[ad_1]
A third inmate was in a transport van when murder suspects husband and wife overpowered two guards and escaped to Utah, according to a report released Thursday.
Before escaping, Susan Barksdale, 59, claimed to have an "intestinal problem," prompting the guards to stop near Blanding, Utah, Monday, told Associated Press. the marshal for Arizona.
When the back doors of the van were opened, she and her husband, Blane Barksdale, 56, charged the guards and used laces to tie them up, said Field Marshal David Gonzales at the news agency. None of the guards were injured. The two men took a key to free themselves from a restraint system at the waist.
The guards took two to three hours to break free, before breaking some windows, the news agency reported.
NBC affiliate, KVOA, of Tucson, reported earlier this week that a third inmate was in the van, who was heading to the Pima County jail, but that this inmate was unwilling not participate in the escape.
"This other prisoner, he did not want any part in this deal," Gonzales told AP. "He was very open."
The couple left the guards and the third detainee behind and drove the van to Vernon, Arizona, where they met a friend who gave them access to his red GMC pickup truck, the Associated Press reported.
Gonzales told the news agency that this friend had not yet been charged, but that the security forces were still interrogating him.
The Barksdales are accused of murdering 72-year-old Frank Bligh in Tucson on April 16. They were arrested in upstate New York in May and were extradited to Arizona when they escaped Monday night, officials said. They face first degree murder and other charges.
Bligh's body has never been found. Bligh's brother, William Bligh, told KVOA that he was surprised that the authorities let the two suspects travel in the same vehicle.
"I do not understand why they would let them travel together," said William Bligh. "I realize that it was strictly for saving money, but look at the mess they have now."
The authorities offered a reward of US $ 10,000 for the capture of each of the two escaped prisoners. A hunt for the man continues for the pair.
The Barskdales are considered armed and dangerous, but Gonzales told the AP that the two men had not taken a handgun lying in a locked box inside the van because they probably did not know that the weapon was there.
The department of the Pima County Sheriff said in a statement this week that he had suspended the use of the STS transit company pending the review of the evasion. The sheriff's department said it was one of eight state counties that appeal to a private transportation company because of the cost of extradition .
[ad_2]
Source link