Dally Case: Part II

There is no longer a mystery about who killed Sherri Dally.

It was her husband’s lover, Diana Haun. A jury decided that last fall.

But crucial questions linger: Did Michael Dally, Sherri’s high school sweetheart and husband of 14 years, mastermind her death? Or did Haun, obsessed with eliminating her lover’s wife, conceive the elaborate murder plan and carry it out alone?

A jury will grapple with those questions as Dally’s murder trial begins Monday.

Meanwhile, prosecutors will address a difficult question of their own: How can they secure a murder conviction against a man they acknowledge never wielded the murder weapon?

Still, they believe Dally, a 37-year-old grocery manager, was the driving force behind Sherri’s death in May 1996. They have charged him with murder, conspiracy and kidnapping.

They say he wanted out of his marriage, decided that killing his 35-year-old wife would be cheaper than divorce, and found an eager accomplice in Haun.

For the past year, Dally, the father of two young boys, has been in Ventura County Jail awaiting trial. Family members say the children are worried about losing their father as well as their mother.

While Dally sat in jail, Haun was tried last summer. After six weeks, she was convicted of first-degree murder for fatally stabbing Sherri Dally.

While jurors could have sentenced Haun to death, they decided she should spend the rest of her life in prison.

As with her case, a jury from Santa Barbara County has been picked for Michael Dally’s trial because of heavy pretrial publicity. But the similarities end there.

Although many of the same witnesses will testify, what they testify to and how they are presented to the jury may be quite different, lawyers say. In part, that is because Dally is accused not of wielding the murder weapon but of encouraging Haun to kill.

Under the law, a person who assists, instigates or advises someone else to commit murder is equally guilty. But even prosecutors have acknowledged the concept can be difficult for jurors to accept, and legal experts agree.

“It is tougher on the prosecution to go on an aiding-and-abetting theory,” said Laurie Levenson, an associate dean at Loyola Law School.

“It is just harder because you don’t have the direct evidence,” she said. “Usually what you need is strong motive or an admission or statements made after the fact.”

Nevertheless, the theory is used in courtrooms every day, Levenson said.

Most notably, federal prosecutors used it in the trial of Oklahoma City bombing suspect Terry L. Nichols, who was found guilty only of conspiracy and manslaughter for his role in the terrorist attack. Prosecutors had sought a first-degree murder conviction.

At Nichols’ trial, defense attorney Michael Tigar said his client “was not there” when the bomb exploded and claimed 168 lives.

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The same argument may also be persuasive in Dally’s case, Levenson said.

“The further away he is from the crime, the more the jury is going to wonder,” she said.

George Eskin, a retired defense attorney and former Ventura County prosecutor, said the notion can be a challenge for both sides.

He said the defense must show the difference between offhanded comments and encouragement to kill.

“On the other hand, I can see the prosecution being concerned that they present enough evidence to show specifics,” he said.

Aside from the intriguing legal theories, defense attorney and former prosecutor Kevin DeNoce said the Dally trial will allow the public to see four top trial attorneys go head-to-head.

“The case is unique in that you don’t have carbon copy defense attorneys or prosecutors,” he said. This is going to be a very interesting case to watch.”

Barred from comment by a judge’s gag order, prosecutors and defense attorneys have declined to discuss the case or their strategies. But their questions during jury selection have provided some glimpses of how they might tackle key points at the trial.

Defense attorneys James M. Farley and Robert I. Schwartz hammered one point in particular: Dally is presumed innocent until the prosecution can prove otherwise.

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“Mr. Dally has a cloak of innocence that sticks with him throughout this entire trial,” Schwartz said during jury selection.

Levenson expects the defense to focus its case on Haun as murderer while picking apart points raised by the prosecution.

“It’s a two-fold strategy,” she said. “Focus on Haun as the real killer and suggest the circumstantial evidence doesn’t hold up.”

Meanwhile, prosecutors may have tipped their hand during Haun’s trial about how they plan to go after Dally.

In terms of motive, Deputy Dist. Attys. Lela Henke-Dobroth and Michael K. Frawley described Dally as being unhappy in his marriage. They contended, however, that he was unwilling to go through a divorce because “he would be paying for [it] the rest of his life.”

Their first witness, Sallie Lowe, a former girlfriend of Dally’s, testified he had told her he wanted his wife dead and talked about stabbing her or pushing her off a cliff.

They also presented suggestive evidence on the couple’s life insurance policies. Michael Dally canceled the one on himself months before Sherri’s death, but kept the $50,000 policy on his wife. He remained the beneficiary.

And they called witnesses who testified Dally had never joined in the search for his wife and filed for custody of his children, Devon and Max, one week after she was reported missing.

Sherri Dally disappeared from a Target store parking lot May 6, 1996, after witnesses saw her climb into the back seat of a teal-colored car driven by a blond woman.

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Police immediately suspected foul play and focused their investigation on Michael Dally and his longtime girlfriend, Haun. She was arrested May 18, 1996, but later released.

In the weeks that followed, police tracked the pair’s movements and phone calls. They arrested Haun again after a search party found Sherri Dally’s skeletal remains in a steep ravine north of Ventura.

Haun was indicted on murder charges in August. But the Ventura County Grand Jury failed to indict Michael Dally--even though prosecutors had called 57 witnesses.

Sources said the grand jury weighed a wealth of evidence against Haun, including a rental-car receipt and a check for a blond wig. The evidence against Michael Dally was less direct and seemed weak by comparison.

Prosecutors eventually went back to the grand jury and secured an indictment against Dally in November 1996.

But their initial inability to get an indictment may be a telling sign.

“It is an indication that this has always been a tougher case against him,” Levenson said. “The question is, were they able to plug up all of those holes?”

Lost in all the legal maneuvering is what the case has done to Dally’s children.

The boys, ages 8 and 9, live with Michael Dally’s parents in Ventura.

“Everyone is waiting in anticipation,” said Dally’s niece, Hannah Murray.

Murray is expected to testify as a prosecution witness. She said, however, that she will be in court for opening statements Monday to support her uncle--a promise she made to Devon, his older son.

“He is worried about his dad being lonely and nobody being on his side,” Murray said. “He feels that if he is strong, his dad will be strong too.”

In the end, all that relatives can hope for is a fair trial and a just verdict.

“I hope that justice is done and that my family can put closure on this and that we can help the boys be strong,” Murray said. “And I hope that the community will let it be done.”

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Key Dates in Dally Murder Case

May 6, 1996--Sherri Dally disappears from a Target parking lot in Ventura. Witnesses later testify 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. The coroner later determines that Dally was beaten and stabbed to death.

Aug. 1--Haun is arrested on suspicion of killing Dally. The grand jury indicts her on murder and kidnapping charges 15 days later.

Nov. 15--Michael Dally is arrested and indicted on murder and related charges plus special circumstance allegations making him eligible for the death penalty. Haun is re-indicted on the same charges and they plead not guilty.

Dec. 20--The district attorney announces the death penalty will be sought against Haun and Dally.

May 1, 1997--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 to hear the case.

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

Aug. 4--Haun’s trial begins.

Sept. 26--Haun is convicted of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy plus a special circumstance allegation that she killed for financial gain. The verdicts prompt a second penalty trial.

Oct. 27--The same jury decides Haun should spend the rest of her life in prison without the chance of parole rather than face execution. The judge imposes the sentence Nov. 24.

Dec. 15--Jury selection begins in Santa Barbara for Dally’s trial.

Feb. 9, 1998--Dally’s trial is scheduled to begin with opening statements.