The man convicted of killing a Sabre Springs girl nearly ten years ago is now asking for an appeal to overturn his death penalty conviction.
NBC San Diego obtained documents that show attorneys for David Westerfield believe errors were made in his murder case.
Westerfield was convicted in August 2003 for the kidnap and murder of Danielle Van Dam.
“Just when you think you’ve got a lot of it behind you, something happens and it brings it all up again,” Brenda Van Dam told NBCSanDiego on Tuesday.
She said the pain of losing her daughter is still just as deep as it was the day her body was found.
“You know the holidays are hard anyway and I just kind of really have been down in the dumps lately,” said Van Dam.
In the appeal, attorneys for Westerfield offer nearly thirty reasons for the conviction to be overturned, including questions about evidence and testimony.
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Van Dam family attorney Spencer Busby called the appeal a legal process that will not lead to the overturning of the death penalty conviction.
"The DNA evidence was overwhelming," Busby said about the trial.
He also said Westerfield's defense attorney did an excellent job of trying to disprove the state's case.
The state supreme court will ultimately decide the fate of the appeal.
Westerfield is currently on "death row" at San Quentin State Prison.
