Robert Garrow was later shot dead while escaping from prison in 1978.
19 Facts About Robert Garrow
1.
2.
Robert Garrow later claimed his parents were violent disciplinarians who regularly physically abused their children with whatever was handy, even bricks.
3.
Robert Garrow joined the United States Air Force upon his release but was court-martialed one year later for stealing money from a superior officer.
4.
Robert Garrow spent six months in a military prison in Florida.
5.
Robert Garrow returned to New York in 1957, where he married and fathered a son.
6.
Robert Garrow's life did not improve, however; he was fired from a series of menial jobs, including from a fast food restaurant he burglarized, and was involved in an abusive relationship with a man he later described as a sadist.
7.
Motorists were warned not to stop for anyone on foot near the roads for fear that Robert Garrow might have tried to pose as a hitchhiker.
8.
Robert Garrow was cornered in the woods 60 miles north of the murder scene, and was shot in the foot, arm, and back by Environmental Conservation Officer Hilary J LeBlanc.
9.
Robert Garrow was treated at CVPH Medical Center in Plattsburgh, New York, where doctors disbelieved his claims of paralysis.
10.
Robert Garrow sued the State of New York for $10 million, alleging that the state's doctors had been negligent in treating the gunshot wound, leading to his alleged paralysis.
11.
Robert Garrow was moved to a medium security prison in exchange for dropping the lawsuit, and was later found to be feigning his paralysis.
12.
Robert Garrow pleaded not guilty by reason of insanity, but the jury rejected his plea and found him guilty of second-degree murder, sentencing him to a term of 25 years to life in prison.
13.
Robert Garrow began his sentence at Clinton Correctional Facility in Dannemora on July 2,1974.
14.
In September 1977, a death threat against Robert Garrow prompted his transfer to Auburn Correctional Facility.
15.
Landing himself in a less secure facility due to his false claims of paralysis, Robert Garrow escaped from Fishkill on September 8,1978.
16.
Robert Garrow then spurred another search after he was discovered missing from his cell.
17.
Robert Garrow waited in a nearby wooded area, remaining concealed in the brush and leaves until the search widened and he could continue running.
18.
However, Robert Garrow was spotted by guards a few days later, a few hundred yards away from the prison walls.
19.
Robert Garrow shot at his pursuers, wounding Correction Officer Dominic Arena in the leg, but was shot three times and killed by Correction Officer Frank Lago.