The body of a convicted murderer who broke out of prison and was fatally shot after three weeks on the run has been released to a funeral home as his fellow escapee continued his recovery at a hospital under heavy guard.
Richard Matt's body was being transported from a northern New York state hospital to a funeral home before being taken about six hours away to Tonawanda, in western New York, said the director of the Heald Funeral Home in Plattsburgh on Thursday.
Matt's estranged son in the Buffalo area had said he would claim the body, but could not be reached for comment.
Matt escaped from the Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on June 6 with David Sweat, another convicted killer.
Matt was shot dead on June 26, while Sweat was shot and captured on June 28 and is listed in fair condition at an Albany hospital.
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The escape by Sweat and Matt launched a massive 23-day man hunt amid the rugged northern New York terrain involving more than 1100 law enforcement officers.
