See Ohio Club Where DIMEBAG Was Murdered Before It Is Demolished For Affordable Housing

June 15, 2021

PcP Films and RSL TV have uploaded new video of the Alrosa Villa nightclub in Columbus, Ohio, where PANTERA and DAMAGEPLAN guitarist "Dimebag" Darrell Abbott was murdered more than 16 years ago. You can now see the two clips below.

Earlier this month, it was reported by the The Columbus Dispatch that the site will be turned into affordable apartments. Plans are afoot to build three four-story buildings providing one-, two-, three-, and four-bedroom apartments on the site where Dimebag and three other people were killed by a 25-year-old ex-Marine named Nathan Gale.

In a message accompanying its YouTube video, PcP Films wrote: "With the recent news that this unfortunate landmark in the history of heavy metal will soon be demolished, I felt compelled to go and visit it. Here is what it looked like in it's final days. RIP Dime, and all the other victims from that fateful night."

For more than 45 years, the Alrosa Villa hosted local and national acts, including SLIPKNOT, KORN, QUIET RIOT, FOGHAT and BUCKCHERRY.

In December 2019, Alrosa Villa was listed for sale for $1,295,000, including the 10,000-square-foot building, two lots totaling 7.2 acres, the liquor license, bar and equipment.

On the night of December 8, 2004, Gale charged onstage at the packed nightclub and opened fire on the band and crowd, before being killed himself by police officer James D. Niggemeyer, who arrived on the scene minutes after Gale began his rampage.

According to The Pulse Of Radio, Gale seemed to deliberately target Abbott, leading to speculation that the young man, who had a history of mental illness, held a grudge against Abbott and his brother, drummer Vinnie Paul, for the break-up of PANTERA in 2002. Columbus police closed their investigation in October of 2005 without establishing a motive for the shootings.

Dimebag's death was a devastating blow to the close-knit hard rock and metal community. He was known to his fellow musicians for his hospitality, friendship and partying spirit, and was a legend among fans and peers for his powerful, innovative and unmistakable playing style.

Vinnie Paul sued Alrosa Villa over his brother's death. The lawsuit was settled out of court in 2007 for what was described at the time as a nominal amount.

"What happened here on Dec. 8, 2004, was a tragedy for everyone and our hearts go out to the victims and their families," Alrosa Villa's then-manager Rick Cautela said in a statement issued after Vinnie Paul's lawsuit was dismissed. "There is nothing we could have done to stop it."

According to The Columbus Dispatch, the lawsuit said the Cautela family, which owned and operated Alrosa Villa at the time of Dimebag's murder, was negligent in not stopping Gale from entering the club with a gun and ammunition.

Gale jumped a fence surrounding a patio outside the club as DAMAGEPLAN began playing its first song. He then walked through the crowd and entered the stage from behind a stack of amplifiers. He pulled a handgun and shot Abbott in the head, then turned the gun on those who tried to intervene.

DAMAGEPLAN crew member Jeffrey Thompson, club security guard Erin Halk and audience member Nathan Bray also were killed. Band manager Christopher Paluska and band technician John Brooks were wounded.

The carnage ended when Niggemeyer entered the club through a rear door and fatally shot Gale as Gale held a gun to Brooks's head.

Vinnie Paul died in June 2018 at the age of 54 in his sleep at his home in Las Vegas. The official cause of death was dilated cardiomyopathy, an enlarged heart, as well as severe coronary artery disease. He was buried next to his brother and their mother, Carolyn, at Moore Memorial Gardens cemetery in Arlington, Texas.

Find more on Pantera
  • facebook
  • twitter
  • reddit
  • email

Comments Disclaimer And Information

BLABBERMOUTH.NET uses the Facebook Comments plugin to let people comment on content on the site using their Facebook account. The comments reside on Facebook servers and are not stored on BLABBERMOUTH.NET. To comment on a BLABBERMOUTH.NET story or review, you must be logged in to an active personal account on Facebook. Once you're logged in, you will be able to comment. User comments or postings do not reflect the viewpoint of BLABBERMOUTH.NET and BLABBERMOUTH.NET does not endorse, or guarantee the accuracy of, any user comment. To report spam or any abusive, obscene, defamatory, racist, homophobic or threatening comments, or anything that may violate any applicable laws, use the "Report to Facebook" and "Mark as spam" links that appear next to the comments themselves. To do so, click the downward arrow on the top-right corner of the Facebook comment (the arrow is invisible until you roll over it) and select the appropriate action. You can also send an e-mail to blabbermouthinbox(@)gmail.com with pertinent details. BLABBERMOUTH.NET reserves the right to "hide" comments that may be considered offensive, illegal or inappropriate and to "ban" users that violate the site's Terms Of Service. Hidden comments will still appear to the user and to the user's Facebook friends. If a new comment is published from a "banned" user or contains a blacklisted word, this comment will automatically have limited visibility (the "banned" user's comments will only be visible to the user and the user's Facebook friends).