Dimebag Darrell Abbott

[HETFIELD]

Many people should know this story, I wish it were on the site, but I guess since he wasnt a celebrity outside the musicians world...

Here's the story...

On December 8th 2004, while performing with Damageplan at the Alrosa Villa in Columbus, Ohio, Dimebag Darrell Abbott was shot and killed onstage by Nathan Gale. Abbott was shot a total of five times, at point-blank range in the back of the head. He was 38 years old. Three others were killed in the shooting: concert attendee Nathan Bray, 23 of Columbus; club employee Erin Halk, 29 of northwest Columbus; and Damageplan security guard Jeff "Mayhem" Thompson, 40 of Texas.
The band's drum technician, John "Kat" Brooks, and tour manager, Chris Paluska, were also injured.
According to police, Gale fired a total of fifteen shots, taking the time to reload once, remaining silent throughout the shooting. When security staff tried to stop him, Gale fired at them, wounding Paluska, and killing Halk, who had attempted to stop the gunman with a beer bottle as a weapon. Damageplan head of security Jeffery Thompson fought with Gale for a short time, stopping him from killing Vinnie Paul Abbott and John Graham, as well as knocking off Gale's glasses (preventing him from seeing Officer Niggemeyer just minutes later), before being fatally wounded by Gale. Audience member Nathan Bray, who jumped onstage to try to give CPR to Dimebag and Thompson, stood up and took a single step towards Gale before being shot a single time in the chest. Brooks was scuffling with Gale onstage but was overpowered and taken hostage in a headlock position. Brooks was shot several times (once in the right hand, his right leg, and his right side) while attempting to get the gun away from Gale.
Police then arrived on the scene. Five officers came in the front entrance led by officer Rick Crum, and moved toward the stage. Officer James D. Niggemeyer came in through the back door, behind the stage. Gale only saw the officers in front of the stage; he never saw officer Niggemeyer. When the hostage moved his head, Officer Niggemeyer shot Gale in the face with a police-issued 12-gauge shotgun. Gale was found to have 35 rounds of ammunition remaining.
During the rampage, nurse and audience member Mindy Reece, 28, went to the aid of Abbott. She and another fan administered CPR until paramedics arrived. Dimebag Darrell was buried at the Moore Memorial Gardens Cemetery in Arlington, Texas.
In May 2005, Officer Niggemeyer testified before the Franklin County grand jury, which is routine procedure in Franklin County after a police shooting. The grand jury did not indict Niggemeyer, finding that his actions were justified.
Niggemeyer received a commendation from the Ohio Peace Officer Training Commission for his outstanding police work in time of crisis as well as The National Rifle Association award as 2005 Law Enforcement Officer of the Year. The five other officers that were first on the scene received Ohio distinguished law enforcement medals for their brave work. In 2006 James Niggemeyer penned the foreword to A Vulgar Display Of Power: Courage and Carnage at the Alrosa Villa.
Early theories of motive suggested that Gale may have acted based on the Pantera breakup, or a public dispute between Abbott and Pantera singer Phil Anselmo, but these were later ruled out by investigators. [3] Another theory was that Gale believed Abbott had stolen a song Gale wrote. In the A Vulgar Display Of Power book, several of Gale's personal writings, given to the author by Gale's mother, show that the motive of Pantera's breakup or the idea of stolen songs is false, and that due to his condition, paranoid schizophrenia, he believed that the band could read his mind, were stealing his thoughts, and laughing at him.

Source-Wikipedia

[banshee62]

I had heard about Dimebag's murder the next day after it happened, and i really got me shocked and depressed - he was one of my favorite guitarists of all time.....

[JeffD]

The VH1 special on Pantera was excellent. They still replay from time to time. Dime was a kick a$$ player, no doubt.

http://www.vh1.com/shows/dyn/behind_...de_about.jhtml

[Death Hag Chris]

it's sad the way his life ended. but I didn't think of him as a "great" guitarist by any means. all due respect to his fans.

[erin]

Pantera was never my favorite band, due mostly in part to Phil Anselmo, but I loved their music. Dimebag was most definately a gifted guitarist and will be missed in the music world forever.

[leppchic]

Dimebags widow is going to be on LA Ink on TLC next Tuesday night at ten getting a commemorative tattoo of him. Just thought you guys might want to see it. I know I do. She talks a little about him too, I saw on the preview. Damn shame. A sad day for metal fans everywhere....

