Closing Arguments Set for Today in Diana Haun Murder Trial

Closing arguments are set to begin this morning in the murder trial of Diana Haun, as the first phase of the celebrated Ventura County case draws to a close.

If Haun is found guilty of fatally stabbing and beating Sherri Dally--the wife of her longtime lover--the jury could be asked to return for additional testimony before deciding whether she should be sentenced to death.

The 36-year-old Port Hueneme grocery clerk is among a handful of criminal defendants from this county to face possible execution. She is only the second woman to be tried in a death-penalty case here in the last half-century.

For the past six weeks, her sensational trial--tinged with allegations of witchcraft, human sacrifice, adultery and beheading--has attracted an intense spectator following.

Crowds of court watchers are expected to turn out this morning to compete for fewer than two dozen seats in Judge Frederick A. Jones’ courtroom.

Those who secure a spot today will see Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth give the summation for the prosecution, followed by Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn’s closing argument for the defense.

Henke-Dobroth is expected to make a rebuttal statement Thursday morning, after which the judge will instruct the jury on points of law related to the charges against Haun.

If that schedule holds, the jury could get the case for deliberations as early as Thursday afternoon or Friday morning.

The closing argument is the lawyer’s opportunity to pull together the evidence for the jury.

In the Sherri Dally murder case, more than 300 pieces of evidence have been submitted in the past six weeks, and testimony has been received from more than 125 witnesses.

Tuesday, the attorneys met for a second day to refine the legal instructions that will guide the jury in its deliberations.

They also argued over remaining pieces of evidence, including newspaper articles about Dally’s kidnap-slaying that defense attorneys wanted the jury to see. Judge Jones denied the request in part, allowing the jury to see only a newsprint photograph of a car similar to the one driven by Dally’s abductor.

Prosecutors say that Haun and her lover, Michael Dally, concocted an elaborate scheme to kill his wife, Sherri, to get her out of their way while avoiding a potentially costly divorce.

The lovers are both charged with murder, conspiracy and kidnapping. Michael Dally’s trial will be held after Haun’s is finished.

They also face two special-circumstance allegations that the killing was committed for financial gain and occurred while Sherri Dally’s attacker was lying in wait.

In addition to a first-degree murder conviction, at least one of the two special allegations must be found by the jury for the case to move to the second, or penalty, phase of the trial.

If the case reaches that point, the jury, made up entirely of Santa Barbara County residents due to concerns about pretrial publicity, would hear additional evidence about the defendant’s character.

Haun’s attorneys have suggested that someone else kidnapped and killed Sherri Dally, a 35-year-old mother of two boys, on May 6, 1996.

They acknowledged to the jury in opening statements that Haun was responsible for unwittingly purchasing certain items believed to have been used in the kidnap-slaying.

But they have denied that their client was the person who abducted Sherri Dally from the parking lot of a Target store before Dally was fatally beaten and stabbed.

A search party discovered her remains in a ravine north of Ventura 26 days later.

During the trial, prosecutors presented evidence about Haun’s interest in witchcraft and the occult. One witness testified that Haun told her she wanted to perform a human sacrifice as a gift for a friend.

The county coroner told the jury that the victim’s severed head was found among the bones scattered by animals in the ravine off Canada Larga Road. Dr. Ronald O’Halloran said it is possible--based on markings on her bones--that Sherri Dally was beheaded after being killed.

Only one other woman has stood trial in a capital murder case in recent county history. Elizabeth Ann “Ma” Duncan was convicted in 1959 of plotting the death of her daughter-in-law. Executed in 1962, she is the last woman killed by the state.