INSIDER
Investigative reviews by the Texas Department of Criminal Justice and independent consultants found the severely short-staffed prison routinely bypassed crucial security checks, leading to a convicted murderer’s escape.
Two reviews of the May escape of a Texas inmate that resulted in the deaths of five people found a multitude of security lapses such as inadequate strip searches and poorly applied restraints helped lead to his getaway.
Lt. Gov. Dan Patrick called for the Texas Rangers to investigate how Gonzalo Lopez, a convicted murderer, was able to escape Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) custody, elude capture for 21 days, and perpetuate the brutal murder of Mark Collins and his four grandsons on June 2.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice (TDCJ) will resume inmate transportation starting Monday, June 13 after temporarily stopping it to investigate how a convicted murderer escaped from a bus last month and allegedly killed a man and his four grandsons.
A newly released medical examiner's report says a Texas grandfather and his four grandsons who were killed by a prison escapee died from gunshots, sharp force injuries and stab wounds.
The Texas Department of Criminal Justice confirmed Wednesday that the DNA that had been collected from a nearby cabin two days before the Collins family of five were killed came back after the murders.
The review comes after Gonzalo Lopez escaped from a prison bus last month. Authorities say he killed a family of five before they found and killed him.
There was hardly a dry eye in the crowd when hundreds of people mourned the Collins family outside of Jane Elementary Monday night.
Authorities say Gonzalo Lopez killed a man and his four grandchildren in Leon County. He escaped from a prison bus nearly three weeks ago.
The four Houston-area children who were found dead inside a home in Centerville were identified as students who attended the Tomball Independent School District, the district revealed. Their 66-year-old grandfather was also among those slain.
Residents of the small Texas town of Centerville remained vigilant for three weeks while authorities searched for a murderer who escaped a prison bus and stabbed and wounded the driver last month near their rural community.
Officials from the Texas Department of Public Safety say that five people were found dead in Leon County near the area where escaped inmate Gonzalo Lopez was last seen in May. Lopez is believed to be tied to the murders, according to TxDPS.
Authorities say the search by ground and air in the Texas county where a convicted murderer escaped from a prison transport bus and stabbed the driver last week has concluded as the hunt for him expands.
Authorities say a Texas inmate who was serving a life sentence for murder when he escaped from a transport bus last week got out of his restraints and a caged area before stabbing the driver.
“We are not going to rest until we find him. We are determined to find him,” said the public information officer for the Texas Department of Criminal Justice, Robert Hurst.
Officials are still trying to piece together how Gonzalo Lopez managed to cut through a metal door and hijack a prison bus Thursday. An extensive manhunt continues in Leon County.
A $22,500 reward is now being offered for info leading to the capture of an inmate who escaped after he stabbed a correctional officer and stole a Texas Department of Criminal Justice transport bus on Thursday afternoon, according to the Leon County Sheriff’s Office.