[HETFIELD]

I cant stand the woman on LA Ink. My friend is Kat's ex g/f. Ive talked to Dime's widow thru him, when we went down to visit Dime, the day after we all got together at Vinnie and Dime's strip club before they departed for New Zealand this past July.

[leppchic]

OMG I love Kat Von D. I love that show too. That is pretty rad that you got to meet them.

[HETFIELD]

Just so you know, Im talking about Kat Brooks. Vinnie Paul's drum tech who was also shot but not killed when Dimebag died. I cant stand Kat Von D personally.

[Tombstone Tourist]

Little known trivia about Dimebag's funeral:

The second album by Van Halen, Van Halen II, was a favorite of Dimebags's with such songs as "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring on the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor." The black and yellow guitar on the back of the album is buried with Darrell. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his casket at his funeral because Dimebag had said it was his favorite. However, Edward himself stated in interviews that the guitar itself was not actually used on the Van Halen II album; as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the second album.

[JeffD]

Little known trivia about Dimebag's funeral:

The second album by Van Halen, Van Halen II, was a favorite of Dimebags's with such songs as "Beautiful Girls" (then known as "Bring on the Girls") and "Somebody Get Me a Doctor." The black and yellow guitar on the back of the album is buried with Darrell. Eddie Van Halen placed it in his casket at his funeral because Dimebag had said it was his favorite. However, Edward himself stated in interviews that the guitar itself was not actually used on the Van Halen II album; as it had only been completed just in time for the photo shoots for the second album.

Well, imo, Dime had the most rad funeral and has the most rad grave I've ever seen. He was very loved and it is obvious.

[elnoradawn]

weird, i had forgotten all about this until my boyfriend brought it up the other day. pretty sad event. was never a fan of his and admittedly didn't know who he was until he died. but it's pretty fucking tragic.

strange story about it too. one of my best friends was dating a guy at the time who's sister was questioned about the shooter. apparently, Nathan Gale had her address on a post it note. though i never heard anything else about it, or why her address was on it (she swore she had no idea who he was) my friend broke up with that guy shortly after. was pretty creepy though.

[Jack Raines]

The video of his shooting is on Youtube but you can't see much really: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arjLX1QaU8k

[Jason]

The video of his shooting is on Youtube but you can't see much really: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=arjLX1QaU8k

Wow, that's really messed up. Thanks for sharing the link Jack.

[Darrianne]

Hey Darri!
Here are the pictures. I do know he's buried next to his mother, Carolyn. His grave is near a very pretty fountain and pond, and the grave directly across from his is not marked or looks empty. I wondered if it's because of all the people stepping back and taking pictures, they would inadvertently step on the person's grave across the sidewalk from his.

His grave is in Arlington and it's a really pretty cemetery. People usually leave liquor and guitar picks at the grave. In the pictures, you can see 2 bags with beer in them. People often leave loose change and some people even took to putting picks on the grave with glue. It seems they leave them loose now. A friend of ganesh's went to high school with Dimebag Darrell and she is going to show us where his house is (I think his dad may still live there) and she said he used to cheat off of her in math all the time! He was very nice to her.

Esai has been lucky to meet the woman who was his girlfriend at the time of his death and she just talked so much about him. She said he was such a cool guy and he really was a partier, but she remembers him so fondly and still tears up when talking about him. (He saw her at a black label society concert.)

Anyhow, here are the pictures. Enjoy!
Jen

[HETFIELD]

Yeah, heres me at the grave in July

[Darrianne]

Yeah, heres me at the grave in July

Did you leave liquor, beer bottles or guitar picks??

[malaki]

I Love Pantera!!! and Damageplan both...I think Phil is one of the best singers I dig his voice especially REALLY LOUD in the car..hahaha, although they had there problems they both rock and always will in my opinion!!!!!


I'd love to see a story for Dime, he sure deserves to be on this site

[malaki]

"Esai has been lucky to meet the woman who was his girlfriend at the time of his death and she just talked so much about him. She said he was such a cool guy and he really was a partier, but she remembers him so fondly and still tears up when talking about him. (He saw her at a black label society concert.)"


I just saw her on "LA InK" she was getting a tat of Dimebag on her forearm, pretty cool!!!!

[klondyke26]

Hey Darri!
Here are the pictures. I do know he's buried next to his mother, Carolyn. His grave is near a very pretty fountain and pond, and the grave directly across from his is not marked or looks empty. I wondered if it's because of all the people stepping back and taking pictures, they would inadvertently step on the person's grave across the sidewalk from his.

