48 Hours Correspondent
Appearances
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
A search of Darren's condo turned up incriminating evidence. A note that on closer inspection, police believed to be a chilling, step-by-step guide to the day's bloody events. The media dubbed it Darren's To-Do List.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Police also found a rental contract for a silver Ford Explorer and a crucial piece of the puzzle that tied everything together. The to-do list had the phrase, parking garage, if yes. Police reviewed surveillance video of the garage across from Weller's office, and sure enough, at 10.46 a.m., just 20 minutes before Weller was shot, a silver Ford Explorer is photographed entering the parking garage.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Day two, 45-year-old Darren Mack is a hunted man. With a nationwide search underway, he is heading south and flying under the radar.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
His cousin, Jeff Donner, goes on television to make an impassioned plea.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
That courtroom belonged to Judge Chuck Weller. And what went wrong in Darren Mack's mind was just about everything.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Small and Mack had a lot in common. Both men were in the midst of bitter custody fights.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
And both men appeared before Judge Weller. Small says his own experience in Weller's courtroom sheds light on Darren's intense frustration.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Weller ordered Small to return his son to Florida where his ex-wife lives, an arrangement Small said would put the child at risk. But a Florida judge had already rejected that claim.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
When Small missed the deadline to return the boy, a Florida judge threw him in jail for 45 days. The former actor was left to stew about family court in general and Weller in particular, a sentiment shared by Darren Mack. Both men were losing, both men blamed Judge Weller, and both men started a campaign against him. We felt something big did have to happen.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Clearly, Weller was not a popular judge. According to a tally kept by the County Bar Association, lawyers, when given the choice, chose to get Weller off their case.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Just two weeks after the shooting, Judge Weller had recovered and held a press conference, but he wouldn't address the Mack case.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Dean Tong was part of Darren Mack's divorce legal team. He says Darren was a difficult client.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Tong, who specializes in custody issues, warned Darren there are certain things that just won't sit well with any judge when it comes to deciding who gets custody.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
In fact, he later took a trip to the famous Moonlight Bunny Ranch to celebrate his impending divorce.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Judge Weller had asked Darren and Charla to try to reach some kind of financial agreement on their own so he wouldn't be forced to do it for them. They did hammer out a deal, but when that fell apart, the judge stepped in and ordered Darren to pay up.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren was ordered to make that payment up close to half a million dollars to Charla, but soon after that hearing, Charla Mack was dead.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
It's been four days since Charla Mack's body was discovered inside Darren Mack's garage.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren's daughter Erica was now safely in hiding with family, but Charla's friends were still on edge. Were you afraid that Darren Mack was going to come after you? Yes. You were? Yes. But you were the next target. Mark Phillips was Charla's boyfriend at the time of her death.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
While Charla's friends and family were lying low... We've highlighted those areas of La Paz. The search for Darren Mack was now an international manhunt. Reno investigators working with the FBI were tracking possible Darren Mack sightings in Mexico. A couple of unverified reports came in at this resort in San Jose del Cabo, Mexico.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
It would have been familiar territory for Darren since he'd been here the year before for a swingers convention.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Newspaper reporter Martha Belisle went to Mexico trying to retrace Darren's steps and met hotel employee Virginia Delgadillo, who claimed she met a man fitting Darren's description.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
And an airline pilot staying at the same resort also reported he thought he had seen the millionaire fugitive. FBI agents soon descended on the Mexican hotel.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Then exactly one week after he disappeared came the shocking announcement that Darren Mack, hiding somewhere in Mexico, wanted to surrender.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Dick Gamick, a longtime Mack family friend, is Reno's District Attorney.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
While he was still in hiding, Darren's family had retained two high-priced defense attorneys.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
David Chesnoff and Scott Freeman took over the surrender negotiation.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But what's not in dispute is they see Darren as a man pushed to the limit.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But a series of emails Darren sent while on the run reveal a disturbing picture of this man. For example, in one message, he holds himself up as a martyr for the father's rights movement, saying, remember, they want me as a sacrificial lamb. They want the pleasure of executing me.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
In the same vein, he later writes that his story must get attention to save the hundreds of thousands yet to go through little Nazi Germany in the divorce industry.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
After days of negotiations, Darren finally agreed to surrender the next morning at the US consulate in Puerto Vallarta. But will he go peacefully?
