Dally Prosecutors Begin Summations

Pointing to a web of circumstantial evidence, prosecutors began summing up their case Wednesday by telling jurors it was Michael Dally--not his lover Diana Haun--who was the driving force behind the 1996 slaying of his wife Sherri Dally.

He was the one driven by lust, love, anger and greed, Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth argued. And, she said, he was the one who sought out a willing and impressionable accomplice to do his bidding.

“The defendant wanted Sherri Dally to disappear, he wanted her to suffer painfully,” Henke-Dobroth told a packed courtroom during a five-hour closing summation. “He wanted her to be hurt as much as he perceived she was hurting him by keeping him trapped like a caged animal in a marriage he couldn’t get out of.”

But rather than endure the financial strain of a divorce, Dally decided to get rid of his wife by having Haun kill her, the prosecutor said.

Haun, 36, was convicted of murder, kidnapping and conspiracy last fall and sentenced to life in prison. Dally, 37, is facing the same charges and a possible death sentence if found guilty. The former grocery store employee has denied the charges.

Dally’s lawyers have suggested Haun acted alone in crafting an elaborate murder scheme. They have described her as a “wacko” and a “psychotic crazy lady” who would stop at nothing to hold onto the man she loved.

But prosecutors say the majority of evidence presented during the six-week trial paints a different picture--one in which Michael Dally emerges as the mastermind behind his wife’s killing and the manipulative schemer who later lies to police to cover up the crime.

Henke-Dobroth slowly went through a 47-point list--titled “Evidence of Guilt”--projected on a white screen at the front of the courtroom.

She discussed the defendant’s previous relationship with girlfriend Sallie Lowe, who testified that Dally told her years before he had met Haun that he hated his wife and wanted her killed.

Henke-Dobroth talked about the Dally couple’s pinched finances, noting that a week before Sherri Dally’s death the defendant persuaded his wife to pay off his own looming credit-card debt.

The prosecutor outlined secret meetings between Haun and Dally in the hours before the killing. And she cited bizarre statements she said Dally made to friends and co-workers afterward that raise the question: How could he know so much about the crime unless he was involved?

“When you look at the evidence in this case, can you say Michael Dally never knew Diana Haun had killed his wife?” the prosecutor asked jurors. “You have to believe that to buy the defense.”

Dally’s Possible Motives Are Raised

Anticipating the possible tenor of defense attorney Robert Schwartz’s closing argument today, Henke-Dobroth told the jury that as “nutty” as Haun was, she would not have committed murder on her own.

“She would not breathe unless Michael Dally told her to breathe,” she said.

During her summation, the prosecutor also talked at length on Dally’s possible motives, including his love for Haun, his anger toward his wife, and his desire to avoid a costly divorce.

Henke-Dobroth cited the testimony of the defendant’s niece, Heather Murray, who told the jury that six months before the killing, her aunt and uncle talked about a divorce and Michael Dally said he would demand custody of the couple’s two sons.

“Over my dead body,” was Sherri Dally’s response, Murray testified. Henke-Dobroth said the defendant took the remark literally.

Michael Dally stood to gain financially from his wife’s death, she added. Sherri Dally had a $50,000 life insurance policy as well as a retirement account to which the defendant was the beneficiary.

Sherri Dally was kidnapped by a woman with blond hair on May 6, 1996. Witnesses saw her climb into the back seat of a teal-colored car at 9:30 a.m. after being handcuffed.

Henke-Dobroth went through the events of May 6--citing meetings and phone calls between the defendant and Haun, which prosecutors say are evidence of conspiracy.

The pair met after midnight on May 6 in the living room of Haun’s home, according to her mother’s testimony before the Ventura County Grand Jury. Kiku Haun later changed her story.

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According to phone records, Diana Haun called Dally about 5 a.m. and later at 10:18 a.m. and 1:27 p.m. The last two calls were made on her calling card from locations where prosecutors suspect Haun was destroying evidence or cleaning the blood-stained rental car.

“Diana Haun is keeping the defendant apprised of the situation every step of the way,” Henke-Dobroth said.

After his wife was reported missing, Dally tried to discourage friends from searching for her body, Henke-Dobroth said. She cited a May 24, 1996, phone call the defendant made to friend Gary Aanerud.

During that conversation, which was tape-recorded by police, Dally told Aanerud, “You don’t want to be the one to find that body.” And he suggested that Aanerud’s girlfriend could be arrested because she matches the description of the kidnapper.

Henke-Dobroth told the jury that Dally’s demeanor during that phone call is significant, showing his mounting paranoia over the police investigation.

“He is scared and he is wired,” she said. “He is scared because they are sending up a helicopter . . . and he is scared that they are going to find her body.”

In fact, it was one week later that a volunteer search party found Sherri Dally’s skeletal remains in the bottom of a steep ravine outside Ventura.

Although Dally had called Aanerud a “good friend” prior to the discovery, Aanerud testified that he never spoke to him again afterward.

“He never thanked Gary Aanerud for finding his wife, why?” Henke-Dobroth asked. “Because Gary Aanerud ruined everything for the defendant.”

In the days and weeks that followed, Dally tried to conceal a sloppy trail of evidence Haun left behind, Henke-Dobroth said.

Haun, Dally Found Together After Crime

According to trial testimony, Haun purchased a blond wig, tan pant suit, camping ax, trash bags and rented a Nissan Altima--all using personal checks or her credit card--in preparation for the kidnapping and slaying.

On May 8, 1996, two days after the crime, detectives found Haun and Dally together at her Port Hueneme home and asked them to voluntarily come to the Ventura Police Station to be interviewed.

Later that day, a police officer conducting surveillance of Haun’s home observed the couple in a heated argument.

“Michael Dally is in her face because she is so stupid,” the prosecutor said. “She used her driver’s license and her credit cards to make purchases and now they’re in a pickle.”

Henke-Dobroth spent a significant amount of time reviewing the testimony of Dally’s former lover Sallie Lowe, a Santa Barbara resident who had an affair with the defendant in 1991.

Lowe testified that during their relationship, Michael Dally talked often about how much he hated his wife and wanted someone to kill her. He specifically said he wanted Sherri Dally pushed off a cliff or stabbed, Lowe said.

Although the defense has challenged Lowe’s credibility, Henke-Dobroth said Lowe’s testimony is significant because it shows Dally’s intent years before Haun had entered the scene.

“She is devastating to their defense,” the prosecutor said, asking whether it is simply a coincidence that Sherri Dally was slain in a manner similar to how he had told Lowe he wanted her killed.

Henke-Dobroth told jurors there are numerous similarities between Michael Dally’s relationship with Lowe and with Haun. Dally told Lowe he felt trapped in his marriage, described Sherri Dally as a bad mother, and solicited Lowe to kill his wife, according to trial testimony.

Henke-Dobroth said it is reasonable to assume that Dally made similar statements and requests of Haun--with a dramatically different outcome.

With regard to her role, Henke-Dobroth said Haun “would have done anything in the world for Michael Dally.”

Although the defense may portray her as a psychotic who engaged in witchcraft and black magic, Henke-Dobroth reminded jurors of Dally’s statements to friends and co-workers about his own interests in Satanism.

“They’re both weird,” Henke-Dobroth said.

The prosecution will resume its closing summation this morning, followed by arguments by the defense.