His grave is in Arlington and it's a really pretty cemetery. People usually leave liquor and guitar picks at the grave. In the pictures, you can see 2 bags with beer in them. People often leave loose change and some people even took to putting picks on the grave with glue. It seems they leave them loose now. A friend of ganesh's went to high school with Dimebag Darrell and she is going to show us where his house is (I think his dad may still live there) and she said he used to cheat off of her in math all the time! He was very nice to her.

Esai has been lucky to meet the woman who was his girlfriend at the time of his death and she just talked so much about him. She said he was such a cool guy and he really was a partier, but she remembers him so fondly and still tears up when talking about him. (He saw her at a black label society concert.)

Anyhow, here are the pictures. Enjoy!
Jen

... I grew up in Arlington and lived three houses down from the Pantera clan. They were always very nice folks and we would run into them at the grocery store from time to time. One late night they were buying cat food or something and my father laid into all of them for looking "like hippy sh*t and giving our town a bad name, etc etc." They laughed it off and all was fine.. Little did my father know that his mother would be buried 30 feet away from that "Hippy Sh*t" at Moore's, years later. It's become a running family joke that my grandmother and great-grandmother are hanging with the hippies!

[tensecondstolove]

I'm a big fan of Dime. We had a lot of mutual friends. It was tragic how he died and upset me for a long time. That little f**k that killed him--my God, I hope he is burning in hell. The whole thing makes me so angry.

[unit880]

I live in Marysville, Ohio, the home of Nathan Gale. He worked at a local oil change garage and changed my oil several times. I always tipped, but he never said much. I mostly remember him being a big guy that had to stoop over in the oil change pit.

Anyway, if Scott ever does a story on Dimebag, I can get pics of Gale's last home, place of work, tatoo parlor where he argued the morning of the shooting, and of course, his mailbox.

I've also seen the un-released police video of Officer James Niggemeyer shooting Nathan Gale. It was instant, pretty much removed his head from his body. A true hero there...

[HETFIELD]

I live in Marysville, Ohio, the home of Nathan Gale. He worked at a local oil change garage and changed my oil several times. I always tipped, but he never said much. I mostly remember him being a big guy that had to stoop over in the oil change pit.

Anyway, if Scott ever does a story on Dimebag, I can get pics of Gale's last home, place of work, tatoo parlor where he argued the morning of the shooting, and of course, his mailbox.

I've also seen the un-released police video of Officer James Niggemeyer shooting Nathan Gale. It was instant, pretty much removed his head from his body. A true hero there...

Video would be cool to see, at least of Gale getting his. Ive talked to Kat, Vinnie's drum tech, the guy Gale was holding as he was shot, and Kat saw blood and brains on him and thought he had been shot in the head himself. It took him a few minutes to realize Gale had been killed and not him.

[banshee62]

unit880, how were u able to see the vid?

[Kathyf]

Thanks for all the info and Pics, I never new the whole story.

[Jersey Girl]

I saw the VH1 special on this. How tragic.

[Uncle Milte's Huge Wanger]

Paranoid Schizophrenia is scary as hell.

[SarahThirteen]

I almost went to that show but it was snowing pretty bad in my part of ohio... Columbus is 2 1/2 hours away. I was sitting in my moms room we were talking about something and the news broke in and said there was s shooting at Alrosa Villa in Columbus involving the band Damage Plan... they had said that the frontman was shot in the head I then later found out it was actually Dime. I had my radio on all night and they announced that it had be confirmed that Dime was dead... I cried lit a candle and prayed for him.

I had been to Alrosa Villa once before to see the band Dope and it was a very unsafe place. No one searched me there were no metal detector nothing. I have not gone back there and I dont think I ever will after what happened there.

[HETFIELD]

The plot across from Dimebag is available to buy. I kidded with my ex that maybe she ought to inquire about buying it.

[unit880]

unit880, how were u able to see the vid?

It was made available to law enforcement...I have no access to it now. It'll leak out eventually.

[banshee62]

ah, ok

[Colicky]

I was working and in the ER the night he came in. God it was terrible. No one knew how many victims there were, there was so many conflicting stories. The people that were there gave the most horrific details.

[banshee62]

did you operate on darrell?

[KristinEileen]

Thanks for all of the info...I never really knew everything about this story partly because I was not a fan of his music.
I watched the episode of L.A. Inc. and I felt so awful for his widow. She just had the most wonderful things to say about him, you could tell that he was truly loved.
The guy that shot him definitely got his. I guess that's the nature of karma...

