LOGAN COUNTY, Okla. (KFOR) – A former Guthrie City Councilman has been found guilty of first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse after his employee’s body was found buried under a septic tank in 2021.
It took the jury of four women, one black man, and seven white men two hours to come back with a verdict.
Brent Mack, 50, was reported missing to the Guthrie Police Department on Sept. 29, 2021, after his daughter said that no one had seen or heard from him since Sept. 20.
His boss, Dan Triplett, told Mack’s daughter he fired Mack for threatening a customer, gave him $1,000 in severance, and dropped him off at the local laundromat.
However, investigators say surveillance footage shows Triplett’s car driving by the laundromat, but not stopping. There was never any sign of Mack.
Mack’s body was found buried under a septic tank October 21, 2021.
The medical examiner said he had been shot in the back, had fractured ribs and a perforated lung. His cause of death was ruled a homicide.
After Mack’s body was found, Triplett was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and desecration of a human corpse.
At trial, Mack’s daughter told the jury her father told her twice, “If I ever go missing, Dan did it.”
Triplett himself took the stand claiming self defense.
Triplett said, “I’m not guilty of murder. I’m guilty of self defense. And I’m guilty of burying the body.”
Mack’s family and loved ones took up an entire side of the courtroom. His brother Troy Franklin-Smith was seen looking to the sky as he heard the verdict.
“Giving thanks, you know, this has been a long fight and we weren’t going anywhere,” said Franklin-Smith
Triplett was seen leaving the courtroom in handcuffs after learning his fate. His family, who watched from the front row, quietly wept.
Brendon Mack spoke to News 4 after leaving the courtroom, commenting on what happened to his father.
“It was heartless. It was cold. It was thought out,” said Brenden. “He’s going to rot in hell. I have no malice and no feelings towards the Triplett family. Daniel Triplett made his own decisions.”
“Today is closure,” said brother Troy Franklin-Smith. “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.”
Mack’s son Brendon Mack plans the memory of his father burning strong.
“I’m Brent Mack’s son,” he declared. “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 keeping pushing.”
Triplett’s conviction of first degree murder comes with a life sentence without the possibility of parole. He will be formally sentenced on June 16th at 9 a.m.
