WEBVTT
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This is the image of a supposedly happy family. But
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behind closed doors, Darren and Charlamac's relationship slowly changed from
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explosive to toxic beyond salvation. And once legal teams became involved,
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this relationship became extremely dangerous for the both of them.
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Until one day, everything would snap. What happened to the
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Mac family? Were the actions which followed planned? And who
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is to blame? Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, folks.
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My name is Adrian, and welcome back to another video
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by Coffeehouse Crime. Today we're going to look at the
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slippery case of Darren Mack. Now this case is a
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wild one. With swingers, fortune, divorce, and even a sniper
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rifle thrown into the mix, this story pretty much has
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it all. And hey, but just to let you know,
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I post solved, unsolved, and strange cases here on a
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weekly basis. So if that's of interest to you, please
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consider subscribing to Coffeehouse Crime. So please, grab yourself a
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coffee and sit back. This is the case of Darren Mack.
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A vibrant city, found in a flat desert, and surrounded
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by mountains. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was Las Vegas.
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But despite sharing the same state, Reno and Sin City
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are on opposite sides of Nevada. Welcome to Reno, folks.
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Nicknamed as the biggest little city in the world, it
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is famous for its flashing neon lights, casinos, and museums,
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and will soon be host to the largest building in
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the world, with thanks to the ongoing production of Tesla's Gigafactory.
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For many decades, Reno's economy has primarily been driven by
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gambling and tourism, but with the introduction of Tesla and
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many other tech companies, this may all change in the future.
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At least for now, it is still well known for
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its gambling, and was once deemed to be the world's
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divorce capital. Something that, unfortunately, Reno does in fact live
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up to in this case. Found within the city's borders,
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we find the home of young beauty, Charla Sample. Born
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on August 15th, 1966, she spent most of her younger
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years at Reno High School, where she made many friends
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and achieved a decent set of grades. Even as a child,
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Charla had big dreams. According to a friend, and more
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than anything else, she wanted to be famous. In her
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late teenage years, Charla left Reno behind to move to
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Los Angeles, where she then managed to appear in a
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couple of films and a documentary. But blowing up in
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the movie industry is very tough, and eventually Charla realised this.
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And so, while still in her 20s, she gave up
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on her dream and moved back to Reno, Nevada. Reshuffling
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her priorities to live a more comfortable and realistic life,
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Charla at first found it very difficult to settle down
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into a less ambitious lifestyle. Despite giving up on her
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acting career, she still wanted the money, the fame, and
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the attention. Which, let's be honest, wasn't going to happen
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between the small jobs that she jumped between. But the
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course of Charla's life would forever change when, one day,
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she locked eyes with a somewhat charming man who went
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by the name of Darren Mack. Darren Mack was a
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handsome and successful businessman, Born on January 31st, 1961, he
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was also raised in Nevada by his mother Sloane and father.
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The Mack family were different to the usual. They were
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actually distinctively wealthy, with thanks to his parents owning one
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of the largest pawn shops in Reno. And Darren, he
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was the oldest son who would one day inherit their kingdom.
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Moving through his young adulthood, Darren also graduated from Reno
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High School, before attending the University of Nevada on a
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baseball scholarship. And while doing this, he became more and
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more involved with the family's business. But at the age
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of 25, and in the year 1986, tragedy would strike
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the Macs in a rather unusual fashion. His father was
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unfortunately killed in a plane crash, leaving Darren, his mother,
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and his brother with a great deal of emotional turmoil.
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But alongside this devastating news, a window of opportunity opened
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up for Darren. At long last, he became the half-owner
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of the family business. which, at the time, was estimated
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to be worth over $ 10 million. Over the following years,
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Darren continued to expand his role in the family's business,
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and in fact, he had a profoundly positive impact on
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their financials. During this time, he continued to indulge in
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a life of luxury and extravagance, blowing tens of thousands
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of dollars on parties, watches, and cars. He would also
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fall in love and marry Deborah Ashlock in 1986, where
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the two would then go on to have a son
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and a daughter together. But by the year 1991 had
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come around, the two had unfortunately divorced. And just a
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few years after this, Darren would of course meet Charla. Now,
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from the very beginning, friends claimed that the strong chemistry
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between Charla and Darren was in fact undeniable. They seemed
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to be a perfect match for one another, and they
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were extremely passionate. Personalities aside, Darren's lifestyle and money were
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a great match for Charla too. He was able to
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afford whatever she wanted, and this would come into play
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very quickly. Not only were Charla and Darren very quick
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to move in together, but they would also marry in
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a very quick manner too. Within one year of finding
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each other, Charla had become Mrs. Mack. From here on out,
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and at least to family and friends, the married couple
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were quite simply unstoppable. They were full of love, hopes,
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and dreams. And of course, they were filthy rich. Along
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with Darren's children from his former marriage, the four lived
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together in a $ 1. 6 million home in Washoe Valley. where
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Darren drove a Hummer and Charla drove a Lexus. Charla
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would work with Darren in his pawn shop, further propping
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up his financial empire, and in their downtime, they embarked
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on luxurious holidays together. Darren and Charla played their part
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in being good parents to their two children, and in
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the background, they would also work at local charity events,
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where Darren also ran seminars in self-improvement, further propping up
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a facade of a perfect family. It is easy to
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see why that, from the outside, the Mack family were
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envied for so many reasons. But the Mack's had a
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very indulgent side too. Darren and Charla were actually in
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an open marriage, frequently attended swingers parties, and were well
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known in the strip clubs around Reno. Now, if it
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worked for Darren and Charla, then good for them. And
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although this arrangement would work in the beginning, that would
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all eventually change. Shortly into their marriage, Darren and Charla
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would have their first child together. Their daughter, Erica, was
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born three days before Christmas, on December 22nd, 1997. The
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family's dynamics would change fairly swiftly after this. With the
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introduction of their first child, Charla had second thoughts about
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their open marriage. I mean, sure, they did have their fun,
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but now things were getting serious. She wanted the extra
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level of commitment from Darren, but this wasn't something he
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was happy to give. Other differences, such as those between
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their personalities, came to light. And this is where our
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story today begins to go downhill. Disagreements turned into arguments.
