RENO, Nev. (AP) - A Reno man charged with the stabbing death of his estranged wife and the shooting of their divorce judge asked for the death penalty as a condition of his surrender in Mexico, court documents show.
Darren Mack made the request during a series of e-mails and telephone calls to Washoe County District Attorney Richard Gammick following the crimes last June 12. The former businessman was arrested June 23 in Puerto Vallarta and now awaits an Oct. 1 trial.
"I will ask for the death penalty," Mack wrote the prosecutor.
A transcript of the phone calls was released for the first time Thursday in a district court motion filed by Mack's attorneys, who claim the recordings should be tossed because they were illegally recorded by Gammick. . . .
[M]ack was charged with the murder of Charla Mack and the attempted murder of Family Court Judge Chuck Weller, who has returned to the bench since being shot in the chest while in his office. Mack has pleaded not guilty and recently added an insanity plea to his defense.
After Mack returned to Reno, Gammick recused himself from the case because of his friendship with Mack and his involvement in his surrender. Outside prosecutors took over the case last summer and later announced they would not seek the death penalty against Mack.
Details here from the Las Vegas Sun. My earlier posts about Darren Mack, including one that Mack himself might have commented on while he was a fugitive, are here.