Opening Statements Planned Today in Haun Trial

Opening statements begin this morning in the murder trial of Diana Haun, the 36-year-old Port Hueneme grocery clerk accused of fatally stabbing her lover’s wife.

For the first time, a Santa Barbara jury will travel to the Ventura courthouse to learn the circumstances surrounding the May 1996 slaying of Ventura homemaker Sherri Dally.

Up until now, the 18 out-of-town jurors and alternates have heard precious little about the high-profile capital murder case.

They know that the diminutive-looking defendant sitting quietly at the defense table for the last month during jury selection is facing three serious charges: murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit murder.

They know she has pleaded not guilty.

They know that if she is convicted of first-degree murder and at least one of two special-circumstance allegations she is charged with, they must decide whether to sentence her to death or life in prison.

They know that Haun was having an extramarital affair with the victim’s husband, Michael Dally, 37. But they have been repeatedly instructed not to speculate about what his role--if any--may have been in his wife’s slaying.

The jury has also been told that 200 witnesses are expected to take the stand during the trial, including some who may testify about witchcraft, the occult and the gruesome manner in which the victim was killed.

But up until today, it has been an incomplete picture. Now, attorneys will try to offer a more detailed portrait of the victim, the alleged crimes and the woman accused of committing them.

The opening statements will serve as a type of preview of coming attractions, an outline of the evidence and testimony that the jury will hear over the next three to four months.

It is one of the most significant and dramatic aspects of any trial, the time for prosecutors to lay the groundwork for the charges they will attempt to prove, and the time for the defense to plant initial seeds of doubt.

Prosecutors, who get to present their case first, would not discuss their trial strategy or identify who their first witness will be because of a standing gag order, which prohibits the lawyers on both sides from discussing any aspects of the case.

If their presentation to the Ventura County Grand Jury a year ago is any indication, they may call witnesses chronologically and start with the two women who said they saw Sherri Dally at a Target store parking lot in Ventura on the morning she disappeared.

The witnesses told the grand jury that they saw a woman matching Sherri Dally’s description allow herself to be handcuffed before stepping into the back seat of a blue-green car driven by a blond woman.

Dally was never seen alive again. Her skeletal remains were found a month later by a search party in a steep ravine off Canada Larga Road north of Ventura.

Police investigators, experts in blood and handwriting analysis, co-workers, family, friends and neighbors of both the victim and defendant have been identified as potential witnesses in the case.

Prosecutors called 57 witnesses before the grand jury last August and presented a string of circumstantial evidence against Haun that they contend shows she and her lover, Michael Dally, planned and carried out the brutal kidnap-slaying of the 35-year-old day-care center operator.

Haun has denied her involvement in Sherri Dally’s death. She pleaded not guilty to the charges against her and denied the special-circumstance allegations that the killing was committed for financial gain and occurred while Dally’s attacker was lying in wait.

Like prosecutors, her attorneys are barred from discussing the case and any trial strategy that they may employ, although their position has been made clear in court documents.

“There is no direct evidence that defendant Haun killed Sherri Dally,” her public defenders wrote in a recent motion that was discussed in court Friday. “Proof of that charge depends largely on circumstantial evidence of motive, opportunity and actions allegedly performed by defendant Haun before and after the homicide.”

And although prosecutors do not need to prove motive, they must convince the jury beyond a reasonable doubt that Haun intentionally and deliberately killed Sherri Dally in order to secure a first-degree murder conviction and possible death sentence.

That job of convincing begins in earnest today.

(BEGIN TEXT OF INFOBOX / INFOGRAPHIC)

Key Dates in Dally Murder Case

May 6, 1996--Sherri Dally disappears from the Target parking lot in Ventura. Witnesses later testify before the Ventura County Grand Jury that they saw a woman matching her description get into the back of a blue-green car.

May 18--Diana Haun is arrested in connection with the disappearance but later is released. No charges are filed.

June 1--A search party finds Dally’s remains in a ravine off Canada Larga Road north of Ventura.

June 5--Coroner says Dally was beaten and stabbed to death.

Aug. 1--Haun is arrested on suspicion of killing Dally.

Aug. 16--The grand jury indicts Haun on charges of murder and kidnapping.

Nov. 15--Michael Dally is arrested in connection with his wife’s slaying and is indicted on charges of murder, conspiracy, kidnapping and special-circumstance allegations making him eligible for the death penalty. Haun is re-indicted on the same charges.

Dec. 4--Haun and Dally enter pleas of not guilty.

Dec. 20--The district attorney announces the death penalty will be sought.

April 23, 1997--The grand jury re-indicts the pair after one of the two special-circumstance allegations is dismissed by the judge.

May 1--A hearing on change of venue begins as defense attorneys argue that Dally and Haun cannot get a fair trial in Ventura County because of pretrial publicity.

May 30--The judge rules a jury from Santa Barbara County should be imported to Ventura County Superior Court to hear the case.

June 17--The judge decides that Dally and Haun should have separate trials.

June 30--Jury selection begins in Haun’s trial in Santa Barbara.

July 30--A dozen jurors and six alternates are selected for the trial.

Aug. 4--Opening statements are scheduled to begin.