A violent and gravely ill prisoner who is on the run from police was stabbed in his back a number of times at a prison hospital earlier this year.
The news came as the hunt for the Narromine man went into its second day yesterday.
Robert John Everingham, 41, escaped from the War Memorial Hospital in Waverley, where he was receiving dialysis for a kidney problem on Wednesday morning, and was last seen running in Birrell Street.
NSW Police said he might be heading to Dubbo or Narromine, and police in the area had been told to look out for him.
Corrective Services was blasted by the Opposition yesterday for a culture of prison escape “cover ups”, with Everingham the
sixth escapee in the past three months.
It was also revealed yesterday that it was Everingham’s second prison breakaway, after he escaped from Silverwater jail 15 years ago, abducted a woman, and was re-captured a week later.
Three prison guards were warned of his escape history before he fled from a hospital during dialysis treatment, the NSW Corrective Services says.
NSW corrective services minister Ron Woodham said he was personally investigating the circumstances surrounding the escape.
He said three corrective services officers had escorted Everingham from Long Bay jail to the hospital for treatment.
In a statement, he confirmed the officers had been “briefed about Everingham’s record of escapes from custody” and said “no responsibility for the incident should be apportioned to medical staff at the hospital”.
The man who members of the Narromine community described with mixed opinions yesterday had not been sighted since he was seen running down Birrell Street, but the police have released the dog squad and said public transport had been canvassed.
In January this year, Everingham was at Long Bay Hospital, when another inmate approached him and stabbed him several times in his back with a sharp improvised blade.
The hospital initiated an emergency response and eventually negotiated with the inmate and took the blade from him.
Police arrived and interviewed Everingham and other witnesses, but there was nothing to indicate there was a motive for the attack, according to a corrective services spokesman.
The department said extra precautions were taken at the hospital on Wednesday because he had escaped previously.
A spokesperson said three prison officers accompanied him from Long Bay to the War Memorial Hospital, but it was unclear whether they went into the room with him.
“When he arrived, medical staff asked that he be unrestrained,” the spokesperson said. “I suspect he was unshackled and then taken into the room.”
When speaking to the media yesterday, members of the Narromine community had mixed reactions to the news of Everingham’s escape.
“He is not the kind of guy you want to have to deal with,” a resident said. “He’s as strong as a bull. Even the blokes in jail are scared of him, he’s just mad.”
Another Narromine resident said he had never had a problem with the “friendly” escapee.
“If he was here now he would come up, shake my hand and say ‘how are you mate’,” they said.
Police have warned people not to approach Everingham if they see him, but to call triple-0 immediately.
Email a friend
Favourites
Del.icio.us
Facebook
Digg
StumbleUpon
MySpace
Reddit
Newsvine
LinkedIn
Kwoff
Twitter