Dally Found With Lover, Police Say

Two days after he reported his wife missing, a bare-chested Michael Dally emerged from his lover’s bedroom to greet police officers assigned to the case, a detective testified Tuesday.

Dets. Sean Conroy and Matt Harvill drove to Diana Haun’s home the morning of May 8, 1996, to interview the grocery clerk. When the detectives arrived, they saw Dally’s black van in Haun’s Port Hueneme driveway.

They knocked, but no one answered the door, Conroy told jurors at Dally’s murder trial. When the detectives telephoned the house moments later, jurors were told that Haun answered and agreed to let them inside.

She was wearing short black pajamas with spaghetti straps and matching shorts, Conroy said. The detectives did not see Dally. But suspecting he was there, Harvill said he called out to him.

The defendant walked into the living room of Haun’s home wearing only a pair of shorts, the detective testified. He and Haun both agreed to come to the Ventura police station for questioning.

The pair spoke with detectives for about six hours that day. After leaving department headquarters, they appeared to fight outside her home, according to earlier testimony.

Prosecutors have charged Dally, 37, with murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for allegedly plotting with Haun to kill his wife on May 6, 1996. Haun, 36, was convicted of the same charges last fall and sentenced to life in prison.

Although it was Haun who fatally stabbed and bludgeoned Sherri Dally, prosecutors contend Michael Dally was involved in the plan and helped cover up evidence Haun left behind.

To bolster that theory, prosecutors questioned Conroy and Harvill on the interviews they had with both suspects after Sherri Dally was reported missing.

Harvill told jurors he spoke with Michael Dally at the defendant’s Ventura home on May 7, 1996. Harvill said he asked Dally if anything was missing from the home--such as a toothbrush or clothes--that might indicate Sherri Dally had simply left.

But Michael Dally told Harvill that the only items missing were Sherri Dally’s keys and a small black pouch in which she carried her credit cards, the detective said.

During a later search of Michael Dally’s house, Harvill said, he saw a black pouch similar to the one Dally described. Harvill, however, said he did not seize the pouch because it was not part of the search warrant.

After Harvill testified, his partner recalled two lengthy interviews the detectives had with Haun--on May 8, and the second on May 18, at which time she was arrested for the first time.

During the second interview, Haun told the detectives she had lost a credit card and driver’s license. She said she could not remember specifically when she lost them but said she had reported the credit card missing after talking to Michael Dally about it.

In other testimony Tuesday, Ventura Police Cpl. Harry Scott testified that when he searched Haun’s purse in the days after Sherri Dally disappeared, he found a slip of paper with the missing homemaker’s credit-card number, birth date, ATM card number and mother’s maiden name written on it.

He said the paper also contained information that included Sherri Dally’s home address, phone number and Social Security number.

Also Tuesday, a woman who said she bought rock cocaine for Michael Dally on at least 15 occasions testified about statements he allegedly made to her after Sherri Dally disappeared.

The woman, identified as Tamara L., told jurors the defendant had told her matter-of-factly that he was a single parent because his wife was gone. She testified that Dally cursed when discussing his missing spouse.

On cross-examination, however, the woman acknowledged that Dally also appeared to be in shock when she saw him immediately after his wife had vanished. She testified that Dally asked her to “ask around” to see if anyone had heard what might have happened to his wife.