New York prison escape: Condition of escaped killer upgraded to serious
An escaped murderer who was shot and caught in a desperate dash toward the Canadian border was upgraded to serious condition Monday as authorities began to hear how he and a partner, who was shot dead last week, slipped out of a maximum-security prison and stayed three weeks on the run.
David Sweat has started talking and sharing some of the details, New York Gov. Andrew Cuomo said.
The governor told the Capitol Pressroom that the two men originally planned to go to Mexico, but when their suspected getaway driver failed to show up, they instead headed north on foot toward Canada.
Sweat almost made it. He was shot twice after a state police officer spotted him within three kilometres of the border, had a bag containing maps, insect repellant, food and other items, Cuomo told CNN. Sweat was not armed.
A statement Monday from Albany Medical Center said Sweat did not need surgery and would remain there "for at least a few days while his condition stabilizes."
His capture ended a dramatic manhunt that began when Sweat and Richard Matt cut holes in the walls of their adjoining cells, worked their way through a maze of catwalks and pipes and emerged from a manhole in the early hours of June 6 within sight of the prison walls. It was the first escape from the prison in more than 100 years.
Now authorities want to know who might have helped them. Two prison employees have already been arrested and accused of, among other things, giving the two inmates frozen hamburger meat with hacksaw blades and other tools hidden inside.
On Friday, Matt was killed with three shots to the head after being found near a cabin in the vast wooded region where the two men are thought to have moved between hunting camps that are mostly empty this time of year.
More than 1,200 law enforcement officers had been searching for them. But D'Amico said the men may have used black pepper to throw off their scent from the dogs that tried to track them.
Cuomo said the two men split up about five days ago. He said Matt had blisters on his feet and Sweat felt his older escape partner, who turned 49 last week, was slowing him down.
The manhunt ended Sunday afternoon when a single police officer spotted a suspicious man jogging on a rural road near the Canadian border. Sgt. Jay Cook fired twice as Sweat ran for the treeline, worrying he might get away.
"I can only assume he was going for the border," Superintendent Joseph D'Amico told reporters.
The two prisoners had cut their way out of a maximum-security prison 48 kilometres away using power tools.
Prison guard Gene Palmer, charged with promoting prison contraband, tampering with physical evidence and official misconduct, was due in court Monday. His attorney has said he will plead not guilty.
Prosecutors said the tailor shop worker, Joyce Mitchell, got close to the men while working with them and had agreed to be their getaway driver but backed out because she felt guilty for participating in the escape. Authorities also said Mitchell had discussed killing her husband as part of the plot.
Mitchell pleaded not guilty June 15 to charges including felony promoting prison contraband.
"The nightmare is finally over," Cuomo declared Sunday, but he said many questions remained unanswered, including whether the inmates had other accomplices.
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie said Sweat will be charged with escape, burglary and other charges for his time on the run.
Sweat had been serving a sentence of life without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy in Broome County in 2002. Matt had been serving 25 years to life for the killing and dismembering of his former boss.
