The dramatic escape of two convicted killers from a maximum security prison in New York has taken on a new turn. The prisoners are thought to have had help in the form of a female prison employee. Police questioned prison employee Joyce Mitchell regarding her relationship with prisoners Richard Matt, 48, and David Sweat, 34, after it was discovered calls were made from her cellphone to people who were connected to Richard Matt. However, it is unknown at this time who made the calls and whether Mitchell knew about the calls. Mitchell met both men in the prison tailor shop where she was employed as a supervisor and both prisoners worked. According to CNN, law enforcement officials suspect Mitchell had planned to pick up the inmates after the escape but became nervous and changed her mind at the last minute. She was hospitalized soon after the prison escape suffering from anxiety and panic attacks according to an unnamed source.
Interestingly, her ex-husband described her as a serial adulteress who had multiple affairs with numerous men. When asked if he thought his ex-wife could have fallen for one of the prisoners, Tobey Premo responded, “Well, of course. If you look at the pattern, she’s 51. I thought maybe her sex drive would be gone and she wouldn’t do that.” Mitchell has not been charged in connection with the escape and is cooperating with the police by providing information as requested.
Authorities have stated that someone had to have given the inmates power tools that were used to cut through heavy steel pipes. The prison escape has been compared to the hit Hollywood movie “Shawshank Redemption” because of striking similarities. In the movie a prisoner escapes through pipes and the sewer system of the prison much like Matt and Sweat. There is a massive search underway for the prisoners that entails over 400 law enforcement officers and the Department of Homeland Security,