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Arguments into shouting. And shouting into physical violence. And some
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of these actions were in full public display at home
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and at work. Charla sought comfort from her friends, admitting
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that Darren had started to physically and verbally attack her.
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All in the meanwhile, Darren's diary recalls moments of Charla
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kicking him in the balls, keying his car, and yelling
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at him over the phone. These altercations became so severe,
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that Darren eventually moved out of their $ 1. 6 million family
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home to live in the nearby luxury condominium. And soon
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after this, both he and Charla were in constant fear
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of each other. Apparently, Darren would carry a gun in
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fear that she was going to kill him. and as
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for Chala, she had apparently already been grabbed by the
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neck and strangled numerous times. Safe to say, this intense
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and passionate relationship had nosedived to become extremely toxic. By
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February of 2005, the couple had reached a breaking point.
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It was in this month that Chala officially filed for
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a divorce, and unfortunately, it would introduce one great point
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of contention. Of course, I'm talking about money. You see,
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Darren and Charla were making lots of money together, but
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the business itself belonged to Darren, and he had fired Charla.
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This means that despite Darren making over $ 40, 000 per month,
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Charla was unemployed and earning nothing. So, this is where
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I must introduce our third and final character to the story.
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You see, with a relationship so violent and volatile, both
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Darren and Charla were not going to leave without a fight,
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and this remained all the same with divorce proceedings. Charla
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wanted to claim as much financial support as possible from Darren,
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whereas Darren, on the other hand, claimed he had no
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money to spare, and he refused to give any to Charla.
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So a family court judge was therefore selected and appointed
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to their case, and this judge would have the overruling
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say on their divorce conditions. So with that said, our
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third key character to this case, family court judge Chuck Weller.
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With over 20 years of experience as an attorney, Chuck
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made the move in 2004 to become a court judge
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overseeing family cases. He was a long-term servant of the
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judicial system, and had a clean track record as an attorney.
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But when he was put onto the case of Darren
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and Charla's divorce settlement, he was only several months into
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his new role. This left him slightly inexperienced, and furthermore,
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he was allegedly known to show a slight bias in
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his cases. Darren was straight out of luck here, as
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after reviewing the case, Chuck Weller ordered Darren to pay
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Charla $ 10, 849 per month until the divorce was settled. This
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was on the basis that Charla was unemployed, and Darren
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himself was making more than quadruple this figure every month. Now,
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as expected, Darren wasn't happy about this at all, and
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not only would he refuse to make these payments, but
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he also took this case to local media in an
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effort to gain public support. He would even go on
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to describe Chuck as an abusive and tyrannous man.
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People that have never experienced this is, it sounds almost
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like you're trying to tell a story about how Martians
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have landed, because it sounds so unbelievable to unless you've
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actually been in it or been around his courtroom. But
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if you check on the Internet, there's many, many, many
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like myself that have been fallen prey to his tyranny
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and his abuse in his courtroom. I can't even speak
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of what the cost will be from the retaliation that
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I'll get from the court system of Chuck Weller. It's
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even going through it, it's hard to keep your mind
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around that this kind of tyranny and this kind of
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injustice could happen in the United States. It just doesn't
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make any sense.
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Throughout the following months, Charla's financial figures quickly slipped into
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the negatives. And as she found herself falling apart in debt,
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Darren was flying to luxurious resorts in Mexico with his
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new girlfriends. The legal proceedings to their divorce settlement dragged
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on for a total of 15 months, and in this
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time frame, multiple lawsuits and many serious allegations were thrown
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between both parties. Seriously, this case was a total shitstorm,
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and by May of 2006, Chuck Weller clearly had enough.
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He figured if these two were not able to come
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to their own conclusion, he would take matters into his
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own hands. And eventually, Chuck did just that. He mandated
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child custody right down the middle, ruling that their child
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Erica would spend alternating weeks between Darren and Charla. When
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it came to financials, Darren would once again, in his mind,
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draw the short straw. He was ordered to pay Charla
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a total of $ 480, 000 within the next 48 hours. And
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in addition to this, Darren was also ordered to pay
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an additional $ 500, 000 in monthly installments of $ 10, 000 over the
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next 50 months. This would leave Charla just shy of
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$ 1 million. He was also ordered to reimburse Charla $ 15, 000
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for the spousal support payments that he'd missed in previous months.
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Following Chuck's ruling, Darren was furious with the outcome. And,
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I mean, granted, Charla wasn't too happy either, but Darren
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was clearly the one to be enraged with the situation.
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Even still, no one, and honestly, I mean no one,
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expected what was to happen next. June the 12th, 2006.
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The time was 11am, and being a Monday, most of
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those in downtown Reno were back at work after a
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usual summer weekend. That is when, in the heart of Reno,
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and along Sierra Street, a sudden gunshot echoed through the air.
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Those in the immediate vicinity rushed indoors to seek cover,
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while others called 911 to report a potential shooter in
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the area. I think there's going to be a sniper.
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It soon became apparent that the noise heard was indeed
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a gunshot. Those near the Truckee River could see a
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broken window from the Reno Muni Court, and those situated
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northbound recalled gunfire coming from the parking gallery car park.
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For those inside the Reno Muni Court building, the event
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was even more obvious. A family court judge had been shot,
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and the judge was no other than Chuck Weller. Hundreds
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of officers shut down the area around Sierra Street, as
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SWAT teams spread out in desperate search for a sniper
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on the run. All in the meanwhile, civilians hid in
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local shops, restaurants and other buildings. But as the downtown
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shooting gripped the attention of law enforcement and the public,
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there were other sinister actions which had taken place in
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the shadows. Travelling back two hours before the sniper attack,
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which was at 9am, Charla had taken her daughter Erika
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to Wilbur May Parkway to drop her daughter off at
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Darren's condominium. Monday was the day that the two parents
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swapped custody over Erika, and so, as the two arrived,
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Erika made her way upstairs to meet Darren's friend and
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housemate Daniel Osborne, this leaving her parents, Darren and Charla,
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downstairs by the driveway. Darren had politely asked Daniel if
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he could drive Erika to her grandmother's house that day, as, unfortunately,
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Darren had several things to take care of, and Daniel
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kindly agreed. But as Daniel and Erica were catching up,
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a sudden shriek rang through the air. Hearing it a
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second time, the two of them were able to conclude
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that it was the sound of Daniel's dog yelping from
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the garage. Daniel slowly walked downstairs to investigate, and that
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is when Darren made his own way through the garage door.
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He brushed past Daniel with a weird look on his face.
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He remained silent, and a towel was wrapped around his hand.
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Just moments after this, Daniel's dog ran through the garage door,
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and he was covered in blood. but one quick glance
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over this, and Daniel was able to tell that his
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dog was thankfully okay. However, that could only mean one thing.
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All of this blood was coming from something, or someone else.
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In this moment, he realized that Charla was nowhere to
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be found, and this was despite her car still remaining
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on the driveway. Daniel didn't dare check the garage. A
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very sudden fear overcame him. He ran back upstairs, found Erica,
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and said we have to leave. they jumped into Daniel's
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car and drove away. Calling the police about two hours later,
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officers would, unfortunately, take a while to arrive at Wilbur
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May Parkway. With the potential sniper attack unfolding downtown, law
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enforcement's main priority was focused on capturing the suspected gunman.
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But eventually, as officers looked around the property, they discovered
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three droplets of blood on Darren Mack's driveway, and, more specifically,
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they were near the garage door. With no response from
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within the property, officers stormed the condominium, and behind the
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garage door lay a very gruesome scene. They found the
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lifeless body of Charla Mack, and tragically, she had been
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stabbed several times in the neck. One notable detail is
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that she wasn't wearing any socks or shoes. Venturing inside,
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a search of Darren's condo revealed more incriminating evidence. This
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included a note which appeared to be a step-by-step guide
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for killing Charla. and police would also find a rental
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contract for a silver Ford Explorer. It didn't take long
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for officers to realise that both Chuck and Charla were
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connected to a man no other than Darren Mack, and
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once they realised this, they were very keen to find him.
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Police officers reviewing surveillance footage near Chuck's office found that
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at 10.41am, just 20 minutes before Chuck was shot, a
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silver Ford Explorer entered the suspected car park across the river.
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And just after the time that Chuck Weller had been shot,
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this same Ford Explorer was spotted leaving. With Charla's death,
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Chuck's grave injuries, this surveillance footage, and the receipt, officers
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were now confident that Darren Mack had something to do
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with all of this. Within hours, news had spread like
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wildfire that Darren was now the prime suspect in both
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of these attacks. And furthermore, the FBI had given him
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pole position on their most wanted list online. Described as
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a bodybuilder and hunter with access to all types of weapons,
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he was considered to be armed and dangerous. But Darren,
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he was nowhere to be found. And simply put, he
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had vanished. So, the nationwide manhunt for Darren Mack had
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finally begun. But by the time that officers had realised
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that he was their prime suspect, he was long gone.
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Data forensics confirmed that Darren's mobile phone pinged a cell
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tower in Boomtown at 11.19am, then again in Verde six
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minutes later, and again in Truckee several minutes after that.
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It seemed as if Darren had fled westward out of Nevada.
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In an effort to throw authorities off his tail, Darren
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used one of his corporate credit cards at Sacramento International Airport.
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He then jumped back into his hired vehicle and travelled
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south to the Mexico border. where he then ditched the
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Ford Explorer and took a bus to La Paz, a
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town found near the southern tip of the Bahia Peninsula.
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Darren then returned to one of his favourite luxury resorts
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nearby in San Jose del Cabo, and acted as if
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nothing had happened. He did, however, use a fake name.
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Reno investigators, who were closely working with the FBI, were
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able to track Darren across several resorts in Mexico, but Darren,
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he always remained one step ahead of them. Throughout the
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following days, Darren made several attempts to sleep with women,
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which turned heads and caused tension. He would also write
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several letters to himself and his friends, in which he said,
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I am a martyr for the Father's Day rights movement. Remember,
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they want me as a sacrificial lamb. They want the
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pleasure of executing me. My story must get attention, in
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order to save the hundreds of thousands yet to go
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through little Nazi Germany in the divorce industry. Of course,
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rather than sober up to the realisation that he had
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killed his wife, he instead victimised himself. But exactly one
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week after Darren had fled to Mexico, both logic and
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reasonability seemed to get the better of him. It was
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in this moment that he called one of his best
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friends at home to offer his surrender. It would take
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four long days of negotiating before he finally revealed himself.
