Court records show a July domestic-violence warrant remained outstanding until Dario Williams was arrested after Candice Mackie’s death in September.
LEXINGTON, Ky. — A warrant accusing Dario Williams of assaulting Candice Mackie remained unserved for nearly two months before police arrested him after Mackie was fatally stabbed outside her uncle’s Lexington home, according to court records reviewed by local news organizations.
The unresolved warrant has become a significant part of the timeline surrounding Mackie’s Sept. 3 death because it arose from a previous alleged confrontation between the same two people. A judge signed the warrant July 8 after Mackie told police Williams had struck her and damaged property at the Valhalla Drive home where she was living, according to reports based on the criminal complaint. The warrant was not served until Sept. 3, after officers responding to the home found Mackie critically wounded and a FedEx delivery truck driven into the residence. Authorities have not publicly provided a full account explaining why Williams was not arrested on the warrant earlier.
The July complaint accused Williams of punching Mackie in the back with a closed fist while she was lying on a couch. It also included a second-degree criminal mischief allegation tied to property damage. Mackie’s uncle, Emmit Murphy, told LEX 18 that the incident involved damage to the front door and mailbox after Mackie would not allow Williams into the home. Those claims had not been adjudicated before Mackie’s death, and the warrant itself established an accusation requiring a court process, not a finding that Williams committed the alleged offenses.
There had also been an earlier court proceeding involving the relationship. WKYT reported that Mackie sought an emergency protective order against Williams in 2022 and that the order expired the following year. Publicly available reports do not provide enough information to establish the entire history or outcome of that matter. Taken together, however, the 2022 filing and July 2026 warrant show that allegations involving Mackie and Williams had reached the court system before the homicide investigation began. Mackie’s relatives said the two had been together for years and shared a young daughter.
Murphy said Mackie had moved into his home with her daughter several months before the fatal attack. He told reporters that previous disputes involving Williams had brought police to the property and said he had encouraged Mackie to report alleged violence. Murphy also said he had tried to help both Mackie and Williams during their relationship. His account offers family context for the prior incidents, but it does not answer the procedural question of what steps authorities took between issuance of the July warrant and Williams’ Sept. 3 arrest. No public statement reviewed for this article identifies a failed attempt to serve the warrant or says police knew where Williams could be found during that period.
The homicide case began shortly before 10 a.m. Sept. 3 when Lexington police received a report that a commercial vehicle had struck a residence in the 3300 block of Valhalla Drive. Responding officers found a FedEx delivery truck extending into the home and Mackie suffering from apparent stab wounds. She was taken to a hospital with life-threatening injuries and died later that day. The Fayette County coroner identified her as Candice Lynn Mackie, 34. Lexington police later listed the case among the city’s 2026 homicides and identified Williams as the suspect.
Police and court records allege that the truck’s entry into the garage was deliberate. Investigators say Williams drove the delivery vehicle through the garage as part of an effort to confront Mackie. Evidence described later in court indicated that the confrontation moved outside. Homicide Detective Nicholas Music testified at a Sept. 9 preliminary hearing that investigators found blood and video evidence consistent with the stabbing occurring outside the home. Surveillance video, he said, showed Williams walking away and Mackie collapsing on a sidewalk before a 911 call was made.
The preliminary hearing added another layer to the case. Music testified that Williams was interviewed at police headquarters and admitted stabbing Mackie several times. The detective also said Williams was supposed to be delivering packages in Versailles that morning but instead went to Mackie’s residence. According to Music, Williams described trying the front door, seeing people at the property and then driving the truck into the residence. Police were still seeking to identify another person who had been outside with Mackie and had left before officers arrived.
Investigators also recovered a green switchblade knife near Valhalla Drive and Grafton Drive, Music testified. The detective said video obtained by police did not show the stabbing itself. His testimony about Williams’ statements and the recovered evidence came during a probable-cause hearing, where the state was not required to prove guilt beyond a reasonable doubt. Fayette District Judge Bruce Bell determined there was enough evidence for the case to proceed to a grand jury and left Williams’ bond at $1 million.
Williams had entered a not-guilty plea days earlier. Police announced charges that included murder related to domestic violence and first-degree burglary, while the older warrant carried fourth-degree assault involving domestic violence and second-degree criminal mischief allegations. The exact charging language can change as a case moves through the court system, particularly if a grand jury returns an indictment. The available public reports reviewed through Oct. 19 did not establish that Williams had been convicted of any offense arising from Mackie’s death, and the allegations against him remain subject to the criminal process.
Family members said the years-long relationship between Mackie and Williams was complicated in part because the two shared a daughter. Mackie’s aunt told local television reporters that Mackie’s life was centered on the 5-year-old and that she was excited about being involved in her daughter’s school experiences. Murphy said Mackie did not want to completely cut Williams out of their lives because he was the child’s father. That family account provides context for continued contact between the two but does not establish why the Sept. 3 confrontation occurred. Police have not announced a specific motive.
The fact that the July warrant remained outstanding has drawn attention because the Sept. 3 arrest was also the moment when it was finally executed. Public reporting does not establish whether serving the warrant earlier would have prevented Mackie’s death, and no reliable source reviewed for this article has made such a finding. The records do establish a narrower fact: authorities had a signed warrant based on an earlier domestic-violence complaint before the fatal encounter, and it remained unserved for weeks. Questions about how warrants are prioritized or why this one remained outstanding have not been fully answered in the public record.
FedEx said after the killing that Williams was no longer providing service on behalf of the company and that it was cooperating with Lexington police. The company did not publicly detail the nature of his working arrangement or how the truck came to be used in the alleged confrontation. The truck’s presence made the emergency scene unusual, but the criminal investigation has centered on Williams’ alleged actions toward Mackie and on the history documented in the court record rather than on the delivery company.
The next confirmed legal stage is the grand-jury process ordered after Bell’s probable-cause finding. That process can result in an indictment, modified charges or no indictment, depending on what jurors conclude from the evidence presented by prosecutors. As of Oct. 19, the available reporting reviewed for this article did not identify a later publicly confirmed disposition. Williams’ not-guilty plea remains in place, and the unanswered question surrounding the earlier warrant is separate from the question a criminal court must ultimately decide: whether prosecutors can prove the charges arising from Mackie’s death.
Author note: Last updated Oct. 19, 2026.