A police officer shot and killed Gale, a mentally ill 25-year-old obsessed with Pantera who blamed Abbott for the band’s breakup.Įichelberger resigned as president of the organization on May 9, posting on Facebook that he wanted “to make way for all the great things to come and to better support the memory of Dimebag Darrell Abbott.” His resignation came as a former friend of nearly a decade wrote on Facebook that he wouldn’t trust Eichelberger with the charity’s money. Some former supporters call the charity “Ride for Rob” and say he abandoned its mission to honor the lives of Abbott, Jeff Thompson, Nathan Bray and Erin Halk, all shot down at the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus in December 2004. What started as a group motorcycle ride in Dallas and grew into a nationwide nonprofit has splintered under accusations that the primary person benefiting from the organization’s charity work is Eichelberger. Haney is back in the house in Dalworthington Gardens on a May afternoon to talk about her taking control of Ride for Dime and her plans to revamp it after the departure of its former president, Robert Eichelberger, who critics say mismanaged the charity so badly several Ride for Dime chapters across the country folded. Emotions surrounding his death run deep, though lately they’ve been running hot, too, in a bitter fight over money raised by Ride for Dime, the charity created in Abbott’s name after his murder. Nearly 12 years after Nathan Gale shot Abbott and three other men to death in an Ohio nightclub, fans still mourn the guitar hero. But I just feel like he watches out for everybody. I’m not real religious by any means, I promise you. “I guess it’s just the spirit of him being in this house. “I’ll turn around and look, but there’s nothing,” she says. Haney lives in Los Angeles now, but her older sister Brenda acts as caretaker, and she often gets the sense someone is watching her inside. The house still resonates with Abbott’s personality. “If I need to spend time with him, this home is my sanctuary,” Haney says. It captures a special memory for Haney, one of Abbott handing her a shot glass from stage. That’s the name, taken from the lyrics of a Megadeth song, of a cocktail Abbott invented - a double shot of Seagram 7, a double shot of Crown Royal and a splash of Coke. “Drink it or wear it,” one of Abbott’s favorite phrases, is inked on her left forearm along with black lightning bolts, the symbol for the black tooth grin. Memories of the Pantera guitarist are etched in her skin. A bent stop sign with the pole still attached, cowboy hats, a sneaker, license plates, a rubber monkey, an empty Crown Royal bag, a longhorn skull with an image of KISS guitarist Ace Frehley tattooed on its forehead - reminders of a rock 'n’ roll life surround Rita Haney in the house she once shared with “Dimebag” Darrell Abbott.
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