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On June the 22nd, 11 days after murdering Charla Mack
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and attempting to murder Chuck Weller, Darren Mack surrendered himself
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to authorities. He was carrying $ 36, 000 in cash, 20 credit cards,
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and a suitcase full of evidence. A pair of bloody shoes,
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along with other items of clothing, were found within his suitcase.
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and as expected, this blood matched the DNA profile of
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Charla Mack. However, there is one positive detail to this case.
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Family court judge Chuck Weller would thankfully survive the attack,
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and over the following months, he would make a full recovery.
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Darren was able to land a 150-meter shot on Chuck,
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but the bullet had penetrated his upper chest just below
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his shoulder, missing all vital organs. Moving into the legal
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proceedings of this case, Darren Mack was defended by Scott
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Freeman and famous attorney David Chesnoff. Due to Darren's former
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ties with Chuck Weller, the entire Washoe County bench were
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disqualified from participating in all civil cases against Darren, and
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therefore Darren Mack's trial was moved to Las Vegas. During
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his trial, Darren claimed that his wife was both mentally
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unstable and abusive. Allegedly, he had killed Charla out of self-defence.
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He claimed that, on the morning that she was killed,
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she had punched the back of his head before drawing
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a gun on him. The gun then failed to fire,
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and Darren retaliated with a knife. Darren also claimed that
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after being forced to kill Charla, he was in a
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severe state of shock, and was therefore legally insane during
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his attempt to kill Chuck. On November 5th, 2007, Darren
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pleaded guilty to first-degree murder over the death of his
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estranged wife, Charla Mack. He also entered an Alford plea
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to the attempted murder of Chuck Weller. For those unaware,
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an Alford plea is where the defendant does not admit
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to the crime, and they insist that they are innocent.
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But they do however admit that the evidence presented in
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court is likely to persuade a judge or jury to
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their convictions. In typical man-child fashion, Darren then attempted to
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withdraw these pleas. He then claimed that he was coerced
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into pleading guilty by his own attorneys, and also claimed
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that his signature was forged. But the judge would deny
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Darren's motions, and essentially tell him to shut up.
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Darren, how do you feel about the death of Charla?
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How do I feel about it? I feel about the whole,
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that whole events for that day is a tremendous tragedy.
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I mean, the impact of this, I mean, my little
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girl doesn't have a mother. My two children who loved
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her and still do with all their heart don't have
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a stepmother. Like I said, when Charla was in her upbeat, great,
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normal state, she was, I mean, you would want to
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be her friend. A lot of people don't recognize this.
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I lost a wife, too. And even though that this happened,
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I still loved Charla. I just couldn't live with her
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and I was afraid of her. If telling the truth
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to the jury got me convicted, then that's the truth.
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I would have never choreographed the whole damn day. If
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you can't win it on the facts, you might as
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well lie. It's kind of the philosophy here, it seems like.
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Why not just present the facts to a jury?
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Under the previous terms of the plea agreement, Darren was
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sentenced to life in prison for murdering Charla. He was
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also given the maximum sentence for the attempted murder of
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Judge Weller, which resulted in 40 years behind bars, with
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eligibility for parole after 16 years. These sentences run consecutively.
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which means Darren Mac will be eligible for parole in
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the year 2042. This means he can't taste freedom until
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the ripe old age of 82. Since his conviction, Darren
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has made several appeals, including one in 2010, 2011, and
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as recent as 2018. But so far, all appeals have
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been denied. Darren's son, Jory Mac, who is now an adult,
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now fights for his father and claims that Darren is
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partially innocent.
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Putting those puzzle pieces together.
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you see an entirely different picture.
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This case is a turbulent one. An explosive and passionate
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marriage ended in a bitter divorce, and both Charla and
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Darren seem to promote further violence against one another. But
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the difference here is that Charla lost her life, and
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her child now has no mother or father. And although
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there is no proof that Charla intended to kill Darren,
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there is proof that it had crossed his mind. Money
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seemed to be the main motive behind Darren's actions, which
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in a roundabout way is counterintuitive, as now he has
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none of it, and even worse, Charla is no more.
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As usual with cases involving homicide, everyone was a loser here.
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Charla lost her life, Darren lost his freedom, their three
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kids lost their parents, and both families lost a member.
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And surprise surprise, all of this was over money. That
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just about wraps up today's case, folks. Thank you so
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much for watching another video today by Coffeehouse Crime. If
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00:24:48.049 --> 00:24:50.670
you found this case interesting or learned something new, then
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00:24:50.690 --> 00:24:52.829
please remember to like the video and subscribe if you
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00:24:52.849 --> 00:24:55.589
haven't yet. So, what are your thoughts on the case
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of Darren Mack? Did he have no choice but to
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retaliate against Charla's actions? Or was all of this cold-blooded murder?
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Please let me know what you think in the comment
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section down below. And as always, folks, I'll be back
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00:25:07.119 --> 00:25:10.190
again real soon for another video. But until that moment arrives,
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please remember to stay safe and look after each other.
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Thank you and goodbye.
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This is the image of a supposedly happy family. But
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behind closed doors, Darren and Charlamac's relationship slowly changed from
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explosive to toxic beyond salvation. And once legal teams became involved,
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this relationship became extremely dangerous for the both of them.
