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Dannemora escapee's autopsy updated: Blood alcohol at .18 percent

Posted 8/5/15

New York State Police have updated the autopsy results in the death of an escapee from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora to include a new toxicology report. Richard Matt had a blood alcohol …

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Dannemora escapee's autopsy updated: Blood alcohol at .18 percent

Posted

New York State Police have updated the autopsy results in the death of an escapee from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora to include a new toxicology report.

Richard Matt had a blood alcohol content of .18 percent at the time of his death, state police report. That is more than twice the threshold for a driver to get a DWI charge.

Border Patrol officers who were part of the vast manhunt employing hundreds of officers that began on June 6 found Matt weeks later and shot him three times in the head.

He and David Sweat escaped employing an elaborate scheme involving tunnels and pipes ending under a manhole in a Dannamora street.

Two days after Matt was gunned down, Sweat was captured not far from the Canadian border when a state police sergeant saw him and using a handgun, shot the unarmed man twice in the back as he fled.

On June 27, an autopsy was conducted on the remains of Matt at Albany Medical Center.

Dr. Michael Sikirica determined the cause of death to be severe skull fractures and brain injuries due to gunshot wounds to the head.

An examination of the body revealed bug bites on the lower extremities, blisters, and minor abrasions consistent with living in the woods for three weeks, a press release from troopers said.

A preliminary investigation revealed a U.S. Customs and Border Protection Tactical Unit member discharged several rounds from a semi-automatic weapon striking Matt in the head three times.

Matt and Sweat had reportedly found some shelter in seasonal camps in the area, and now it is clear that Matt had found some alcohol and had consumed it.