DIMEBAG's Girlfriend Tattooed, Interviewed On 'LA Ink'; Video Available

Rita Haney, the longtime girlfriend of late PANTERA/DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott, recently got a Dimebag tattoo on the set of the new TLC series "LA Ink" (starring tattoo artist Kat Von D, her staff and A-list clientele). Watch the nine-minute segment below.

In an early 2006 interview with Metal Edge magazine, Rita spoke about how she first met Dimebag and how she found out about his murder.

"I've known him [Darrell] since the third grade — since we were eight years old — we were all friends in the neighborhood," she said. "I had relatives that lived a few houses away from Darrell, and I was always there after school. I used to fix him up with my friends. I'd say, 'Hey, that chick digs ya', if you wanna hook up.' He became my best friend. Then one night he gave me a ride home from one of their shows — we were about 19 then, and he tried to kiss me, and I was like, 'Weird, but I think I like you too.' And we were together from then on. About 20 years. We didn't believe in the marriage thing — why fix something that ain't broke? Why have someone you don't know tell you it's OK to be with someone you do know? We didn't need the middleman! We had a one-on-one with the man upstairs ourselves."

Asked where she was when she got the news about Darrell, Rita said, "I was backing out of the garage in his Escalade, on my way to see MARILYN MANSON with my brother-in-law and sis, and a couple of my close friends, really happy and looking forward to seeing Bobby Tongs and Guy Sykes, who were working the tour, and MANSON, who I'm a big fan of. A number pops up on my phone that I didn't recognize. Something told me to answer it. I hear my name and I go, 'Who is this?' And I hear, 'It's Vinnie Paul. I just saw my brother get shot five times in the back of the head, and I don't have my cell phone with me. Yours is the only goddamn number I can remember.' And he sobbed… I just froze… All I could say was, 'Is this a joke? Are you sure you saw what you saw?' Vinnie said, 'Yeah, I know I did, and the guy is still in here shootin'!' I said, 'Where are you?' Vinnie said, 'I'm in the kitchen with a butcher knife — he's after me!' I felt helpless; there was nothing I could do to help him… I didn't know what to do. An hour or so goes by, and Vinnie kept calling with updates; he kept asking the officers if they could tell him about his brother, and finally one of the guys said, 'Does your brother have a 'Cowboys From Hell' tattoo?' Vinnie said 'Yes', and the officer said, 'I'm sorry, he didn't make it.' When that tour bus came home, and I had to unpack Darrell's bunk knowing that he would never get off that bus, it was the worst feeling that I've ever had. I know nothing will ever feel that bad. The coroner told me that Darrell didn't feel a thing, he didn't even know that it happened to him. I take comfort in knowing that he didn't see it coming — it was instantaneous — and that he had a smile on his face doing something that he truly loved… I will never not think of him."

(Thanks: Nick a.k.a. Jacksons Shred)