Richard Matt | |
|---|---|
 Mug shot of Matt taken by the New York State Department of Corrections | |
| Born | Richard William Matt June 25, 1966 Tonawanda, New York, U.S. |
| Died | June 26, 2015 (aged 49) Malone, New York, U.S. |
| Cause of death | Three gunshot wounds |
| Known for | Prison escape, convicted murderer |
| Details | |
| Victims | 2 |
| Country | United States, Mexico |
Richard William Matt (June 25, 1966 – June 26, 2015)[1] was an American murderer known for his prison escape, the 2015 Clinton Correctional Facility escape.
A native of the Buffalo–Niagara Falls metropolitan area where he grew up in foster homes, Matt was a career criminal who had already served several prison terms for various crimes before he and an accomplice robbed, kidnapped and murdered his former boss, William Rickerson in December 1997. After fleeing to Mexico to avoid capture, he murdered a second man, Charles Perrault, in February 1998 while attempting to rob him and received a 23-year sentence. After being extradited back to the United States in 2007 and being convicted for Rickerson's murder, Matt began serving a 25 year to life sentence for second-degree murder at the Clinton Correctional Facility. Already having a history of escaping from correctional facilities, he escaped from the facility in June 2015 with fellow prisoner David Sweat, and after twenty days on the run trying to escape to Canada, he was killed by the U.S. Border Patrol. Sweat was captured two days later.
- ^ Rashbaum, William K.; Mueller, Benjamin (26 June 2015). "Richard Matt, Escaped Prisoner in New York Manhunt, Is Fatally Shot". The New York Times.