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February 8, 2008
Posted: 03:03 PM ET
RENO, Nevada – Darren Mack stabbed his estranged wife to death on June 12, 2006 and then went on to the courthouse here where he fired one sniper shot (from a distance the length of three football fields) that smashed through double-paned glass, hitting the family court judge handling his divorce square in the chest. Because that shot missed a major organ, Judge Chuck Weller survived and will testify during this hearing. I sat with Darren Mack Wednesday in the Washoe County jail for an exclusive one-on-one interview. Watch an excerpt Now he sits as a murderer in full shackles in this packed courtroom. On one side of the courtroom are Mack’s family and close friends. They are so very devoted to him and believe Judge Weller never gave him a fair shake during the divorce. They say that Mack went off the deep end because he could never get people to look at what he believed was the truth, that he stabbed Charla Mack in self-defense because she came at him with a gun. Mack’s family cried as 10 character witnesses took the stand to discuss the redeeming qualities of this former leader of Reno’s business community. The family is vocal, and grumbles noticeably during the hearing when rulings don’t go their way. They want so much more information to come out, but this is a limited sentencing hearing. On the other side of the courtroom is Charla Mack’s mother, a lovely and sweet lady I got to know during the trial. She is sitting in silence as defense witnesses say negative things about her daughter — that Charla had a violent side, that she should be blamed for so much of this. But Soorya Townley simply takes notes. She will be testifying as the mother of a murder victim. I am told she is very, very nervous but will talk about a daughter that was so precious to her and so many others, gone forever because of a stabbing so brutal her head was almost completely severed. – Jean Casarez, In Session correspondent Filed under: Darren Mack Jean Casarez Sentencing |
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