Double Murderer's Plot To Escape Michigan Prison Foiled

MUSKEGON (WWJ/AP) - Muskegon Correctional Facility workers have foiled the escape plot of a former Ann Arbor man convicted of two murders.

President Tom Tylutki of the Michigan Corrections Organization said corrections officers at the Muskegon facility discovered Patrick C. Daniel's plans to escape from a medium-security unit Wednesday. He said homemade items, including maps of West Michigan, a compass, two flashlights and a yarn rope were found in the 44-year-old man's cell.

"This guy was very serious," Tylutki told The Muskegon Chronicle. "This was another example of the officers saving the day."

A prison uniform painted white, additional clothing and packaged food also was found in Daniel's cell. During a search of the prison auditorium, corrections officers discovered additional items that could have been used as weapons.

A Michigan Department of Corrections spokesman said Daniel was placed in segregation after the discoveries. Michigan State Police are investigating the incident.

Daniel is serving two life sentences without parole for first-degree murder in the Sept. 2001 death of his 32-year-old longtime girlfriend Becky Britton, and the March 2002 death of 35-year-old Robert Bilton Jr. Both of their bodies were found in Daniel's car as he made his way through Utah.

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