Prosecution's trial costs released in Westerfield trial

SAN DIEGO (AP) Prosecutors spent nearly $270,000 convicting David Westerfield of kidnapping and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam, county officials said.

Thursday's announcement marks the first time the county District Attorney's Office has released such figures. However, the office couldn't say where the Westerfield case ranked in comparison with the cost of other high-profile cases in San Diego County.

The money doesn't include the salaries of the prosecutors and various law enforcement investigators involved in the case.

Police declined Thursday to release their expenses pending a request for the information submitted by the San Diego Union-Tribune.

Chief Deputy District Attorney Mark Pettine said the final cost wasn't terribly high considering the enormous amount of scientific investigation involved in the case.

``We're also talking about the murder of a a little girl,'' he said. ``How do you put a price tag on that?''

Westerfield was convicted of abducting and killing 7-year-old Danielle van Dam and was sentenced Jan. 3 to death. Danielle disappeared from her home last February and her body was found weeks later on a remote road east of San Diego.

The biggest expense for prosecutors was DNA analysis, with the office spending $152,712, according to the figures. They also paid more than $62,000 to a jury consulting firm and more than $14,000 to a forensic anthropologist who provided an opinion about the victim's time of death.

The office also spent thousands of dollars on meals, air fare and lodging for various witnesses.

Death-penalty trials are usually the most expensive to prosecute because of the legal complexities involved.

(Copyright 2003 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)