© 2024 Western New York Public Broadcasting Association

140 Lower Terrace
Buffalo, NY 14202

Mailing Address:
Horizons Plaza P.O. Box 1263
Buffalo, NY 14240-1263

Buffalo Toronto Public Media | Phone 716-845-7000
WBFO Newsroom | Phone: 716-845-7040
Your NPR Station
Play Live Radio
Next Up:
0:00
0:00
0:00 0:00
Available On Air Stations

Mexico plan foiled, escaped inmates separated last week

YouTube

New details are emerging now that the three-week manhunt for two escaped New York inmates is over. Richard Matt was shot and killed by law enforcement on Friday and David Sweat was shot and captured near the Canadian border in Northern New York on Sunday.

Governor Andrew Cuomo, speaking on Monday's edition of public radio's The Capitol Pressroom said the two men intended to head south of the border with Joyce Mitchell, the prison worker who helped them escape.

"They would kill Mitchell's husband and then get in the car and drive to Mexico on the theory that Mitchell was in love with one or both of them," Cuomo said. "Then they would go live happily ever after, which is a fairy tale I wasn't read as a child."

Cuomo says Sweat parted ways with Matt about five days ago because he felt the older Matt was slowing him down. Sweat is now in stable condition at Albany Medical Center. He is expected to live.

The two men used power tools to break out of a maximum-security prison in Dannemora on June 6. Cuomo told The Capitol Pressroom the individuals who helped the convicts escape will be prosecuted "to the full extent of the law."

You can hear the entire conversation on The Capitol Pressroom Monday evening at 8 p.m. on 88.7 FM WBFO.

Monday - Friday, 10 a.m.. - 2 p.m.