Duluth man charged with murder of woman who got no-contact order against him 10 days earlier

DULUTH — A Duluth man is in custody after a woman with a no-contact order against him was found dead Friday morning in the Central Hillside neighborhood, according to a news release from the Duluth Police Department.

Dale John Howard, 25, is charged with two counts of second-degree murder — one count citing the violation of the restraining order — in the death of Allisa Marie Vollan, 27. Howard was arrested Friday and is in St. Louis County Jail. His bail is set at $750,000. Howard’s initial court appearance was Monday and his next is April 19, according to court filings.

In a GoFundMe for funeral expenses and legal fees, Vollan is described as “a beautiful young woman.” She graduated from Denfeld High School and “always looked forward to her next adventures and the new friends she could meet.”

Before March, Howard did not have any other citations, as an adult, for violence on his criminal record.

According to the complaint: Police officers were called to the lower level of a duplex on the 10 block of E. Fifth Street on Friday morning on a report of a woman who had died. They found Howard under a blanket in a bedroom with Vollan. She had cuts on her chin and blood on her neck and chest; he was crying and had a fresh wound on his right knuckle.

Howard told investigators that he didn’t know what happened to Vollan. He said they had several drinks and cuddled on the couch the previous night. He left to meet friends at a downtown bar, but she didn’t want him to go. Howard said he found her sleeping in the guest room when he got home.

Howard fell asleep on the couch, he said. He went to check on her and move her to the main bedroom, but she wasn’t breathing. Howard said he called his father, who came to the apartment and called 911.

Upstairs neighbors at the duplex reported that they heard an angry male voice and a woman crying around 1:30 a.m. on Friday. This was followed by a series of loud thuds and the sound of something being dragged. Then the volume on the television was cranked up for the rest of the night.

They recorded the sounds on a cellphone, according to the complaint.

Howard was seen on video walking down Lake Avenue around 1:45 a.m., then he stood outside of Spurs on First until about 2:15 a.m. Then he walked back toward his apartment.

According to court documents, police officers were called to the same area less than two weeks earlier when a neighbor reported seeing Howard kick Vollan several times in the head, then slam her head in a door. The neighbors helped Vollan back to their home, and Howard tried to break in. He was arrested and charged with misdemeanor domestic assault.

At the time, Vollan told officers that they had been drinking and Howard, her boyfriend for the past five months, had begun questioning her about old relationships. He became upset, she told the police, then dragged her outside to sleep on the porch. The two had been living together for most of their relationship, she told officers, and that Howard had threatened her about a dozen times.

Vollan had gotten an order for protection on March 12, according to court documents.