Inmate found 35 years after escape
PULASKI, Tenn. - A convicted murderer who escaped from an Indiana prison 35 years ago was found living quietly in a small Tennessee town, authorities said Tuesday.
Linda Darby, 64, was arrested Friday in Pulaski, a small city near the Alabama border where she was going by the name Linda Joe McElroy.
Giles County Sheriff Kyle Helton said he was acquainted with Darby and thought she had been living in Pulaski for at least 30 years.
"As far as I know she never had any criminal history after she came here," he said. "She never got into any trouble. She led a flawless life."
Darby was sentenced to life in prison in 1970 for her husband's murder, but she escaped from the Indiana Women's Prison in March 1972 by climbing over a barbed-wire fence.
Pulaski Police Capt. John Dickey said investigators in Indiana had contacted the department about Darby and authorities from both states worked together to find and arrest her.
Helton said she was being held at the county jail and has waived an extradition hearing. She was expected to be moved to Indiana on Tuesday.
(October 16, 2007)