Fourth employee dies from injuries sustained in Pasquotank prison escape attempt
A fourth person died Thursday as a result of injuries sustained during an escape attempt at Pasquotank Correctional Institution earlier this month.
Geoffrey Howe, 31, a maintenance mechanic for the former Correction Enterprises sewing plant at the facility, died Thursday at Sentara Norfolk General Hospital.
How had been a Department of Public Safety employee for just over one year.
“Our thoughts, prayers and condolences to out to the Howe family,” said Department of Public Safety Secretary Erik A. Hooks. “This tragedy has horribly impacted the lives of four families, as well as co-workers and friends.”
Correctional Officer Wendy Shannon, 49, died Monday evening after spending weeks in the hospital as a result of injuries sustained during the incident. Corrections officer Justin Smith, 35, and Correction Enterprises manager Veronica Darden, 50, were also killed in the escape attempt.
Eight other prison employees and four inmates were injured during the Oct. 12 incident.
“Geoffrey Howe was a valued member of his community and his workplace and he will be greatly missed. We send our heartfelt sympathies to his loved ones and wish for them comfort during this difficult time, Gov. Roy Cooper said in a statement. "We owe it to Geoffrey and his fallen coworkers to do all we can to keep an attack like the one that claimed their lives from ever happening inside our prisons again, and that’s what I’ve directed prison leaders to do."
Four inmates- Mikel Brady, 28, Jonathan Monk, 30, Seth J. Frazier, 33, and Wisezah Buckman, 29- have been charged with first-degree murder in connection with the incident.
According to 911 calls released after the attempted escape, corrections officers were beaten with hammers and stabbed with scissors as a fire spread inside a Correction Enterprises sewing plant inside the prison.
David Guice, who has served as chief deputy secretary for adult correction and juvenile justice in the Department of Public Safety since 2013, stepped down at the end of October in the wake of the incident.
Pasquotank Correctional Institution remains on lockdown and members of the Prison Emergency Response team from other state prison facilities continue to assist staff.
