Man, 62, accused of dumping body OKS plea deal
Nearly five years after the body of a woman who died of a drug overdose was dumped in a Franklin Township alley, the man accused in the case pleaded guilty Monday in an agreement with Franklin County prosecutors.
Michael Dais, 62, of Columbus’ West Side, was sentenced to 18 months in prison after pleading guilty to one count of attempted tampering with evidence. He was credited with more than 14 months that he has served in jail awaiting trial in the case.
Dais was indicted in April 2019, nearly three years after the body of Sheri Lucas,
29, of Galloway, was discovered wrapped in a roll of carpet and left in an alley behind the 400 block of Prospect Street near Valleyview.
An autopsy determined she died from an overdose of cocaine and pain medication shortly before her body was found on July 12, 2016.
Dais went to trial in September 2019 on charges of tampering with evidence and abuse of a corpse. The jury was unable to reach a verdict after deliberating for about eight hours, and Common Pleas Judge William Woods declared a mistrial.
Rather than take the case to trial again, prosecutors offered Dais a deal that included pleading guilty to a lesser charge, with a recommended sentence of 18 months, which he accepted. Common Pleas Judge Carl Aveni imposed the sentence.
Dais was the last person to see Lucas alive and admitted to sheriff’s deputies that he did cocaine with her in a Columbus drug house before her death. But he denied to deputies having anything to do with disposing of her body.
The key witness for the prosecution at trial was a man who testified that he operated the drug house and received a call from Dais telling him about the woman’s death. He said Dais told him in a follow-up call that he had rolled the body up in carpet and dumped it in Valleyview. jfutty@dispatch.com @johnfutty