Yesterday (April 25), a white former Oklahoma councilman was found guilty of murdering his Black employee. The crime happened in 2021, and officials found the victim’s body buried under a septic tank.
According to Oklahoma’s News 4, it took a jury just two hours to reach a verdict. On Sept. 29, 2021, Brent Mack’s daughter reported the 50-year-old missing after telling authorities no one had seen or heard from him in over a week. His last known date of communication with anybody was on Sept. 20. His boss, Dan Triplett, became an immediate suspect. During the trial, Mack’s daughter testified that her father said, on more than one occasion, “If I ever go missing, Dan did it.”
Officials discovered Mack’s body on Oct. 21, 2021. His remains were hidden under a septic tank, and a medical examiner confirmed he was shot in his back. His injuries also included fractured ribs and a perforated lung. His cause of death was classified as a homicide. Triplett initially told Mack’s daughter that he fired the 50-year-old after a confrontation with a customer, gave him a $1,000 severance package, and dropped him off at an Oklahoma laundromat. Police checked Triplett’s story and saw him on surveillance footage driving past the laundromat, never stopping with Mack.
After the sentencing, Mack’s brother, Troy Franklin-Smith, said, “Today is closure. We got the verdict we wanted as a family for his son, his daughter, his other son, and his cousin, friends and family. We’re all happy, as well as this community. This community is happy. They didn’t want to see that evil that took place.” One of the victim’s children added, “I’m Brent Mack’s son. I’m his youngest son, and there’ll always be a piece of him here. I’m definitely going to keep that Mack name alive and just [keep] pushing.” Triplett was charged with first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse.