New York prison staffer arrested, accused of helping 2 killers escape

SLM

The Velvet Hammer
Mar 5, 2011
29,151
3
36
London, Ontario
New York prison staffer arrested, accused of helping 2 killers escape




John Kekis and David Klepper, The Associated Press
Published Friday, June 12, 2015 10:26AM EDT
Last Updated Friday, June 12, 2015 6:15PM EDT
DANNEMORA, N.Y. -- A worker at an upstate New York maximum-security prison has been arrested on charges she helped two convicted killers escape, state police said Friday.
State police said 51-year-old Joyce Mitchell will be arraigned on charges of first-degree promoting prison contraband and fourth-degree criminal facilitation.
Mitchell is accused of befriending inmates David Sweat and Richard Matt at the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora near the Canadian border and giving them contraband.


District Attorney Andrew Wylie said earlier the contraband didn't include power tools used by the men as they cut holes in their cell walls and a steam pipe to escape through a manhole last weekend.
Law enforcement officers continued to search for the escapees, concentrating Friday in a rural area near the prison.
Mitchell's family has said she wouldn't have helped the convicts break out.
An instructor in the tailor shop where the men worked, Mitchell is also suspected of agreeing to be a getaway driver but didn't show up, leaving the men on foot early Saturday morning.
The hunt for the inmates was focused Friday on an area where residents reported seeing two men jumping a stone wall outside the far northern New York town of Dannemora. About 300 searchers were added, bringing the total number of state, federal and local law enforcement officers involved in the manhunt to more than 800.
Mitchell has a $56,000-a-year job overseeing inmates who sew clothes and learn to repair sewing machines at the prison.
Within the past year, officials looked into whether Mitchell had improper ties to the 34-year-old Sweat, who was serving a life sentence for killing a sheriff's deputy, Wylie said. He gave no details on the nature of the suspected relationship.
The investigation didn't turn up anything solid enough to warrant disciplinary charges against her, the district attorney said.
Matt was serving 25 years to life for the 1997 kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of Matt's 76-year-old former boss, whose body was found in pieces in a river.


New York prison staffer arrested, accused of helping 2 killers escape | CTV News


Unreal.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,003
113
Female prison worker, N.Y. escapees allegedly plotted husband's murder
Laila Kearney, REUTERS
First posted: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 12:09 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 17, 2015 06:38 PM EDT
NEW YORK - A female prison worker in custody for helping two upstate New York inmates escape had discussed with the convicts a murder-for-hire plot against her husband, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
Joyce Mitchell, 51, was arrested last week in connection with the escape of murderers Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 35, who broke out of Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, about 20 miles south of the Canadian border, nearly two weeks ago.
Mitchell and the two men, who she has been linked to romantically, discussed a plan to kill her husband, Lyle Mitchell, Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie told reporters.
Following the comment, Mitchell's attorney, Stephen Johnston, said his client had warned her husband of the plot, CNN reported. "I don't believe she was involved in any attempt to kill her husband," Johnston told CNN.
Police on Wednesday expanded their search for Matt and Sweat to include the U.S. Marshall's Service working along the Mexican border. Matt, who has a history of escape attempts, had fled to Mexico before.
Authorities have received more than 1,200 tips from the public as they search for the escapees.
State police reopened Route 374, a main road from the maximum-security prison to Plattsburgh, which had been closed since police sniffer dogs picked up the scent of Matt and Sweat last week. The search was "expanding and shifting to other areas surrounding Dannemora," police said in a statement.
Police also released "progression photos" showing the men with facial hair they may have grown since they were noticed missing on June 6. They revised details of the men's physical descriptions, now putting Matt at 5 foot, 10 inches tall and 210 pounds and Sweat at 5 foot, 10 inches tall and 165 pounds.
Mitchell, who met the men in her job of training convicts in the prison tailor shop, remained in jail, accused of supplying them with hacksaw blades and a screwdriver bit used in the breakout.
"She's distraught. She's very weepy," her lawyer told reporters.
Her husband, who also works at the prison, visited her in the county jail on Tuesday and there were conflicting media reports about whether he will stand by her.
"There's no way I'm standing behind her," he was quoted as saying by his lawyer, Peter Dumas, according to NBC News.
Dumas did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment and CNN quoted Johnston as saying Mitchell vowed to support his wife.
Law enforcement officials said on Wednesday that they had no evidence that Lyle Mitchell had prior knowledge of the escape plan.
Joyce Mitchell has pleaded not guilty to promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation. If convicted of the charges, she faces up to eight years in prison.
Mitchell was previously investigated after a co-worker complained she had an inappropriate relationship with Sweat, but that investigation concluded without disciplinary action, although they were ordered separated, authorities said.
Matt and Sweat were discovered missing from their adjoining cells early on the morning of June 6. Their elaborate escape involved cutting through a steel wall and slithering through a steam pipe before emerging from a manhole on the street outside the prison.
Female prison worker, N.Y. escapees allegedly plotted husband's murder | World |
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,003
113
Husband of NY prison worker tied to escape 'can't stand by her': Lawyer
Michael Hill, ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Thursday, June 18, 2015 02:41 PM EDT | Updated: Thursday, June 18, 2015 07:48 PM EDT
A man was "blown away" by word that his wife discussed having two inmates kill him as she helped them plot their successful escape from a maximum-security prison in northern New York, his lawyer said on Thursday.
Joyce and Lyle Mitchell worked as instructors at the Clinton Correctional Facility, where convicted murderers David Sweat and Richard Matt were reported missing June 6. Sweat and Matt remain at large and have been added to the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted fugitives list.
Joyce Mitchell is jailed on charges she gave the inmates hacksaws and other tools used to cut through their cell walls and a steam pipe to get beyond the prison walls. Authorities say Mitchell had planned to be the inmates' getaway driver but backed out.
Authorities have said Mitchell, who got close to the men while working with them in the prison tailor shop, discussed killing her husband.
"Joyce Mitchell tells us that was discussed between her and Matt and that upon their escape they were going to return back to Joyce Mitchell's home at which time Matt and Sweat were going to kill her husband," said Andrew Wylie, Clinton County district attorney.
Lyle Mitchell's lawyer, Peter Dumas, said Thursday that his client was shocked by word of the plot and that Joyce Mitchell had told her husband she couldn't go through with it.
"Toward the end, Joyce had told Lyle -- and we have no reason to doubt it -- that she told Sweat and Matt that she wasn't going to go through with it," he said. "At that point, they threatened her by threatening Lyle, saying they were going to have someone on the outside do something to him or someone on the inside when he was back at work do something to him so I think it was a point of control."
Lyle Mitchell is co-operating with authorities and isn't facing charges.
"He's still in love with her, but I don't know that he is going to be very supportive," Dumas said.
Joyce Mitchell has pleaded not guilty.
As the search for the men stretched into a 13th day Thursday, correction officials lifted a lockdown that had limited activities in the prison. They said inmates are eating again in the mess hall rather than in their cells and a number are going to work assignments. Recreation activities and use of the phones are also resuming. Visitors are expected to be allowed starting Friday.
Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.
The Marshals Service, which added Sweat and Matt to its 15 Most Wanted fugitives list on Thursday, said it will work tirelessly to ensure their run from the law is as brief as possible.
"The agency's 15 Most Wanted fugitive list is reserved for the worst of the worst," Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said. "There is no question David Sweat and Richard Matt fall into this category."
Wylie on Thursday also offered a new detail on the relationship between Matt and Joyce Mitchell, saying the inmate painted a picture of her children after she gave him boxing gloves.
"She provided him the speed boxing gloves for the picture of her children," Wylie said. "So she gave it to her husband, Lyle, for their anniversary."
Prison inmates Richard Matt, 48, (L) and David Sweat, 35, are seen in a combination of enhanced pictures released by the New York State police June 17, 2015, showing how they might look after escaping 12 days ago. After more than 1,200 tips from the public, authorities on Wednesday expanded a manhunt for two killers whose brazen escape from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, on June 6. REUTERS/New York State Police/Handout

Husband of NY prison worker tied to escape 'can't stand by her': Lawyer | World
 

Sal

Hall of Fame Member
Sep 29, 2007
17,135
33
48
Another lonely lady.
nope...it would appear not...more like highly motivated

