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An escaped convict whose body was found in the Ohio River this week drowned, preliminary autopsy results say.
Bradley Gillespie, 50, and James Lee, 47, escaped the Allen-Oakwood Correctional Institution near Lima, Ohio, last week, sparking an all-out manhunt for the two, as CrimeOnline reported.
Lee was serving time for burglary and breaking and entering, while Gillespie was a convicted double murderer.
Police in Henderson, Kentucky — some 350 miles from Lima — spotted the pair in a stolen car on Wednesday and tried unsuccessfully to pull them over. The car eventually crashed, and the escapees fled on foot. Police quickly caught up with Lee and took him into custody, but they couldn’t find Gillespie.
Investigators said they found a piece of Gillespie’s clothing at Hays Boat Ramp in Henderson, and that’s where they believe he likely went into the water before he was found on Sunday, WFIE reported.
”My experience with drownings in the past is normally where the body comes up, it’s pretty close to where they go in the water,” said Henderson Police Lieutenant John Nevels. “So it does look like he probably went in at Hays Boat Ramp, but I don’t know if there’s any way anybody can tell you 100 per cent.”
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Nevels said Gillespie was identified by his tattoos since decomposition had made it hard to confirm his fingerprints.
Lee, meanwhile, appeared in court in Henderson on Tuesday and waived his right to an extradition hearing. He’ll be going back to Ohio to face escape charges, while a Kentucky grand jury is expected to determine if he should face charges there.
It’s not clear how the two inmates escaped. They were discovered missing during a morning prisoner county.
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[Featured image: Bradley Gillespie/Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Corrections]
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