Koppenhaver guilty of 29 felonies in Mackinday attack
Prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth: “What that says to domestic violence victims is that even if you don’t report it right away, a jury can still believe you.”
Former professional fighter Jon ‘War Machine’ Koppenhaver has been found guilty of 29 felonies and sentenced to life in prison with the possibility of parole after 36 years. He will be 71 at that point.
The case stemmed from an attack on his former girlfriend Christine Mackinday and her romantic partner Corey Thomas at Mackinday’s home in Las Vegas on August 8, 2014. Mackinday is better known by her name in the adult film business, Christy Mack. Koppenhaver, then legally known as War Machine, was under contract with Bellator MMA at the time of his arrest but was immediately released following reports of the incident.
According to the prosecution’s narrative, Koppenhaver found Thomas and Mackinday together and beat him until Thomas asked if the “end game” was murder. Thomas then fled and was later treated for a broken nose, dislocated shoulder, scrapes, bruises, and bite marks.
Kopenhaver then turned his attention to Mackinday. The attack left her with missing teeth, a broken nose, 18 broken bones including a broken eye socket and a fractured rib, and a ruptured liver, among other injuries. She escaped, fleeing naked to a neighbor’s house, after Koppenhaver went to the kitchen looking for a knife with the stated intention of murdering her.
I think what was important to Ms. Mackinday was that the jury believed her in regards to previous conduct that she never reported, said prosecutor Jacqueline Bluth. What that says to domestic violence victims is that even if you don’t report it right away, a jury can still believe you.