Man Gets Life in Prison Term in Wife’s Slaying

Ventura County prosecutors will not make a second bid to secure the death penalty against convicted killer Michael Dally, settling instead for life in prison.

The decision, announced in court Monday, came two weeks after a jury that convicted Dally of plotting his wife’s murder deadlocked over his punishment.

Without a new penalty trial, the 37-year-old former grocery clerk is due to be sentenced June 9 to serve the rest of his life in prison without the possibility of parole.

Dressed in blue jail garb and flanked by sheriff’s deputies, Dally smiled and embraced his two attorneys after the decision was announced.

“Closure for the community and the family was probably the primary reason,” Deputy Dist. Atty. Lela Henke-Dobroth said of the prosecution’s decision not to retry the penalty phase.

“We tried this case the best we could,” Henke-Dobroth said. “The jury obviously agreed. In speaking with them, I can assure you there was no sympathy for Mr. Dally.”

Dally was convicted April 6 of first-degree murder, kidnapping and conspiracy for planning his wife’s May 1996 slaying with his mistress, Diana Haun. She was found guilty of the same charges last year and sentenced to life in prison without parole.

During the trial, prosecutors portrayed Dally as a dead-end drug user who preyed on weak women and eventually persuaded Haun to kill his wife so he could avoid a costly divorce.

While not disputing Dally’s character, defense lawyers said he played no role in his wife’s slaying and suggested that Haun was obsessed and acted alone.

The prosecution’s decision not to retry the penalty phase came as a relief to Dally’s relatives, who feared that a death sentence would irreparably harm his 10- and 8-year-old sons, Devon and Max.

“Now it’s over and my family can move on and we can just concentrate on the boys and getting on with our lives,” said Hannah Murray, 21, the defendant’s niece.