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Until one day, everything would snap. What happened to the
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Mac family? Were the actions which followed planned? And who
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00:00:25.609 --> 00:00:29.789
is to blame? Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening, folks.
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00:00:30.190 --> 00:00:32.689
My name is Adrian, and welcome back to another video
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00:00:32.750 --> 00:00:35.109
by Coffeehouse Crime. Today we're going to look at the
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00:00:35.149 --> 00:00:38.590
slippery case of Darren Mack. Now this case is a
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00:00:38.630 --> 00:00:42.670
wild one. With swingers, fortune, divorce, and even a sniper
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00:00:42.729 --> 00:00:45.250
rifle thrown into the mix, this story pretty much has
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00:00:45.289 --> 00:00:47.509
it all. And hey, but just to let you know,
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00:00:47.530 --> 00:00:50.570
I post solved, unsolved, and strange cases here on a
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00:00:50.590 --> 00:00:53.310
weekly basis. So if that's of interest to you, please
16
00:00:53.350 --> 00:00:57.039
consider subscribing to Coffeehouse Crime. So please, grab yourself a
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00:00:57.060 --> 00:01:00.799
coffee and sit back. This is the case of Darren Mack.
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A vibrant city, found in a flat desert, and surrounded
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by mountains. You'd be forgiven for thinking this was Las Vegas.
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But despite sharing the same state, Reno and Sin City
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are on opposite sides of Nevada. Welcome to Reno, folks.
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Nicknamed as the biggest little city in the world, it
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is famous for its flashing neon lights, casinos, and museums,
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and will soon be host to the largest building in
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the world, with thanks to the ongoing production of Tesla's Gigafactory.
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For many decades, Reno's economy has primarily been driven by
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gambling and tourism, but with the introduction of Tesla and
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many other tech companies, this may all change in the future.
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At least for now, it is still well known for
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its gambling, and was once deemed to be the world's
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divorce capital. Something that, unfortunately, Reno does in fact live
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up to in this case. Found within the city's borders,
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we find the home of young beauty, Charla Sample. Born
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on August 15th, 1966, she spent most of her younger
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years at Reno High School, where she made many friends
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and achieved a decent set of grades. Even as a child,
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Charla had big dreams. According to a friend, and more
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than anything else, she wanted to be famous. In her
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late teenage years, Charla left Reno behind to move to
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Los Angeles, where she then managed to appear in a
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couple of films and a documentary. But blowing up in
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the movie industry is very tough, and eventually Charla realised this.
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And so, while still in her 20s, she gave up
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on her dream and moved back to Reno, Nevada. Reshuffling
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her priorities to live a more comfortable and realistic life,
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Charla at first found it very difficult to settle down
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into a less ambitious lifestyle. Despite giving up on her
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acting career, she still wanted the money, the fame, and
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the attention. Which, let's be honest, wasn't going to happen
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between the small jobs that she jumped between. But the
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course of Charla's life would forever change when, one day,
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she locked eyes with a somewhat charming man who went
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by the name of Darren Mack. Darren Mack was a
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handsome and successful businessman, Born on January 31st, 1961, he
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was also raised in Nevada by his mother Sloane and father.
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The Mack family were different to the usual. They were
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actually distinctively wealthy, with thanks to his parents owning one
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of the largest pawn shops in Reno. And Darren, he
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was the oldest son who would one day inherit their kingdom.
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Moving through his young adulthood, Darren also graduated from Reno
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High School, before attending the University of Nevada on a
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baseball scholarship. And while doing this, he became more and
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more involved with the family's business. But at the age
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of 25, and in the year 1986, tragedy would strike
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the Macs in a rather unusual fashion. His father was
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unfortunately killed in a plane crash, leaving Darren, his mother,
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and his brother with a great deal of emotional turmoil.
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But alongside this devastating news, a window of opportunity opened
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up for Darren. At long last, he became the half-owner
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of the family business. which, at the time, was estimated
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to be worth over $ 10 million. Over the following years,
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Darren continued to expand his role in the family's business,
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and in fact, he had a profoundly positive impact on
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their financials. During this time, he continued to indulge in
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a life of luxury and extravagance, blowing tens of thousands
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of dollars on parties, watches, and cars. He would also
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fall in love and marry Deborah Ashlock in 1986, where
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the two would then go on to have a son
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and a daughter together. But by the year 1991 had
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come around, the two had unfortunately divorced. And just a
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few years after this, Darren would of course meet Charla. Now,
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from the very beginning, friends claimed that the strong chemistry
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between Charla and Darren was in fact undeniable. They seemed
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to be a perfect match for one another, and they
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were extremely passionate. Personalities aside, Darren's lifestyle and money were
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a great match for Charla too. He was able to
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afford whatever she wanted, and this would come into play
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very quickly. Not only were Charla and Darren very quick
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to move in together, but they would also marry in
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a very quick manner too. Within one year of finding
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each other, Charla had become Mrs. Mack. From here on out,
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and at least to family and friends, the married couple
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were quite simply unstoppable. They were full of love, hopes,
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and dreams. And of course, they were filthy rich. Along
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with Darren's children from his former marriage, the four lived
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together in a $ 1. 6 million home in Washoe Valley. where
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Darren drove a Hummer and Charla drove a Lexus. Charla
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would work with Darren in his pawn shop, further propping
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up his financial empire, and in their downtime, they embarked
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on luxurious holidays together. Darren and Charla played their part
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in being good parents to their two children, and in
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the background, they would also work at local charity events,
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where Darren also ran seminars in self-improvement, further propping up
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a facade of a perfect family. It is easy to
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see why that, from the outside, the Mack family were
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envied for so many reasons. But the Mack's had a
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very indulgent side too. Darren and Charla were actually in
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an open marriage, frequently attended swingers parties, and were well
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known in the strip clubs around Reno. Now, if it
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worked for Darren and Charla, then good for them. And
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although this arrangement would work in the beginning, that would
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all eventually change. Shortly into their marriage, Darren and Charla
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would have their first child together. Their daughter, Erica, was
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born three days before Christmas, on December 22nd, 1997. The
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family's dynamics would change fairly swiftly after this. With the
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introduction of their first child, Charla had second thoughts about
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their open marriage. I mean, sure, they did have their fun,
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but now things were getting serious. She wanted the extra
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level of commitment from Darren, but this wasn't something he
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was happy to give. Other differences, such as those between
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their personalities, came to light. And this is where our
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story today begins to go downhill. Disagreements turned into arguments.
