RITA HANEY Reveals How She Learned About DIMEBAG’s Death

In a recent interview with comedian and podcaster Zane Lamprey, Rita Haney, longtime girlfriend of “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott, reflected on the tragic murder of the PANTERA guitarist during a performance at the Alrosa Villa in north Columbus, Ohio.

The incident occurred in December 2004, just moments after Dimebag‘s band DAMAGEPLAN had taken the stage. Nathan Gale, 25, fired 15 rounds from a 9 mm Beretta handgun, killing Dimebag and three others before being fatally shot by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived minutes after the attack began.

When discussing how she learned that Dimebag had been shot, Rita said (as transcribed by Blabbermouth): “[Marilyn] Manson was playing in Dallas, and Bobby Tongs [an official videographer for PANTERA] and Guy Sykes, the [tour manager] for PANTERA, were both on the crew. And so we were all going. And it was me, a couple of friends, my sister, her husband. And I’d hopped in the Cadillac Rock Box and was backing out of the garage, and my phone was ringing and it was some 708 number or something like that. I never would answer calls of someone I didn’t know. But I don’t know why — I was in such a great mood for some reason, ’cause I knew I was driving there, but I wasn’t gonna be driving home.

“So, I answered it, and it was Vinnie [Paul Abbott, Dimebag‘s brother]. And he’s, like, ‘Hey.’ He goes, ‘I’m in the kitchen with a butcher knife, and I just saw someone shoot my brother.’ I go, ‘Who is this?’ And he goes, ‘It’s Vinnie f**king Paul.’ He goes, ‘You’re the only goddamn phone number I can remember.’ And I’ve never changed my number. I mean, I had it since the ’90s, And it’s still the same today. And I was, like, ‘What?’ I go, ‘Are you sure?’ I just didn’t know what else [to say]. And I just had my foot on the brake and I just shoved it into park. And I just kind of sat there. And he goes, ‘I will call you back.’ And he hung up… That was [the only information we had]. And I remember my brother-in-law at the time, he was, like, ‘What’s wrong? What’s wrong?’ So I told him. And so I just pulled the car back into the garage and we just get out and everybody’s just silent and quiet and we go inside and we just sit and we’re just waiting. Waiting for more [information].

“And then, I don’t know — it just seemed like forever, but it was probably maybe half hour or so,” she continued. “And I got a call from Darrell‘s cell phone, ’cause I thought it was him calling me. But his phone had been left on the bus. It was charging, and once they started clearing out the club, they put the band at the bus and they were just there waiting. And Vinnie didn’t know. No one knew anything. And I remember the guys, of course, when they came on, I asked each one of them their experience of that night. I had to know. Darrell was really big on making me watch forensic shows, which would drive me crazy. And he’d always fall asleep. But I watched so many of them. I guess I was curious and needed to know these things. And I think it’s also a piece of mind in your mind as to how you think things happened, and you need to know, instead of imagining. Did he know what was happening? Was he scared? Could I have done anything? ‘Cause I would have been in front of him with a video camera. And you think, ‘Would I have seen this person coming? Could I have thrown that camera?’ But you think all those things. But I remember a couple of the guys telling me, they go, ‘We all were looking at Darrell‘s phone going, ‘Who’s gonna call Rita? Who’s gonna tell her?” And the way [Vinnie] found out was he kept asking and asking, and finally one of the police officers, he goes, ‘Look, can you just tell me if one of the guys had a tattoo of a lightning bolt guitar?’ And he said, ‘Yes.’ So that’s how we knew. But with it being that kind of scene and what was going on, they were all just kept separated and out of there. You were told that, but you kept thinking, ‘Let it be someone else, let it be someone else,’ or, ‘Why couldn’t it be someone else?'”

Dimebag and Vinnie Paul formed PANTERA in Texas during the mid-1980s. The band released four independent albums before their major label debut in 1990, Cowboys From Hell, which showcased a heavier sound and quickly earned them a strong following among metal fans. Their 1994 album, Far Beyond Driven, debuted at No. 1 on the Billboard 200, despite lacking a commercial hit single.

The band disbanded in 2002 after the departure of their lead singer, Philip Anselmo. Dimebag and Vinnie then formed DAMAGEPLAN, releasing their debut album, New Found Power, in February 2004. At the time of the shootings, the band was on tour promoting the album.