Sound of cough gave runaway US murder convict away

Sound of cough gave runaway US murder convict away

Saturday, June 27, 2015 11:30 am


One down, one more to catch.

Richard Matt, a convicted murderer, who escaped from a New York prison along with David Sweat was shot dead Friday, one day after his 49th birthday. He was armed. And He was given away by the sound of his own cough. His partner in crime, is however still at large, CNN reports.

David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt: The latter has been gunned down

David Sweat, left, and Richard Matt: The latter has been gunned down


Here is the dramatic account about how the 49 year old fugitive was shot dead, according to CNN:

” Since the duo broke the maximum security prison in Dannemora together — and appeared to stick together on their flight from the law — authorities were hopeful they could be right on Sweat’s heels after encountering Matt.

If not for some gunfire, and the urge to cough, Matt, too, may have continued to elude the 1,100 officers from multiple law enforcement agencies, who, for three weeks, have combed brush, field and forest in the dark green shadows of the rolling Adirondack Mountains.

He may have again stayed out of eye shot of searchers who locked down schools and homes in surrounding quiet rural towns, while they pursued over 2,000 tips on the fugitives’ possible whereabouts.

But then on Friday, owners of a recreational vehicle driving down Route 30 heard a bang that eventually led officers to Matt. At the time, they were near Malone just south of the Canadian border. “They thought maybe they had a flat. They got out; they realized they didn’t have a flat,” Superintendent D’Amico said.

So, they drove on, until they reached their camp site, where they got out to take a closer look.

“They examined the trailer that they were towing and realized that there was a bullet hole through the back of the camper,” D’Amico said.

They called police, who received additional reports of subsequent gunfire.

The officers who responded to the camper drivers figured that the gunshot they heard probably happened about eight miles back up the road. When they searched there, they came upon a cabin.

As they stepped inside, the smell of gunsmoke hung in air. And it looked to them like someone had just been in the cabin, but fled out the back door, D’Amico said. They pursued.

Outside, something moved. And they heard something that sounded like coughing. It wasn’t an animal noise; it was human, D’Amico said. It didn’t take long for a customs and border protection tactical team to come face to face with Matt.

“They told him to put up his hands,” D’Amico said.

Authorities have warned incessantly from the start that the pair of fugitives might get their hands on guns. Matt did. And it may have been his undoing at that moment. Matt didn’t shoot, but he also didn’t comply with officers’ order, so they opened fire.

“We recovered a .20 gauge shot gun from Matt’s body at the location,” said New York State Police Superintendent Joseph A. D’Amico.”


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