[motherogod]

Thanks all of you for your information! This was shocking as hell and still makes me think twice when in crowded places. The crazy folks blend in so well... and usually conceal their weapons pretty good too! The whole scenario pisses me off. Rest in peace, Dimebag.

[RigorMortis]

I live about 35 miles northeast of Columbus. In the 80's I did security for a few bands that played there pretty regularly. (yes, I was one evil biker bitch in those days who could throw better then the dudes I ran with).

Anywho, I love Dime and Vinnie. Never met em personally but real guys. Emailed back and forth a couple time with Vinnie but never mentioned the incident only my love for Dime's playing.

I haven't been back to the Alrosa since. Rick Catella who owes the joint is just recently back to his old schtik on radio ads. I think this fucked him up royally. Didn't know if he were going to continue on there. I'm glad he has though. The only REAL venue for metal in central Ohio.

As for Nathan Gale? I know the man was sick but fuck him. He coulda gotten help but I think he refused it.

[banshee62]

bump

[sassie]

I'm a big fan of Dime. We had a lot of mutual friends. It was tragic how he died and upset me for a long time. That little f**k that killed him--my God, I hope he is burning in hell. The whole thing makes me so angry.

If he was truly a paranoid schizophrenic, even living was hell for him. Not excusing what he did - but that is one f**ked up disease.

[Area Man]

I think that if a friend or relative of mine were murdered, I would want it to be by somebody with schizophrenia. At least then you wouldn't have to spend the rest of your life full of hate and blame and wondering why that person was so cruel to murder your loved one. At least with a schizophrenic person you know that it was a sick mind and that there was no hatred of your loved one involved. Just my opinion of course.

[banshee62]

I really think itd be cool if dime got his own page on FAD; after all, most musicians who knew him consider his death the '9/11 of rock'

[RigorMortis]

Dime has his own thread on here. You just posted on it.

Oh fuck...nevamind...you said page on FAD. Yes. I believe he should too. Wonder if Scott would put it together if I got him all the pics? I only live 35 miles from there. I used to bounce for some metal bands in the 80's at the same place he died.

[banshee62]

how do we get Scott to make a page? Petition? E-mail?

[Danny62]

Any truth to the rumor he was buried in a KISS Kasket?

When I was doing the thread on it I ran across a story saying he was buried in one?

[banshee62]

its true - Dime also loved Kiss so much that he asked for guitarist Ace Frehley's signature on his chest, then took it to a tattoo shop to have it tattooed for life.

[banshee62]

this may sound fucked up cause I idolize Dime, but does anybody have any death pics?
i really need some closure to his murder....

[HETFIELD]

There are no death pics. Im sure Vinnie and Rita made sure of that.

[banshee62]

Ah. I think this is the only murder that ive heard of that has no death pics, besides the video of Gale running onstage.

[Khaos696]

Gotta give it up to Gene Simmons To put the Kiss Logo on everything possible, although that is one kick ass looking coffin, I'll take a Motley Crue Casket please.

[banshee62]

im hoping that my friends will have a dime casket made for me lol

[eclecticbohemian]

I was there, it was the worst thing I've ever witnessed. I used to be a trauma nurse-I've seen a lot. We were towards the back. I wanted to get up front but I'm somewhat of a small person & my fiance didn't want me up there. He was afraid I'd get crushed. (I had ribs broken at a King Diamond show years ago. I got slammed into the stage-different venue though-the Newport)

As soon as it happened & we realized it wasn't part of the show, I tried my damnest to get up there to help. They wouldn't let me through & I was screaming to them that I was a nurse. Three huge guys shoved me back & I fell down. They screamed at me to stay down bc Gale still had the gun & was firing. I didn't know what the hell was going on, I was just trying to get up there...my trauma training took over. I didn't know those guys & I've never been able to thank them but I'm convinced they saved my life that night. Like I said, I was heading for the stage; Dime was on the floor & Vinnie was screaming. God it was horrible.

My 12 yr old son wanted me to take him, thank god I didn't. The Alrosa has always had shitty security-in the late 80's my friends and I would sneak in all the time. I've heard Rick has beefed it up, I have not been back-nor will I ever.

Gale was a fricking nut-case & his mom should be held partially responsible. SHE bought him the goddamn gun knowing he was nuttier than a fricking Snicker's bar! That's why he was discharged from the goddamn Marines!

As far as Phil ASS-HOMO...don't get me started on him!

Hey Rigor, who did you bounce for back in the day?