ALFRED — The murder trial of Richard Dalli began Tuesday at York County Superior Court with testimony from the girlfriend of stabbing victim, John Wheeler. Claire Cardin described the events leading up to and witnessing her boyfriend being fatally stabbed at Dalli’s York home on Sept. 2, 2008.

Defense attorney Sarah Churchill told the jury in her opening statement Tuesday that Dalli was not criminally responsible for Wheeler’s death by reason of insanity, and the most they could find him guilty of would be manslaughter, due to reckless actions or criminal negligence.

“This case is not a who-done-it,” Churchill said in court Tuesday. “This case is about accountability.”

Churchill said Dalli has had a long history of substance abuse and mental illness and was previously diagnosed with “schizoaffective disorder,” which causes Dalli to have hallucinations, paranoia and severe depression. Leading up to Wheeler’s stabbing, Dalli experienced paranoia and repeatedly told renters living in his home and visitors that people had stolen his money and prescription medications, Churchill said.

Assistant Attorney General Lisa Marchese said that Dalli was, however, aware of his actions, and that shortly after Dalli stabbed Wheeler he knew he was in a lot of trouble. Marchese said Dalli was angry that his sexual advances were rebuffed, and that he was not psychotic, delusional or hearing voices when he stabbed Wheeler.

In her testimony, Cardin said she has known Dalli for 10 to 15 years and that they spoke on the phone a near-daily basis. She introduced Wheeler and Dalli prior to the evening of Sept. 1, 2008, but said the two were not particularly fond of each other.

As Cardin went through the events of the evening of Sept. 1, 2008 and following morning, she told the attorneys she had trouble recalling specific times due to the traumatic event and that some details she could not remember. Others, she said, she was sure of.

Cardin said she met Wheeler and Dalli and several other men at Dalli’s home around 11:30 p.m. after finishing work on Sept. 1. Cardin said she had a beer on the drive to York and had two more beers and two mixed vodka drinks at Dalli’s home.

Other members of the group were drinking alcohol, including Wheeler and Dalli, that evening and morning. Cardin told police last week that she also gave Dalli two tablets of her son’s prescription medication for attention deficit disorder shortly after arriving, at Dalli’s request. She told the court that she did not think it would come up and that was why she did not tell police, and when questioned by Churchill she said she did tell a detective on the case last week that she was concerned the prescription drugs may have affected Dalli’s actions on Sept. 2, 2008.

In the early morning hours of Sept. 2, Cardin testified that she, Wheeler and Dalli were sitting together in the living room of the home when Dalli propositioned Wheeler for oral sex and said he would pay him. Cardin said she and Wheeler laughed off the advances.

Shortly afterwards, the conversation turned to Dalli’s collection of knives and swords, and the two men looked at and discussed one of Dalli’s swords. Cardin said some time after that, Dalli retrieved a machete and returned to the living room. Wheeler got up, pinned Dalli to the floor and removed the machete from Dalli’s hand, which he threw on a couch and instructed Cardin to hide.

Under cross examination, she was challenged about omitting details of the incident. For instance, Cardin did not say that at this point in the confrontation David Young, Dalli’s tenant who lived in the basement, came upstairs and assisted Wheeler in removing the machete from Dalli’s possession. Cardin said she could not remember clearly and must have misspoken. Cardin reviewed materials from both attorneys to refresh her memory several times throughout her testimony.

Following the machete incident, Cardin said Wheeler got a cut on his hand in the scuffle and was looking for a towel. She saw Dalli head toward the kitchen, and when he returned she saw him reach out and slash across Wheeler’s stomach ”“ as Wheeler was walking toward Dalli ”“ and then saw Dalli stab him in the chest with a kitchen knife.

Cardin said that Dalli said he was then going downstairs to kill the boys there, and she went to Wheeler’s side. She said she could not feel his heart beating, and he was gasping for air.

As Cardin headed for the kitchen, she saw Dalli, who said he was going to go cut off Wheeler’s head. Cardin said she became hysterical and started screaming. She then saw Dalli on the phone and heard him saying that an intruder had broken into his home and he had to stab him. Cardin started yelling that he was a liar, and Dalli then handed her the phone.

That is when police arrived, Cardin said, and they were both handcuffed as emergency medical responders attended to Wheeler. Cardin said as they lay on the floor side by side in handcuffs, Dalli told police he was injured, bleeding and needed a doctor, and that she continued to yell that he was a liar and had stabbed Wheeler. Cardin said Dalli then turned his head to face her and winked.

Marchese planned to call Dalli’s tenant, David Young, who was in the basement of the house at the time of Wheeler’s stabbing and several detectives involved in the case Tuesday, if time permits. Churchill said she did not expect to start closing statements until the end of the week.

— Staff Writer Robyn Burnham can be contacted at 282-1535, Ext. 329 or rburnham@journaltribune.com.