Jury Instructions in Haun Case Discussed

Outside the jury’s presence Wednesday, attorneys in the Diana Haun murder trial met with the judge to decide what instructions should be read to the jurors after closing arguments scheduled for Friday.

Last month, the jury found Haun, a 36-year-old Port Hueneme resident, guilty of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy to commit those crimes for fatally stabbing her lover’s wife, Sherri Dally. A special circumstance alleging that Haun carried out the killing for financial gain was found by the jury to be true, propelling the case into a penalty phase in which the jurors must decide whether to sentence Haun to life in prison without the possibility of parole or death by execution.

After two days of testimony, lawyers finished presenting evidence in the penalty phase Tuesday and are set to argue the case Friday morning. Instructions on the law to guide jurors in their deliberations are expected to be read by the judge after the closing summations.