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California resident Sherri Dally's abduction and murder was the subject of a recent Dateline episode. Dally was a mother and wife who was kidnapped and murdered by her husband's mistress.
As the Dateline: Unforgettable episode titled The Life She Wanted revealed, Sherri Dally was last seen at a Target parking lot back on May 6, 1996, when a mysterious woman wielding a badge and impersonating a law enforcement officer walked up to Dally, had her handcuffed and led her away in a car.
Sherri's husband Mike Dally reported his wife as missing. A subsequent investigation by Ventura detectives Matt Harvill and Sean Conroy failed to unearth the mystery of Sherri's disappearance until her remains were found on June 1, 1996.
Here's everything that we know.
Dateline: Sherri Dally's abduction and murder details explored
On the surface, Sherri Dally seemed to have the perfect married life. She was a popular daycare owner in Ventura County and had married early. Her husband Mike Dally was her high school sweetheart with whom she shared her children. On the day of her disappearance, Sherri was visiting the local Target store as usual to finish running a few errands when all of a sudden she was abducted by a blond woman wielding a badge, who then handcuffed her and took her away in a teal colored Nissan Altima.
Sherri's husband Mike Dally reported his wife missing after she didn't turn up to pick up their children from school that afternoon. According to Dateline, Mike stated in a recorded phone call:
"My wife dropped my boys off at school at 8:30 this morning... she’s been missing since. I’ve called the hospitals. I’ve called the highway patrol. She’s gone."
Soon after commencing an investigation, Ventura County detectives Harvill and Conroy discovered that although Sherri and Mike's marriage seemed perfect on the surface, in reality, it was beset with difficulties and Mike had a mistress by the name of Diana Haun who was his co-worker at the grocery store where he worked.
As the police grew suspicious of Diana, they sought to question her. The investigators began tracking the Nissan Altima and it was then revealed to have been rented by Haun herself. An examination of the car revealed blood. After Sherri's body was discovered, the Coroner confirmed that she had been assaulted before her death.
A wig store owner then revealed to the police that Diana, who had long dark hair, had indeed bought a blonde wig from the store. It was thus just a matter of time before Diana's guilt was proven in the courts and she and Mike were both separately sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole.
Dateline: Why did Diana Haun murder Sherri Dally?
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According to the Dateline episode, Diana Haun was more of a mistress to Mike Dally and wanted to have a family with him. She was also known by her colleagues to practice "black magic" and often spent time with Mike's children, including Christmas. As Sherri fought back and even told her to stay away from her husband and her family, Diana decided to murder the former and put an end to her resistance once and for all.
Dateline airs new episodes exclusively on NBC.
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