SAN DIEGO (Reuters) - David Westerfield, the neighbor who bought Girl Scout cookies from 7-year-old Danielle van Dam just days before she vanished from her bed, was found guilty of her kidnap and murder on Wednesday. Jurors must now decide if he should die for the harrowing crime that transfixed California's second largest city and much of the nation. Danielle's mother, Brenda van Dam, broke into sobs and gasped "oh, my God," in the back of a small San Diego courtroom as a clerk read the verdict convicting Westerfield of her daughter's murder in February, the first in a wave of abducted girls across the country this year. Mrs. van Dam collapsed, crying, against Danielle's father, Damon van Dam, as the clerk read subsequent guilty verdicts against Westerfield, convicting him of kidnapping and possession of child pornography. At least one member of the jury, which spent nine days deliberating behind closed doors before reaching a unanimous decision, also wiped away tears. Westerfield, 50, a twice-divorced father of two who showed little emotion during the case, appeared pale and trembled, his leg shaking under the defense table, as he listened to the verdicts from just yards away from the van Dams. Outside the courthouse, a loud cheer went up from throngs of people that had encircled the building for two months. The tearful van Dams were ushered by sheriff's deputies from the packed courtroom and through a hallway jammed with reporters and members of the public. 'AMERICA'S FINEST CITY' Danielle's abduction from her pink-and-white canopied bed in the middle of the night stunned and repulsed San Diego -- which sometimes calls itself "America's Finest City" and prefers to be known for its beautiful climate -- and Westerfield's trial became the top topic of conversation at office water coolers, coffee shops and bars. Within hours of the verdicts, the San Diego Union Tribune hit the streets with a special edition, handed out free on street corners, that was devoted entirely to the case and screamed "GUILTY" in giant black type across its front page. Because California law allows for the death penalty when a defendant is convicted of murder under "special circumstances" Westerfield will face either execution by lethal injection or life in prison without the possibility of parole. The special circumstances against Westerfield were that Danielle's murder was carried out during a kidnapping. Superior Court Judge William Mudd ordered the jury to return in one week for the so-called penalty phase, in which they will decide Westerfield's fate after listening to witnesses summoned by both prosecutors and the defense. Unlike the guilt phase of trial, which focused on forensic evidence and Westerfield's alibi, the penalty proceedings will ask the jury to weigh the complicated moral issues surrounding the proper punishment for a convicted child killer. Though prosecutors and defense attorneys were prohibited by Mudd from speaking to reporters, legal experts said Westerfield is almost certain to appeal his conviction. His lawyers have already suggested that Mudd was in the wrong when he refused to sequester the jury in the face of saturation news coverage. DANIELLE'S BLOOD ON HIS JACKET "It is very, very important that you not discuss the case, your deliberations or offer any opinions ... until you are gathered together again," Mudd told the jurors. "The normal admonition that I give you every day is still in place." The jury spent an estimated 37 hours behind closed doors and had 199 court exhibits and the testimony of 116 witnesses to consider before reaching their unanimous verdicts. They announced that they had reached a decision shortly after arriving at the courthouse on Wednesday. Prosecutors focused during trial on forensic evidence against Westerfield: Danielle's fingerprints in his motor home and strands of her hair in his home and two vehicles. A forensic expert testified at trial that certain fibers found on her body matched those retrieved from his car and his home. Deputy District Attorney Jeff Dusek said during his closing argument in the case that a single drop of Danielle's blood discovered on Westerfield's jacket and confirmed as hers through DNA tests amounted to a "smoking gun" in the case. He also called absurd Westerfield's alibi for the two days after Danielle disappeared. The self-employed design engineer had told police that he spent the weekend driving, alone, across the vast California desert and then back to the sea. Lead defense attorney Steven Feldman, meanwhile, hammered away at the lifestyle of Danielle's parents and said the little girl's killer could have come from their swinging circles -- a line of attack that enraged the van Dams, their supporters and many in the close-knit community. Danielle was snatched sometime after going to bed on the night of Feb. 1 and remained missing for nearly a month despite an anguished search. Her badly decomposed body, naked except for the plastic choker necklace she always wore, was found under a tree beside a back-country road on Feb. 27. Experts disagree over whether young girls are being abducted more in 2002 than in past years. While some insist that statistics do not show a rise in such crimes, others say that the raw numbers can be misleading.