Duluth man pleads guilty to murder of girlfriend who had no contact order against him

DULUTH — A Duluth man who said he didn’t remember killing his girlfriend pleaded guilty to second-degree murder without intent Tuesday in St. Louis County Court — a plea deal that could land him in prison longer than sentencing guidelines allow.

Dale John Howard, 25, told Judge Theresa Neo that he doesn’t remember but believes he caused the death of his girlfriend, Allisa Marie Vollan, 27, on March 22. Vollan, described on a fundraising website as a “bright young woman” with “lots of friends,” had a no-contact order against Howard at the time of her death. Howard could face up to 20 years in prison, more than seven years longer than Minnesota’s presumptive guideline for the murder. The county attorney’s office says the longer sentence is legal because of the no-contact order in place against him for domestic violence.

Howard’s sentencing is scheduled for October 14.

According to court documents, officers responded to an early morning call to Howard’s Central Hillside apartment and found him under a blanket with Vollan, who was dead. He told officers he had spent time with Vollan late the night before, then left to meet friends at a bar, and that Vollan had gone to sleep in a guest room. When he tried to move her into his room the next morning, she was not breathing. He called his father, who was at the apartment when Duluth police arrived.

Neighbors on the upper level of the duplex told police that just before Howard left for the bar, they heard a woman crying and an angry male voice. They heard muffled moans, banging and the sound of something being dragged. They recorded it all.

A preliminary autopsy by the Midwest Medical Examiner’s Office found that Vollan was likely suffocated.

Earlier this month, Howard was arrested after neighbors saw him repeatedly slam Vollan’s head against a door. The restraining order was issued by a St. Louis County judge.