Jury Candidates Asked About Biases Toward Occult

Defense attorneys for accused murderer Diana Haun questioned prospective jurors Tuesday about whether they could accept testimony from witnesses who have dabbled in witchcraft and the occult.

They also asked whether any potential jurors would be repulsed by evidence suggesting that Sherri Dally’s killer may have tried to cut her head off before leaving her body in a remote canyon.

“There is a possibility that whoever killed Sherri Dally may have tried to behead her,” Deputy Public Defender Susan Olson told jury candidates.

Prosecutors have accused Haun of stabbing and bludgeoning Dally to death with a hatchet last year, but have never said that the 35-year-old Ventura mother of two was possibly beheaded by her attacker.

The suggestion was raised Tuesday as defense attorneys and prosecutors began sifting through a panel of more than 80 prospective jurors called back for the final phase of jury selection in Haun’s trial.

For nearly six hours, the lawyers and Superior Court Judge Frederick A. Jones peppered an initial group of about 20 to determine which ones may harbor biases that would prevent them from being fair and impartial jurors on the case.

“Would evidence about participation in New Age-type things such as reincarnation and witchcraft make it difficult for you to be impartial?” Olson questioned one panelist.

She explained that Haun, a 36-year-old Port Hueneme resident, holds certain “New Age” spiritual beliefs that may conflict with the religious views of some people.

Olson and co-counsel Neil B. Quinn asked several panelists whether they could be fair to Haun given her beliefs, and questioned whether as jurors they would be biased against witnesses who have dabbled in the occult.

“I believe everyone is entitled to their beliefs,” one prospective juror responded.

“I think it’s a little wacky,” another man said.

A third responded: “I’m not terribly fond of the occult stuff.”

When specifically asked by Quinn how he would view a witness who has employed a psychic, the man said: “I would definitely question their wisdom in doing such a thing.”

Another woman said that her church recently held a Bible class on the subject of the occult. She told the attorneys she was opposed to such practices.

Quinn also told the group that during Haun’s trial there may be “bits of evidence that may be gruesome or weird.”

He and Olson explained that they expect the evidence to show that Dally’s skeletal remains were scattered by animals after her death, and questioned whether such evidence would repel potential jurors and render them unqualified.

“It bothered me quite a bit,” one woman acknowledged, but added: “I’d have to set my personal feelings aside as much as possible.”

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In addition to questions about the occult and the condition of Dally’s remains, attorneys asked prospective jurors if they could keep their minds open to all the evidence and testimony to be offered during the three-month trial.

Prosecutors tried to ferret out which panelists consider circumstantial evidence to be weak in comparison to direct evidence, which they stressed under the law carries equal weight.

The prosecution team of Deputy Dist. Attys. Lela Henke-Dobroth and Michael Frawley also pushed to find out which prospective jurors may feel sympathy for one side or the other.

Haun is charged with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for allegedly planning and carrying out the killing of Dally on May 6, 1996. Dally’s husband, Michael, faces identical charges, but his trial will not begin until Haun’s concludes.

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By the end of the day, the attorneys excused 10 potential jurors by using some of their peremptory challenges. In a capital murder case such as Haun’s, attorneys on each side are allowed to excuse as many as 20 potential jurors without giving a reason.

Six other jury candidates were excused for a variety of reasons, including two men who told the judge they had little faith in the legal acumen of some of the trial attorneys .

“Well, I didn’t have any problem with the women, but the men were kind of weak,” one jury candidate said.

“Me included?” Judge Jones asked, prompting laughs from the remaining 70 or so jury candidates seated in the courtroom.

Jury selection is scheduled to continue today in Santa Barbara Superior Court. Santa Barbara residents are being sought for the jury because of heavy pretrial publicity; those selected will be bused daily to a Ventura courtroom.