PLATTSBURGH, N.Y., Aug. 6 (UPI) — Richard Matt, one of two escapees from a New York prison who led police on a frantic multi-state search in June, was drunk when he was shot and killed by police, a toxicology report showed.
Matt, 49, had a blood alcohol content of 0.18 percent, more than twice the 0.08 legal limit to drive a car in New York state, police said. At that level, a person driving in New York would be charged with aggravated driving while intoxicated. The medical examiner determined Matt died of severe skull fractures and brain injuries as a result of three gunshot wounds to the head.
Matt was serving a 25 years-to-life prison sentence when he and David Sweat, 35, escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora, N.Y., in early June. After an extensive three-week manhunt involving hundreds of law enforcement officers, Matt was discovered near the Canadian border and shot dead by a U.S. Customs and Border Patrol tactical team member. Sweat, who was serving a life sentence without parole, was captured two days later and has been returned to prison.
Among the many clues discovered while searching for the men was an open bottle of grape-flavored gin located in a hunting cabin.
Investigators are awaiting further toxicology tests.
