified, saying Westerfield intervened with his boss.

Judy Ray, owner of Pre-Packaged Products Inc., said Westerfield's work was critical to her firm's development of low-cost, easy-to-use medical devices.

"The whole idea of the products is to make them easy to use in the home ... otherwise, patients won't do it," Ray said.

Yet, Ray said Westerfield did a lot of work that never reached the market because the devices were too costly.

In his opening statement in the penalty phase, Westerfield's lead attorney, Steven Feldman, said his client "was not the worst of the worst" for whom the death penalty is intended.