NEW YORK - A female prison worker in custody for helping two upstate New York inmates escape had discussed with the convicts a murder-for-hire plot against her husband, prosecutors said on Wednesday.
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,003
113
Lawyer says man shocked by wife's role in escape plot by 2 convicted murderers in New York
Michael Hill, THE ASSOCIATED PRESS
First posted: Friday, June 19, 2015 08:38 AM EDT | Updated: Friday, June 19, 2015 08:59 AM EDT
A woman charged with helping two convicted murderers escape from prison told her husband that when she backed out of a plan to be the getaway driver the inmates threatened his life, the husband's lawyer said.
Joyce and Lyle Mitchell worked as instructors at the Clinton Correctional Facility, where David Sweat and Richard Matt were reported missing June 6. Sweat and Matt remain at large and have been added to the U.S. Marshals Service's 15 Most Wanted fugitives list.
Authorities have said Mitchell, who got close to the men while working with them in the prison tailor shop, discussed killing her husband.
"Joyce Mitchell tells us that was discussed between her and Matt and that upon their escape they were going to return back to Joyce Mitchell's home at which time Matt and Sweat were going to kill her husband," said Andrew Wylie, Clinton County district attorney.
Lyle Mitchell's lawyer, Peter Dumas, said Thursday that his client was shocked by word of the escape plot and that his wife had discussed having the inmates kill him.
"Toward the end, Joyce had told Lyle -- and we have no reason to doubt it -- that she told Sweat and Matt that she wasn't going to go through with it," he said. "At that point, they threatened her by threatening Lyle, saying they were going to have someone on the outside do something to him or someone on the inside when he was back at work do something to him so I think it was a point of control."
Lyle Mitchell is co-operating with authorities and isn't facing charges.
"He's still in love with her, but I don't know that he is going to be very supportive," Dumas said.
Joyce Mitchell is jailed on charges she gave the inmates hacksaws and other tools used to cut through the walls of their cells at the maximum-security prison in northern New York and a steam pipe to get beyond the prison walls.
She has pleaded not guilty.
As the search for the men stretched into a 13th day Thursday, correction officials lifted a lockdown that had limited activities in the prison. They said inmates are eating again in the mess hall rather than in their cells and a number are going to work assignments. Recreation activities and use of the phones are also resuming. Visitors are expected to be allowed starting Friday.
Sweat, 35, was serving a life sentence without parole in the killing of a sheriff's deputy. Matt, 48, was doing 25 years to life for the kidnap, torture and hacksaw dismemberment of his former boss.
The Marshals Service, which added Sweat and Matt to its 15 Most Wanted fugitives list on Thursday, said it will work tirelessly to ensure their run from the law is as brief as possible.
"The agency's 15 Most Wanted fugitive list is reserved for the worst of the worst," Marshals Service Director Stacia Hylton said. "There is no question David Sweat and Richard Matt fall into this category."
Wylie on Thursday also offered a new detail on the relationship between Matt and Joyce Mitchell, saying the inmate painted a picture of her children after she gave him boxing gloves.
"She provided him the speed boxing gloves for the picture of her children," Wylie said. "So she gave it to her husband, Lyle, for their anniversary."
Joyce Mitchell is escorted out of the courtroom after appearing before a judge in Plattsburgh City Court, New York on June 15. Mitchell is accused of helping convicted killers Richard Matt and David Sweat escape from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York on June 6. (REUTERS/G.N. Miller)

