David Westerfield - Selby Confession

Selby Confession

In 2003, after Westerfield's conviction, James Selby wrote to the police confessing to the Van Dam murder. Selby was wanted for kidnapping a 9-year-old Oklahoma girl from her bedroom in the middle of the night and raping her in 1999, for raping women in San Diego and sexually assaulting a 12-year-old girl in Sparks, Nevada in 2001; however police did not believe that he murdered Danielle. Prosecutor Jeff Dusek also read Selby's confession, and deemed it not credible. Selby - a divorced father of three - worked as a handyman and machinist and traveled often between San Diego and Tucson. It is believed that he was in the Tucson, Arizona area when Danielle was kidnapped in February 2002. Selby is believed to be responsible for a series of rapes in Arizona from October 2001 to May 2002. He had a prior rape conviction in Colorado. In addition, Selby claimed responsibility for the slaying of JonBenét Ramsey. According to Deputy County Attorney Bradley Roach, "It was an aspect of his personality to confess to something to see what other people would say." Selby committed suicide in his jail cell on November 22, 2004.