Haun Defense Stresses Lack of Evidence

Michael Dally’s brazen murder plan called for nerves of steel and there is no way his lover, Diana Haun, could have carried it out, her defense attorney argued Thursday.

Deputy Public Defender Neil Quinn told a jury in his closing argument that there is no evidence to show that his 36-year-old client was a party to a murder scheme.

It was Dally--Haun’s boyfriend of more than two years--who wanted his wife, Sherri, dead and orchestrated a plan to kill her while letting Haun take the fall, Quinn argued.

“Diana Haun is left out totally to dry,” Quinn told the jury. “And it isn’t a coincidence.”

Quinn argued for more than five hours, telling the jury that his client’s role in the killing was limited to that of an errand girl who bought items for Michael Dally--items believed to have been used in the kidnap-slaying.

Furthermore, he argued, the prosecution failed to prove its case.

The district attorney has argued that Haun, a grocery clerk, was the disguised suspect who abducted Sherri Dally from the parking lot of a Ventura Target store on May 6, 1996.

But that presumption is flawed, Quinn argued, because no one was able to identify Haun as the abductor during the trial. He also said a discrepancy in height between Dally and her abductor raises serious questions about the identity of the kidnapper. He used two similar photos of Haun and Sherri Dally with her children to illustrate his point.

Tackling one of the most sensational issues in the case, Quinn harshly criticized a witness who testified that Haun called herself a witch who wanted to perform a human sacrifice as a birthday gift to a male friend.

“The issue of witchcraft really has nothing to do with the question of guilt in this case,” the lawyer said.

He called the testimony of Haun’s co-worker, Teresa Estrella, surly, superstitious and so exaggerated that it rose only to the level of talk show gossip.

Throughout his closing argument, Quinn referred to exhibits--there are more than 300--and flipped through thick binders of notes.

He argued that since there is no direct evidence showing that Haun was the person who abducted Sherri Dally, she should be found not guilty of kidnapping.

Quinn also argued that the two special-circumstance allegations--that Haun killed Dally for financial gain and attacked while lying in wait--are not supported by evidence in the case.

They are significant because if the jury finds at least one allegation to be true and convicts Haun of first-degree murder, she would be eligible for the death penalty.

Addressing first the issue of financial gain, Quinn said his client is not a woman motivated by money.

Love for Michael Dally, yes. Dislike for Sherri, possibly, he acknowledged. But not money.

“I don’t ask for riches, an expensive car or mansion,” Haun wrote in a letter to her lover, which Quinn cited as proof of his point. “All I ask for is for you to continue to be the loving, caring, strong, wonderful Okami-san that I love so much.”

As to the allegation of lying in wait, Quinn tried to show that the charge cannot be proved in this case. The legal definition of lying in wait requires that there is no interruption between a surprise attack on the “unsuspecting victim” and the actual killing.

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In the Dally case, Quinn said, there is no way of knowing whether an interruption occurred between the moment Sherri Dally was abducted and the moment she was killed.

“In this case, the last evidence that you have is Sherri Dally getting into the car--and you have no idea what happened after that,” Quinn said.

“You don’t know if she was killed in the car. You don’t know if a struggle took place. And you don’t know if a conversation took place,” he argued. “The bottom line is, it is one of those areas where the trail ends.”

Additionally, Quinn said: “How reasonable is it to believe that Sherri Dally continued to be an unsuspecting victim? How long could it have taken her to figure out that something’s wrong here?”

In fact, Quinn told the jury, evidence in the case suggests that Dally would have immediately recognized Haun if she had been the abductor.

Witnesses testified that on two occasions prior to her death, Dally had confrontations with Haun. She knew Haun was having an affair with her husband and was struggling to save her marriage and win him back, according to court testimony.

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Given those facts, Quinn said: “If there was anyone in the world who knew what Ms. Haun looked like and would be able to recognize her, it would be Sherri Dally.”

Prosecutor Lela Henke-Dobroth argued Wednesday that the kidnapping occurred too quickly for Dally to recognize Haun as the wigged, costumed abductor who quickly slapped handcuffs on her wrists before driving her away from Target.

Henke-Dobroth argued that there is ample evidence to show that Haun was the person who premeditated the killing, carried it out and then tried to cover it up.

Two days before the kidnap-slaying, Haun used a personal check to buy a blond wig, modeling it for two sales clerks. She used a second check at Kmart the same day to buy a tan pantsuit, a camping ax, trash bags and other items believed used in the killing.

The next day, Haun rented a blue-green Nissan Altima at Oxnard Airport--reserving the vehicle in her own name and securing it on her credit card, according to court testimony.

Dally’s blood was later found in the back seat and floorboard of the same car, DNA tests showed. The carpets and seat had been cleaned and there were no fingerprints inside, investigators testified.

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Prosecutors have argued that the shopping trip is proof of the premeditation and planning that took place prior to Dally’s killing.

But Quinn said Haun never would have left such an obvious paper trail of personal checks, credit card transactions and phone records if she were executing a murder plan.

“And the argument that she is just stupid doesn’t fly,” Quinn said. “She used to work in a bank. She is smart. She understands how the world works.”

Quinn’s summation, which started late Wednesday afternoon and ended about the same time Thursday, closed with the defense attorney facing the jury for a few final words. Unlike the prosecution, the defense is not allowed a rebuttal statement.

“It is an important task,” Quinn said, sounding tired and weary. “The truth is Diana Haun was not the abductor and not the killer. And after that, we don’t know what happened.”

As he sat down at the defense table, Haun reached out to Quinn and mouthed four words: “Thank you. Thank you.”