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Arguments into shouting. And shouting into physical violence. And some
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of these actions were in full public display at home
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and at work. Charla sought comfort from her friends, admitting
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that Darren had started to physically and verbally attack her.
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All in the meanwhile, Darren's diary recalls moments of Charla
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kicking him in the balls, keying his car, and yelling
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at him over the phone. These altercations became so severe,
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that Darren eventually moved out of their $ 1. 6 million family
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home to live in the nearby luxury condominium. And soon
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after this, both he and Charla were in constant fear
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of each other. Apparently, Darren would carry a gun in
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fear that she was going to kill him. and as
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for Chala, she had apparently already been grabbed by the
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neck and strangled numerous times. Safe to say, this intense
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and passionate relationship had nosedived to become extremely toxic. By
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February of 2005, the couple had reached a breaking point.
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It was in this month that Chala officially filed for
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a divorce, and unfortunately, it would introduce one great point
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of contention. Of course, I'm talking about money. You see,
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Darren and Charla were making lots of money together, but
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the business itself belonged to Darren, and he had fired Charla.
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This means that despite Darren making over $ 40, 000 per month,
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Charla was unemployed and earning nothing. So, this is where
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I must introduce our third and final character to the story.
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You see, with a relationship so violent and volatile, both
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Darren and Charla were not going to leave without a fight,
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and this remained all the same with divorce proceedings. Charla
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wanted to claim as much financial support as possible from Darren,
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whereas Darren, on the other hand, claimed he had no
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money to spare, and he refused to give any to Charla.
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So a family court judge was therefore selected and appointed
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to their case, and this judge would have the overruling
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say on their divorce conditions. So with that said, our
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third key character to this case, family court judge Chuck Weller.
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With over 20 years of experience as an attorney, Chuck
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made the move in 2004 to become a court judge
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overseeing family cases. He was a long-term servant of the
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judicial system, and had a clean track record as an attorney.
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But when he was put onto the case of Darren
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and Charla's divorce settlement, he was only several months into
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his new role. This left him slightly inexperienced, and furthermore,
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he was allegedly known to show a slight bias in
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his cases. Darren was straight out of luck here, as
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after reviewing the case, Chuck Weller ordered Darren to pay
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Charla $ 10, 849 per month until the divorce was settled. This
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was on the basis that Charla was unemployed, and Darren
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himself was making more than quadruple this figure every month. Now,
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as expected, Darren wasn't happy about this at all, and
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not only would he refuse to make these payments, but
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he also took this case to local media in an
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effort to gain public support. He would even go on
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to describe Chuck as an abusive and tyrannous man.
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People that have never experienced this is, it sounds almost
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like you're trying to tell a story about how Martians
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have landed, because it sounds so unbelievable to unless you've
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actually been in it or been around his courtroom. But
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if you check on the Internet, there's many, many, many
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like myself that have been fallen prey to his tyranny
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and his abuse in his courtroom. I can't even speak
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of what the cost will be from the retaliation that
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I'll get from the court system of Chuck Weller. It's
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even going through it, it's hard to keep your mind
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around that this kind of tyranny and this kind of
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injustice could happen in the United States. It just doesn't
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make any sense.
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Throughout the following months, Charla's financial figures quickly slipped into
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the negatives. And as she found herself falling apart in debt,
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Darren was flying to luxurious resorts in Mexico with his
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new girlfriends. The legal proceedings to their divorce settlement dragged
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on for a total of 15 months, and in this
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time frame, multiple lawsuits and many serious allegations were thrown
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between both parties. Seriously, this case was a total shitstorm,
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and by May of 2006, Chuck Weller clearly had enough.
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He figured if these two were not able to come
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to their own conclusion, he would take matters into his
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own hands. And eventually, Chuck did just that. He mandated
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child custody right down the middle, ruling that their child
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Erica would spend alternating weeks between Darren and Charla. When
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it came to financials, Darren would once again, in his mind,
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draw the short straw. He was ordered to pay Charla
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a total of $ 480, 000 within the next 48 hours. And
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in addition to this, Darren was also ordered to pay
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an additional $ 500, 000 in monthly installments of $ 10, 000 over the
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next 50 months. This would leave Charla just shy of
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$ 1 million. He was also ordered to reimburse Charla $ 15, 000
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for the spousal support payments that he'd missed in previous months.
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Following Chuck's ruling, Darren was furious with the outcome. And,
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I mean, granted, Charla wasn't too happy either, but Darren
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was clearly the one to be enraged with the situation.
