San Quentin, California – David Westerfield, the man convicted of the 2002 kidnapping and murder of 7-year-old Danielle van Dam in Sabre Springs, has been transferred to a different state prison, according to the California Department of Corrections and Rehabilitation. Westerfield, 72, was moved to High Desert State Prison in northeastern California on March 12 as part of the Condemned Inmate Transfer Program, designed to relocate death row inmates to different facilities. The transfer does not alter his condemned sentence.
This transfer comes as the CDCR is phasing out segregated death row units at San Quentin in compliance with Proposition 66, which mandates that death-sentenced inmates work to pay restitution to their victims. The program, initiated on Jan. 31, aims to move these inmates to general population prisons throughout California by the summer, rehousing them in facilities with secured perimeters.
The disappearance of Danielle van Dam in 2002 triggered a widespread search effort before her body was tragically discovered a month later. Westerfield, who lived near the van Dam family, was convicted of kidnapping, first-degree murder, and possession of child pornography six months after her disappearance. His death penalty sentence was upheld by the Supreme Court of California in February 2019.
As of April 12, there are 641 individuals with condemned sentences in the CDCR. San Quentin and other facilities have seen significant transfers of inmates as part of the program to integrate death row inmates into general population prisons. The move to High Desert State Prison signifies a shift in the management of death row inmates in California.