Preliminary autopsy determines escaped Ohio inmate found in river died of drowning
May 31, 2023, 2:59 PM | Updated: 3:02 pm
HENDERSON, Ky. (AP) — A convicted murderer whose body was found floating in a river several days after he and another inmate escaped from a northwest Ohio prison died from drowning, according to preliminary autopsy results released Wednesday.
Bradley Gillespie, 50, and James Lee, 47, were reported missing May 23 from the Allen Oakwood Correctional Institution in Lima. Authorities determined the two escaped by concealing themselves in a trash container.
His body was spotted Sunday in the Ohio River, not far from the area where he was last seen. Henderson is a city across the river from Indiana and about 350 miles (560 kilometers) southwest of Lima.
The Henderson County coroner’s office, which conducted the autopsy, said toxicology results on Gillespie won’t be available for several weeks.
Gillespie was imprisoned since 2016 and was convicted of a double homicide, while Lee was serving a sentence imposed in 2021 for burglary and safecracking.
A major and three corrections officers at the prison have been placed on paid administrative leave, and similar action may be taken against others as the Ohio Department of Rehabilitation and Correction’s internal investigation continues, officials have said. A criminal investigation by the Ohio State Highway Patrol is also ongoing.
