Delia D'Ambra

According to the most credible coverage I could find, Claude had used wire cutters to get through two chain-link fences by the prison's administration building before making a run for it.

The woman who'd visited him last was questioned, but it doesn't seem that led anywhere, at least not right away.

Because for almost another year, his whereabouts remained unknown, despite being added to the FBI's 10 Most Wanted list in May 1986.

Finally, though, after nearly a year on the lam, on March 8, 1987, Claude's luck ran out.

He was tracked to Riverside, California, where FBI agents took him into custody.

At the time of his arrest, he was outside a convenience store and living in a motel across the street under the alias Al Schrank.

While he'd been on the run, he'd kept company with a few people and gotten access to a vehicle.

And yeah, this is the part of the episode where you'd probably think I'm gonna tell you how he was extradited back to Idaho and then convicted of prison escape.

But nope, that's not how this one ends either.

In September 1987, an Idaho jury acquitted Claude of all the charges related to his escape from prison.

He'd contended at trial that the only reason he'd felt compelled to escape was because he said the prison guards had threatened to kill him.

Sound like a familiar defense?

He admitted under oath that he'd planned the whole thing and been assisted by some of his supporters on the outside.

But he refused to provide any names or information about who those accomplices were.

I know, this part of the case was bananas to me, but don't get too mad.

Even though Claude was acquitted on the prison escape charges, he was still required to finish serving time for killing Bill and Conley.

So he was sent back to prison for that case, and about 17 and a half years later, after receiving eight years credit for good behavior, he was released from prison on February 6th, 2005.

Where he is now is anyone's guess.

I couldn't find much out there about his life after prison except in some online web forums, which I don't give a ton of credibility to.

What I'm more concerned with is remembering the legacy and contributions to society his two victims, Bill Pogue and Conley Elms, made in their lifetimes.