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Even still, no one, and honestly, I mean no one,
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expected what was to happen next. June the 12th, 2006.
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The time was 11am, and being a Monday, most of
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those in downtown Reno were back at work after a
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usual summer weekend. That is when, in the heart of Reno,
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and along Sierra Street, a sudden gunshot echoed through the air.
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Those in the immediate vicinity rushed indoors to seek cover,
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while others called 911 to report a potential shooter in
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the area. I think there's going to be a sniper.
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It soon became apparent that the noise heard was indeed
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a gunshot. Those near the Truckee River could see a
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broken window from the Reno Muni Court, and those situated
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northbound recalled gunfire coming from the parking gallery car park.
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For those inside the Reno Muni Court building, the event
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was even more obvious. A family court judge had been shot,
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and the judge was no other than Chuck Weller. Hundreds
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of officers shut down the area around Sierra Street, as
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SWAT teams spread out in desperate search for a sniper
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on the run. All in the meanwhile, civilians hid in
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local shops, restaurants and other buildings. But as the downtown
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shooting gripped the attention of law enforcement and the public,
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there were other sinister actions which had taken place in
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the shadows. Travelling back two hours before the sniper attack,
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which was at 9am, Charla had taken her daughter Erika
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to Wilbur May Parkway to drop her daughter off at
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Darren's condominium. Monday was the day that the two parents
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swapped custody over Erika, and so, as the two arrived,
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Erika made her way upstairs to meet Darren's friend and
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housemate Daniel Osborne, this leaving her parents, Darren and Charla,
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downstairs by the driveway. Darren had politely asked Daniel if
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he could drive Erika to her grandmother's house that day, as, unfortunately,
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Darren had several things to take care of, and Daniel
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kindly agreed. But as Daniel and Erica were catching up,
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a sudden shriek rang through the air. Hearing it a
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second time, the two of them were able to conclude
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that it was the sound of Daniel's dog yelping from
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the garage. Daniel slowly walked downstairs to investigate, and that
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is when Darren made his own way through the garage door.
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He brushed past Daniel with a weird look on his face.
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He remained silent, and a towel was wrapped around his hand.
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Just moments after this, Daniel's dog ran through the garage door,
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and he was covered in blood. but one quick glance
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over this, and Daniel was able to tell that his
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dog was thankfully okay. However, that could only mean one thing.
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All of this blood was coming from something, or someone else.
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In this moment, he realized that Charla was nowhere to
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be found, and this was despite her car still remaining
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on the driveway. Daniel didn't dare check the garage. A
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very sudden fear overcame him. He ran back upstairs, found Erica,
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and said we have to leave. they jumped into Daniel's
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car and drove away. Calling the police about two hours later,
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officers would, unfortunately, take a while to arrive at Wilbur
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May Parkway. With the potential sniper attack unfolding downtown, law
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enforcement's main priority was focused on capturing the suspected gunman.
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But eventually, as officers looked around the property, they discovered
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three droplets of blood on Darren Mack's driveway, and, more specifically,
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they were near the garage door. With no response from
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within the property, officers stormed the condominium, and behind the
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garage door lay a very gruesome scene. They found the
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lifeless body of Charla Mack, and tragically, she had been
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stabbed several times in the neck. One notable detail is
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that she wasn't wearing any socks or shoes. Venturing inside,
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a search of Darren's condo revealed more incriminating evidence. This
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included a note which appeared to be a step-by-step guide
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for killing Charla. and police would also find a rental
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contract for a silver Ford Explorer. It didn't take long
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for officers to realise that both Chuck and Charla were
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connected to a man no other than Darren Mack, and
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once they realised this, they were very keen to find him.
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Police officers reviewing surveillance footage near Chuck's office found that
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at 10.41am, just 20 minutes before Chuck was shot, a
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silver Ford Explorer entered the suspected car park across the river.
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And just after the time that Chuck Weller had been shot,
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this same Ford Explorer was spotted leaving. With Charla's death,
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Chuck's grave injuries, this surveillance footage, and the receipt, officers
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were now confident that Darren Mack had something to do
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with all of this. Within hours, news had spread like
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wildfire that Darren was now the prime suspect in both
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of these attacks. And furthermore, the FBI had given him
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pole position on their most wanted list online. Described as
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a bodybuilder and hunter with access to all types of weapons,
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he was considered to be armed and dangerous. But Darren,
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he was nowhere to be found. And simply put, he
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had vanished. So, the nationwide manhunt for Darren Mack had
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finally begun. But by the time that officers had realised
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that he was their prime suspect, he was long gone.
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Data forensics confirmed that Darren's mobile phone pinged a cell
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tower in Boomtown at 11.19am, then again in Verde six
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minutes later, and again in Truckee several minutes after that.
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It seemed as if Darren had fled westward out of Nevada.
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In an effort to throw authorities off his tail, Darren
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used one of his corporate credit cards at Sacramento International Airport.
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He then jumped back into his hired vehicle and travelled
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south to the Mexico border. where he then ditched the
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Ford Explorer and took a bus to La Paz, a
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town found near the southern tip of the Bahia Peninsula.
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Darren then returned to one of his favourite luxury resorts
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nearby in San Jose del Cabo, and acted as if
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nothing had happened. He did, however, use a fake name.
