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CAPITAL CASES IN SAN DIEGO
Since 1995, when the current district attorney, Paul Pfingst, took office, 20 people in San Diego have been charged with capital crimes. Juries sentenced 10 to death and two to life without parole. An additional four defendants received life sentences when juries deadlocked in the penalty phase, and four others await verdicts or sentencing. No jury acquitted a capital defendant nor hung in the guilt phase.
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| SENTENCED TO DIE |
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Calvin Parker
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Parker raped, tortured and killed his roommate, a waitress and Brazilian immigrant, in August 2000 and then dismembered her body to prevent identification.
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Brandon Wilson
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Wilson stabbed a 9-year-old to death in a park bathroom in 1998. He told jurors he would kill again if they did not ensure his execution.
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Susan Eubanks
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Eubanks, a divorced mother, shot her four sons, ages 14, 7, 6 and 4, to death in October 1997. She claimed she was drunk and depressed over her relationships with men the day of the crime.
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Veronica and Ivan Gonzalez
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The Gonzalezes killed their 4-year-old niece in July 1995 by holding the child in 140-degree water.
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Ramon Rogers
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Rogers, a bit player on the early '90s TV show "Renegade," killed two former girlfriends, one of whom was pregnant, and his best friend in 1993.
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Lawrence Bergman
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Bergman beat and stabbed to death his ex-wife’s new husband while robbing him of a coin collection in January 1995. Bergman’s son, Edward, assisted him and received a life sentence.
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Brandon Taylor
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Taylor raped and robbed an 80-year-old neighbor in June 1995 as her 72-year-old sister watched in horror. The victim suffered a heart attack during the assault. The first jury to hear the case deadlocked in the penalty phase, but a second jury agreed on death.
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Antonio Madrid
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Madrid set a transient on fire and, after the man burned to death, boasted that the victim “cooked like a hot dog.” A jury agreed on a death sentence, but a judge set it aside and imposed a life term.
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Correll Thomas
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Thomas stomped and kicked a neighbor to death in May 1996 and shot a salesman to death in June 1996.
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| SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON WITHOUT PAROLE |
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Steven Thomas
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Steven Thomas carjacked a ballroom dancing instructor and stabbed him to death in May 1995. Jurors said they thought the victim would have preferred Thomas be spared the death penalty.
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Edward Bergman
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Bergman helped his father, Lawrence, beat and stab a man to death while robbing him of a coin collection. His father received the death penalty, but defense lawyers convinced jurors Edward Bergman was manipulated into the crime by the older man.
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| HUNG JURIES IN PENALTY PHASE |
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Jacob Henderson
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In April 2002, a jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of the death penalty for Henderson, who confessed to killing three men in 1990. The jury, which hung after three days of deliberations, was the second panel unable to reach a verdict in the penalty phase. A year earlier, another panel split 10 to 2 in favor of death. Prosecutors cited the brutality of the murders. Henderson bludgeoned a transient to death with a rock and then sexually mutilated him. A few months later, he stabbed to death a pair of roommates. Henderson's lawyer had claimed his client suffered from many psychological problems and had a horrible childhood filled with physical abuse. After the second mistrial, the district attorney's office decided not to seek a third trial and Henderson was sentenced to two consecutive life terms plus 15 years.
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Joseph Jackson
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In August 1998, after two days of deliberations, a jury deadlocked 6 to 6 on whether to sentence Jackson, a drug dealer, to death or life in prison without parole. Jackson, 21, was convicted of killing a rival dealer and a customer during a botched robbery. The prosecutor called the January 1997 murders "the Super Bowl of crimes" and urged execution, but the defense asked for mercy, saying Jackson had a troubled childhood in foster homes and was "borderline retarded." The district attorney's office opted not to retry the case and Jackson was sentenced to life without parole.
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Kevin Fitch
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In September 1998, a jury deadlocked 11 to 1 in favor of executing Fitch, a 41-year-old electronics technician convicted of the rape and stabbing murder of a 15-year-old high school cheerleader. Prosecutors cited the brutality of the crime and the damage it did to the victim’s family. Defense lawyers argued that the killing was an aberration in an otherwise upstanding life. Prosecutors originally wanted to retry the case, but the victim’s mother pushed for a life without parole sentence, saying she could not emotionally survive another trial.
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Michael Wauneka
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In May 1999, a second jury deadlocked on whether to sentence Wauneka to death or life in prison for the rape and murder of his 20-year-old grocery clerk neighbor. A year earlier, a jury hung 9 to 3 in favor of execution. Defense lawyers cited Wauneka’s “out of control” drug and alcohol addiction and called family members from the Navajo reservation where he grew up to try to convince jurors a life without parole sentence was more appropriate. After the second mistrial, prosecutors opted not to pursue a third and Wauneka received a life sentence.
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| AWAITING TRIAL OR SENTENCING |
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David Westerfield
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Westerfield, 50, was convicted of kidnapping his 7-year-old neighbor, Danielle van Dam, from her bedroom in February 2002 and killing her.
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Michael William Flinner and Juan Delatorre
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Michael William Flinner, 35, and Delatorre, 28, face the death penalty for the 2000 execution-style shooting of Flinner’s girlfriend. Prosecutors allege landscaper Flinner took out a $500,000 insurance policy on her and then enlisted Delatorre, one of his employees, to shoot her in the back of the head.
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Scott Erskine
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Erskine, 39, is charged with murdering two boys, ages 9 and 13, in 1993 and sexually assaulting one of them along a riverbank near the Mexican border. Erskine was in jail serving a 70-year sentence for rape when detectives matched his DNA to samples from the crime scene.
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David Westerfield is tried for the murder and kidnapping of the little girl who lived next door, 7-year-old Danielle van Dam.
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Jury Instructions
Jurors were given these instructions to use in deciding whether to convict Westerfield of kidnapping and murder
Police Interview
Westerfield tells police about a whirlwind weekend according to this unofficial transcript of his taped interview
The Complaint
This document formally charges David Westerfield with Danielle van Dam's kidnapping and murder as and possessing child pornography
Porn Motion
Calling it prejudicial, the defense seeks to exclude evidence regarding pornography found in Westerfield's home from the trial
Drug Questioning
Prosecutors ask that questioning the victim's parents about their drug and alcohol use be limited
Computer Warrant
This search warrant gives authorities the right to search Westerfield's computer, which prosecutors say contained child pornography
More Documents
See more documents, including various search warrants, motions and the juror questionnaire
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