Lawyer says man shocked by wife's role in escape plot by 2 convicted murderers i
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,003
113
N.Y. prison worker's husband breaks silence as manhunt continues
Reuters
First posted: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 01:48 PM EDT | Updated: Tuesday, June 23, 2015 02:00 PM EDT
The husband of a female prison worker charged with helping two New York inmates escape spoke out on Tuesday, the 18th day of a massive manhunt, saying the break-out plan called for her to slip him knockout pills.
A force of 1,000 law enforcement officers focused the search for murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat in eastern Franklin County, about 20 miles from Clinton Correctional Facility, said New York State Police spokesman Beau Duffy.
The hunt centered on the town of Bellmont, near a cabin where authorities during the weekend found evidence that reportedly showed the escapees had been inside.
They were discovered missing from the maximum-security facility in Dannemora, N.Y., on June 6.
Lyle Mitchell, whose wife, Joyce Mitchell, admitted she helped the convicts, said on NBC's "Today" show that the men gave her pills to knock him out so that she could slip away and drive their getaway car. At that point, she knew things had gone too far, Mitchell said.
"She said: 'I love my husband, I am not hurtin' him,'" Mitchell told NBC in his first media interview, which aired on Tuesday. "She said, 'Then I knew I was over my head. I can't do this.'"
Clinton County District Attorney Andrew Wylie told reporters last week that she had discussed a plan with the men to kill her husband, who also worked at the prison.
Mitchell has visited his wife in jail, where she is being held on charges she supplied hacksaw blades that allowed Sweat and Matt to cut through their cell walls, slither through a steam pipe and emerge from a manhole outside the prison walls.
He said his wife denied having sex with either of the convicts, saying Matt tried to kiss her but she resisted his advances.
Asked if he supported his wife, Mitchell said, "As of right now I don't know what to think," adding that he had not yet decided whether he would testify against her in court.
"Do I still love her? Yes. Am I mad? Yes. How could she do this? How could she do this to our kids?" Mitchell told NBC News.
Joyce Mitchell, 51, who worked as a training supervisor in the prison's tailor shop, has pleaded not guilty to charges of promoting prison contraband and criminal facilitation.
If convicted, she could face up to eight years in prison.
N.Y. prison worker's husband breaks silence as manhunt continues | World | News
 

spaminator

Hall of Fame Member
Oct 26, 2009
35,667
3,003
113
N.Y. prison worker had regular sex with escapee: Report
Postmedia Network
First posted: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 12:24 PM EDT | Updated: Wednesday, June 24, 2015 12:47 PM EDT
A former prisoner who served time with a pair of fugitive New York State convicts says Joyce Mitchell had sex with one of them about four times a week in a prison stockroom.
Just hours after cuckold husband Lyle told the Today Show his wife got close to murderer Richard Matt but resisted his advances, a former prisoner told the New York Post a wildly different story about Matt's co-escapee David Sweat.
Former inmate Erik Jensen said the pair would routinely sneak off into a small stockroom during shifts at the tailor shop, where Mitchell was supposed to be supervising.
"Everyone used to joke with him that he was getting his quiet time with his 'boo,' his girlfriend," Jensen, 34, told the Post. "It was like the running joke in the tailor shop."
The Post nicknamed her Shaw-skank.
Jensen said Sweat would also stay behind when the other prisoners went to the mess hall for lunch.
"Mitchell would bring him Subway sandwiches, hamburgers," Jensen told the paper.
Mitchell is being held on charges she supplied hacksaw blades that allowed Sweat and Matt to cut through their cell walls, slither through a steam pipe and emerge from a manhole outside the prison walls.
District Attorney Andrew Wylie told reporters that Mitchell told investigators she smuggled the tools inside frozen hamburger meat. He said she then placed it in a refrigerator in the tailor shop, and an unwitting corrections officer brought the meat to Sweat and Matt, who were housed in a section where inmates are allowed to cook their own meals.
The pair were discovered missing from the maximum-security Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, New York, on June 6 and the intense manhunt hasn't slowed.
Authorities continued searching 194 sq. kms. of rugged northern New York terrain near the Ontario border on Wednesday, and said they still don't know for sure if the men are armed.
Officials told reporters they were "virtually 100%" assured that David Sweat and Richard Matt had been in the area, four days after a man was seen running out of a local cabin. It's thought the escaped prisoners may have been moving between the seasonal properties.
Weapons and ammunition are typically stored in many of the hunting camps, but not everyone keeps an inventory of their firearms, police said.
"If they're here, we're going to find them," Franklin County Sheriff Kevin Mulverhill said.
- with files from The Associated Press
Joyce Mitchell, left, and David Sweat had sex about four times a week in a prison stockroom, according to a former prisoner. (Reuters File Photos)

N.Y. prison worker had regular sex with escapee: Report | World | News | Toronto