Civilian Worker at New York Prison Is Questioned About Escaped Convicts
State corrections officers in Dannemora, N.Y., on Wednesday searching for the escapees. The decision to return to the area was not a result of any new leads, the State Police said.
JACOB HANNAH FOR THE NEW YORK TIMES
By WILLIAM K. RASHBAUM and BENJAMIN MUELLER
JUNE 10, 2015
New York State officials said on Wednesday that a civilian employee of the prison from which two convicted killers escaped over the weekend was being questioned in connection with the breakout.
The employee, Joyce Mitchell, worked in a tailor shop at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y. She is believed to have aided the escapees, Richard W. Matt and David Sweat, and was expected to face charges soon, a person with knowledge of the matter said.
Ms. Mitchell “befriended the inmates and may have had some sort of role in assisting them,” Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico of the New York State Police said. He declined to give further details.
Superintendent D’Amico spoke at a news conference along with Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo of New York, Gov. Peter Shumlin of Vermont and other law enforcement officials to discuss the latest developments in the continuing search for the two men.
“We have information that would suggest that Vermont was discussed as a possible location,” Mr. Cuomo said, describing a collaboration between law enforcement officials from both states along the border. Clinton Correctional Facility, New York’s largest prison, is about 20 miles from Vermont.
The new information about their possible whereabouts emerged as investigators continued to comb Dannemora and Willsboro, a town about 35 miles southeast.
The escape occurred sometime late Friday or early Saturday, when the two inmates cut through their cell walls and into a two-foot pipe to emerge from a manhole onto the streets of Dannemora. The men were serving lengthy terms for murder.
Investigators say they believe Ms. Mitchell helped the men break free, but failed to follow through with the last part of the plan and did not meet them after they crawled through pipes to escape from the maximum security penitentiary.
The person with knowledge of the matter said Ms. Mitchell made statements that were sufficient to result in her being indicted in connection with the escape.
Instead of meeting Mr. Matt and Mr. Sweat with a getaway car, the person said, Ms. Mitchell sought treatment for a panic attack.
The person said Ms. Mitchell “had a panic attack and obviously got cold feet and went to the hospital.”
“The D.A. is working it already,” the person added, referring to what was a pending case against Ms. Mitchell.
New York Times - Crime
Edited by
SassyEuro2
on Wed 06/10/15 10:55 PM
