The story of Christy Mack and War Machine has dragged on since August.
Last month, Christy Mack was supposed to get the chance to tell a judge in Las Vegas what happened to her on the night she was allegedly beaten by her MMA fighter ex-boyfriend.
But War Machine’s lawyers were able to get a continuance on that hearing, possibly hoping to make a deal with prosecution. The prosecution signaled that they were wary of the defense trying to “ice the victim” by delaying the hearing.
Jon Koppenhaver — who has legally changed his name to War Machine — was found in his jail cell in Vegas, attempting to hang himself. He wrote letters out to friends in which he said that Mack deserved what happened that night, and that charges against him were inflated.
But this week War Machine sat in a court room and faced Christy Mack on the stand for the first time since his arrest. He listened as she sobbed, relating the events of the night she was beaten.
He listened as she was asked by a prosecutor, “Was there sexual violence?”
He heard her say, “Yes.”
Then War Machine laughed. The prosecution team saw it happen.
“Judge I would like the record to show that Mr. Koppenhaver is laughing and shaking his head,” the prosecutor said.
“Objection. He wasn’t laughing,” War Machine’s lawyer shot back.
But someone else had seen War Machine too.
“I watched him laugh,” said the judge.
Earlier in the day, the court had listened as Corey Thomas testified about the attack.
“My face was covered in dripping blood. She was very scared to death,” Corey Thomas said. He told the court that War Machine had let him go after admonishing him to not tell police.
Christy Mack told the court that War Machine had threatened to kill her and her family multiple times in the past. She described her injuries, which included a lacerated liver, broken bones in her face around her eyes, broken teeth, and injuries to her leg.
War Machine now faces arraignment in District Court on Thursday.