Daniel Triplett, the former Guthrie councilman accused of killing his Black co-worker and burying the victim’s body under a septic tank, was on Friday sentenced to life in prison without parole after he was found guilty earlier this year.
According to KOKH Fox 25, Triplett, a White man, also received a 7-year sentence for desecration of a corpse. Brent Mack’s body was reportedly found by authorities after his daughter reported him missing in September 2021.
The victim’s daughter, Raychelle Wilson, told authorities the last time her father was seen or heard from was on September 20, 2021; adding that she had reached out to Triplett when she couldn’t get in touch with her him, KFOR reported at the time.
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However, the suspect told her he had fired Mack and driven him to a laundromat, the probable cause affidavit stated. Triplett also allegedly claimed he had given Mack a $1,000 severance. The affidavit stated that surveillance footage obtained from the area and reviewed by detectives showed Triplett never stopped at the laundromat to drop Mack off.
“Lt. Bruning asked Dan about locations where he dropped Mack off and Dan changed the location several times. Dan was shown a copy of the video footage showing him driving by the Holiday Laundry and not stopping. When confronted with the inconsistencies in the story, Dan became very red-faced and appeared to be angry,” the affidavit added.
Besides being inconsistent with the location he claimed to have dropped Mack off. Triplett told investigators the last place the two of them went to work was in Crescent, however, it was eventually established that wasn’t so, as the two had actually gone to work at a home in Mulhall on September 20, the day Mack was last seen or heard from.
After investigators reviewed the surveillance footage that was obtained from the home in question, “it was apparent that two people arrived at the job site on 09/20/2021 in Dan’s vehicle, but only one person is seen leaving.”
In the video, Mack was also seen getting into a hole that had been dug for a septic tank, the affidavit stated, per KFOR, but the footage never showed him again. Mack’s body was found in the septic tank on October 21 after authorities removed it.
“On October 22, 2021, Agent Woodward was notified that the Medical Examiners officer had located what’s believed to be a projectile in the chest cavity with an entry wound in the upper left back,” the affidavit stated.
During the trial, Triplett attempted to argue self-defense, KOKH Fox 25 reported. Logan County District Attorney, Laura Austin Thomas, also said Triplett intends to appeal his conviction as he believes his trial wasn’t fair.
