Richard Matt

Murders

On December 3, 1997, Richard Matt attacked his 72-year-old boss, William Rickerson, in his North Tonawanda home. After attacking him, Matt forced Rickerson into his trunk. Matt believed Rickerson had access to a large sum of money and demanded to know its location. Later, Matt broke Rickerson's neck with his bare hands. He then dismembered the body and fled New York State to avoid capture.

After fleeing, Matt crossed the U.S.-Mexican border and entered the city of Matamoros. On February 20, 1998, Matt murdered Charles Arnold Perreault, an American engineer employed at Ranco de Mexico, a local factory. According to news reports, Matt and Perreault were in a bar, and when Perreault went to the restroom, Matt stabbed him nine times in the back and abdomen in an attempt to rob him of $300 USD.

After assaulting Perreault, Matt attempted to flee the scene of the crime, but was apprehended by police shortly after. Matt provided the name of his half-brother, Wayne M. Schimpf, when questioned by the officers. Matt was convicted of murder in a Mexican court and received a 23-year sentence.

Prison escapes

When approximately 13 years old, Matt escaped from a group home, hiding in Allegany State Park and taking food and other supplies from vacation homes. He had been remanded to the home for stealing a houseboat.

In June 1986, he climbed a fence to escape from the Erie County Correctional Facility, where he was serving a one-year sentence for assault. According to retired Tonawanda policeman David Bently, Matt evaded police for four days, hopping a freight train to his brother's house in Tonawanda where he was ultimately apprehended.

In 1991, Matt convinced fellow prisoner David Telstar to pay $15,000 bail to get him released while awaiting trial for rape and assault. Matt then informed on Telstar, who pleaded guilty to promising Matt an additional $100,000 in a murder-for-hire scheme. Matt did not receive a reduced sentence for informing.

Prior to 2007, Matt nearly escaped from a prison in Mexico, climbing to the roof before being shot by guards. According to his son, "He's been shot like nine times. It's like they can't kill him." Matt was turned over to U.S. authorities in 2007. According to court reporter Rick Pfeiffer, the Mexican government placed him without explanation on a plane with a drug kingpin they had agreed to extradite because he had "been such a difficult prisoner."

During his trial for the murder of Rickerson, authorities suspected he had a plan to escape from Niagara County Jail. Matt was made to wear a stun belt and snipers were posted outside the courtroom to prevent his escape.

Clinton Correctional escape

On June 6, 2015, while serving 25 years to life sentence for Rickerson's murder, the 48-year-old Matt and 34-year-old David Sweat executed an elaborate escape from the maximum security Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York and became the subjects of a trans-national manhunt. The escape, which has been compared to Stephen King's The Shawshank Redemption and brought New York Governor Andrew Cuomo to survey their escape route, involved the use of tools to tunnel out of the facility to an "external breach" approximately 500 feet (150 m) south of the prison wall. The two men had first earned privileged housing in Honor Block, a unit with larger cells available only to prisoners with years without a disciplinary infraction.

Prior to the escape, he traded skilled artwork of famous people with a prison guard.

Death

On June 26, 2015, Matt was shot and killed by officers in Franklin County, New York, near the town of Malone, Sweat initially escaped capture, but was shot and arrested two days later. after a confrontation in which he refused to drop the firearm he was holding.

An autopsy indicated Matt had a blood alcohol level of 0.18%, more than twice the level of intoxication under New York law.