Police1 Follow Up Report
Below are the results of an investigation by Luzerne County, Penn. officials into the high-profile prison escape Friday night by a serial murder suspect, and the inmate’s subsequent surrender. We are interested in your questions and opinions. Please send any comments or additional analysis to Editor@PoliceOne.com to be posted on the site. Discuss this article in the Police1 Corrections Forums.
A series of errors and flaws helped make a serial murder suspect’s escape from a Pennsylvania Prison Friday night possible, according to an investigation and report by the Luzerne County Prison Board.
Hugo Selenski was able to escape from the prison in part by taking advantage of a flawed repair job to a prison window which was damaged, ironically, in a 1989 escape attempt.
Selenski and inmate Scott Bolton broke a seventh-story cell window at the Luzerne County Correctional Facility and Selenski escaped by crawling down a rope made of bed sheets. He surrendered to authorities Monday.
County Commissioner Stephen A. Urban, a member of the Luzerne County Prison Board, said the two panes of the window were easily broken out because they were too small and poorly installed, and only secured with caulking after the 1989 escape attempt.
“They just weren’t the right size to be secured,” Urban said after inspecting the cell Monday. “That was the magic window, because it wasn’t repaired properly.”
Urban also said he saw what looked like cut marks on a metal bar that went across the window and was removed by the inmates. “How long did it take to do that? Was it more than one day?” he said.
Urban said a mattress in Selenski’s cell also had a large slit in it, which may have allowed him to hide all the sheets he used to climb down. The inmates assembled the rope from 12 sheets, but were only issued four.
“Accountability is definitely lacking,” Urban said.
Selenski and Bolton were housed in the maximum-security wing of the prison. The two broke out during a two-hour period when the inmates are allowed out of their cells to socialize. Four guards were manning the area, but Warden Gene Fischi has said they were talking with other inmates during the escape.
Selenski and Bolton walked into another inmate’s unoccupied cell and removed the window they escaped from.
In reviewing this case, corrections officers should continue to keep in mind the opportunistic nature of prisoners. In this instance, facility repairs completed by commercial contractors were not properly inspected. Prisoners have plenty of time to seek out flaws and will take advantage of any opportunity. Corrections officers and officials should review procedures for facility maintenance and their ongoing inspection. Officials should also review accountability for issuing personal items.
--- The Associated Press contributed to this report.