Anamosa Inmates Used Hammers To Kill Two Employees
In a press conference on Wednesday, officials revealed that two inmates at the Anamosa State Penitentiary used hammers to kill a nurse and a prison guard during what is being called a failed escape attempt, according to the Cedar Rapids Gazette.
The two victims who lost their lives were 50-year-old nurse Lorena Schulte and 46-year-old Officer Robert McFarland. The Gazette reports that McKinley Roby, an inmate who tried to help Schulte and McFarland was also hit in the head with a hammer, but survived. He is currently being treated at University Hospitals in Iowa City. Another staff member, Lorie Mathes, was taken hostage in the escape attempt on Tuesday but was not injured. Officials say that the actions of Schulte and McFarland saved Mathes' life.
The Gazette reports that the two inmates are 28-year-old Michael Dutcher and 39-year- old Thomas Woodard. They were serving time at Anamosa for robbery and other charges. The two have now been charged with two counts of first-degree murder, second-degree murder, and kidnapping. Officials say that the two had been planning the escape for awhile. The men checked out the hammers and a metal grinder on Tuesday saying that they were fixing something in the break room of the prison's infirmary.
The Anamosa Penitentiary is a medium/maximum security prison with a staff of around 320 according to the Corrections Department. The prison's first cell house was built in 1875, making it the oldest prison in the state of Iowa.
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