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
June 22nd, 11 days after that violent rampage that shook the city of Reno, Police anxiously await the surrender of the man they believe responsible. Mack, who is believed to also have been using the names of Darren Stone and John Smith. There was a question whether Darren Mack would give up without a fight.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But in the end, the millionaire fugitive quietly turned himself in at a luxury hotel in Puerto Vallarta.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren's last night was spent in this stark Mexican jail cell. A dramatic reversal of fortune for a man who was accustomed to living the high life.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren Mack was carrying $36,000 in cash, 20 credit cards, and a suitcase full of evidence.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren Mack was charged with the murder of his wife and the attempted murder of Judge Weller.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Las Vegas Special Prosecutor Christopher Lally is handling the case.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
From the sound of it, Darren Mack's attorneys may be making a case for self-defense.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren hinted at this in an email he sent to Reno DA Dick Gamet while negotiating his surrender. claiming it was Charla who was the aggressor in that garage.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren Mack's attorneys may also raise questions about his state of mind. Is he mentally incompetent?
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Co-prosecutor Robert Daskus thinks insanity will be a hard sell. You look at the
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
And the defense will need to work around that so-called to-do list, which could show premeditation. What do you make of this cryptic list? I'd have to know who wrote it.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
As they gear up for trial, Darren's attorneys say they'll spare no expense to defend their client, but apparently it won't be easy.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
After the violent events of that June morning, many still wrestle with the fallout. Custody litigation expert Dean Tong. What has this case done to the father's rights movement in this country?
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Released from jail and back home with his new wife and family, Michael Small would learn more about the case and eventually withdraw his support from Darren. As Darren awaits trial for the murder of his wife, Charla, their daughter, Erica, is now the center of a new custody dispute between her grandmothers.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Yes, yes. She knows that her father has been charged with her mother's murder?
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
The people of Reno were glued to their televisions following the brazen shooting of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Ann Mudd and Christine Liebert desperately tried to reach their friend, Charla Mack.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren and Charla Mack were married in 1995. And from the beginning, everyone says, they had a chemistry that was undeniable.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Writer Amanda Robb reported on the Mack case for Marie Claire magazine.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Long before Charla ever met Darren Mack, she pursued her dream of an acting career. Leaving Reno behind, the teenager moved to Los Angeles.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Charla eventually gave up acting and moved back to Reno. When she began dating Darren, they seemed a perfect match.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Friends say they also shared an interest in a self-awareness training group called the Landmark Education.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren Mack is the oldest son of a wealthy and prominent Reno family. His parents owned one of the largest pawn shops in the city. When his father was killed in a plane crash in 1986, Darren became half owner of the family business. And according to court records, he was said to be worth almost $10 million.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But Darren Mack had been down the aisle before. I knew his first wife, Debbie. And what was she like?
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren and Debbie had two children together, but the marriage did not end well.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren had joined custody, and for a while at least, he, Charla, and his kids seemed to be one big happy family.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But their clean-cut family image was a far cry from their private lives.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
As the marriage began to crumble, letters and emails we obtained document an increasingly abusive relationship.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
But it wasn't Charla who claimed to be the victim. It was Darren. Fifth place winner in the Mr. Nevada bodybuilding contest.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Darren's friend Michael Small says that despite his imposing stature, Darren Mack lived in fear.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
In the end, it was Charla who filed for divorce. Darren moved out. The couple fought constantly over Erica, but fought even more over money, which Darren claimed was running out.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Family court judge Chuck Weller ordered Darren to pay Charla $10,000 a month until the divorce was settled. But Darren thought the ruling and the judge were unfair and wouldn't give an inch.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
It was just after 11 on that bright sunny day in June 2006 in downtown Reno when bystanders heard a loud bang echo off the buildings.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Detective Ron Chalmers joined hundreds of police officers to shut down the city while SWAT teams fanned out searching for the sniper.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
It turned out only one bullet was fired that morning, exploding through the window of Judge Chuck Weller's chambers, spraying him and his assistant with shrapnel.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
It was just minutes after the shooting when police got a break. Darren's friend said that he was very concerned for Charla and felt that... A childhood friend of Darren Max met with police and had a disturbing story to tell. Dan Osborne told police he had been at Darren's home that morning when Charla dropped off their daughter. He and Erica stayed upstairs while Darren spoke to Charla privately.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
After the frantic barking went on for a while, Osborne told police he went to check on his dog. That's when he ran into Darren, who was coming up from the garage. Osborne said Darren brushed past him with his hand wrapped in a towel with a weird look on his face, not saying a word.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Osborne put Erica in his car and started driving. Minutes later, his cell phone rang. It was Darren.
48 Hours
Deadly Divorce, Part 1
Mack took his daughter aside and spoke to her for a few minutes. Darren Mack.
48 Hours
The Ivy League Murder
What do you think of Pan's plan to mislead investigators? See more of the evidence at 48hours.com.
48 Hours
The Ivy League Murder
Qin Xin Pan is scheduled to be released in 2056 when he is 65 years old.