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Reno investigators, who were closely working with the FBI, were
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able to track Darren across several resorts in Mexico, but Darren,
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he always remained one step ahead of them. Throughout the
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following days, Darren made several attempts to sleep with women,
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which turned heads and caused tension. He would also write
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several letters to himself and his friends, in which he said,
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I am a martyr for the Father's Day rights movement. Remember,
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they want me as a sacrificial lamb. They want the
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pleasure of executing me. My story must get attention, in
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order to save the hundreds of thousands yet to go
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through little Nazi Germany in the divorce industry. Of course,
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rather than sober up to the realisation that he had
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killed his wife, he instead victimised himself. But exactly one
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week after Darren had fled to Mexico, both logic and
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reasonability seemed to get the better of him. It was
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in this moment that he called one of his best
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friends at home to offer his surrender. It would take
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four long days of negotiating before he finally revealed himself.
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On June the 22nd, 11 days after murdering Charla Mack
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and attempting to murder Chuck Weller, Darren Mack surrendered himself
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to authorities. He was carrying $ 36, 000 in cash, 20 credit cards,
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and a suitcase full of evidence. A pair of bloody shoes,
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along with other items of clothing, were found within his suitcase.
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and as expected, this blood matched the DNA profile of
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Charla Mack. However, there is one positive detail to this case.
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Family court judge Chuck Weller would thankfully survive the attack,
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and over the following months, he would make a full recovery.
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Darren was able to land a 150-meter shot on Chuck,
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but the bullet had penetrated his upper chest just below
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his shoulder, missing all vital organs. Moving into the legal
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proceedings of this case, Darren Mack was defended by Scott
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Freeman and famous attorney David Chesnoff. Due to Darren's former
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ties with Chuck Weller, the entire Washoe County bench were
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disqualified from participating in all civil cases against Darren, and
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therefore Darren Mack's trial was moved to Las Vegas. During
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his trial, Darren claimed that his wife was both mentally
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unstable and abusive. Allegedly, he had killed Charla out of self-defence.
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He claimed that, on the morning that she was killed,
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she had punched the back of his head before drawing
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a gun on him. The gun then failed to fire,
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and Darren retaliated with a knife. Darren also claimed that
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after being forced to kill Charla, he was in a
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severe state of shock, and was therefore legally insane during
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his attempt to kill Chuck. On November 5th, 2007, Darren
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pleaded guilty to first-degree murder over the death of his
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estranged wife, Charla Mack. He also entered an Alford plea
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to the attempted murder of Chuck Weller. For those unaware,
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an Alford plea is where the defendant does not admit
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to the crime, and they insist that they are innocent.
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But they do however admit that the evidence presented in
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court is likely to persuade a judge or jury to
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their convictions. In typical man-child fashion, Darren then attempted to
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withdraw these pleas. He then claimed that he was coerced
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into pleading guilty by his own attorneys, and also claimed
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that his signature was forged. But the judge would deny
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Darren's motions, and essentially tell him to shut up.
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Darren, how do you feel about the death of Charla?
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How do I feel about it? I feel about the whole,
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that whole events for that day is a tremendous tragedy.
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I mean, the impact of this, I mean, my little
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girl doesn't have a mother. My two children who loved
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her and still do with all their heart don't have
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a stepmother. Like I said, when Charla was in her upbeat, great,
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normal state, she was, I mean, you would want to
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be her friend. A lot of people don't recognize this.
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I lost a wife, too. And even though that this happened,
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I still loved Charla. I just couldn't live with her
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and I was afraid of her. If telling the truth
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to the jury got me convicted, then that's the truth.
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I would have never choreographed the whole damn day. If
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you can't win it on the facts, you might as
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well lie. It's kind of the philosophy here, it seems like.
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Why not just present the facts to a jury?
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Under the previous terms of the plea agreement, Darren was
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sentenced to life in prison for murdering Charla. He was
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also given the maximum sentence for the attempted murder of
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Judge Weller, which resulted in 40 years behind bars, with
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eligibility for parole after 16 years. These sentences run consecutively.
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which means Darren Mac will be eligible for parole in
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the year 2042. This means he can't taste freedom until
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the ripe old age of 82. Since his conviction, Darren
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has made several appeals, including one in 2010, 2011, and
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as recent as 2018. But so far, all appeals have
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been denied. Darren's son, Jory Mac, who is now an adult,
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now fights for his father and claims that Darren is
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partially innocent.
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Putting those puzzle pieces together.
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you see an entirely different picture.
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This case is a turbulent one. An explosive and passionate
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marriage ended in a bitter divorce, and both Charla and
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Darren seem to promote further violence against one another. But
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the difference here is that Charla lost her life, and
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her child now has no mother or father. And although
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there is no proof that Charla intended to kill Darren,
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there is proof that it had crossed his mind. Money
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seemed to be the main motive behind Darren's actions, which
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in a roundabout way is counterintuitive, as now he has
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none of it, and even worse, Charla is no more.
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As usual with cases involving homicide, everyone was a loser here.
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Charla lost her life, Darren lost his freedom, their three
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kids lost their parents, and both families lost a member.
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And surprise surprise, all of this was over money. That
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just about wraps up today's case, folks. Thank you so
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much for watching another video today by Coffeehouse Crime. If
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you found this case interesting or learned something new, then
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please remember to like the video and subscribe if you
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haven't yet. So, what are your thoughts on the case
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of Darren Mack? Did he have no choice but to
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retaliate against Charla's actions? Or was all of this cold-blooded murder?
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Please let me know what you think in the comment
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section down below. And as always, folks, I'll be back
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again real soon for another video. But until that moment arrives,
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please remember to stay safe and look after each other.
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Thank you and goodbye.
