Associated Press
JANESVILLE, Wis. — A Rock County inmate plotted a brazen jail escape in which his mother would blow out the wall of his jail cell with explosives and have a getaway car idling nearby to take them to Mexico, prosecutors said this week.
Nathan Middleton, 29, wrote to his mother Dec. 2 telling her his request was “no joke” and that he couldn’t spend any more time behind bars, according to a criminal complaint filed Wednesday.
“So if you love me and want me to come home you will do this for me,” the complaint quoted the letter as saying.
Middleton has been in jail for about four weeks on felony charges that he burned the corpse of an 18-year-old Dane County woman at his property in Evansville. He’s being held on a cash bond of $100,000 for those charges plus another $500 cash bond for the alleged escape attempt.
Detectives began investigating after an inmate told a correctional officer that Middleton was asking inmates for help in escaping.
The complaint describes an intricately detailed plot that would culminate in Middleton fleeing with his family to Mexico, where “I know people there that will help us to get on are (sic) feet.”
The letter provided the following checklist for Middleton’s mother to follow, according to court documents:
— “Look on line and see what you can come up with to blow the wall.”
— “Get a rental car and take the plate’s off and steal some different plates and put them on.”
— “Park the rental car on 14 in front of the jail and running do that 5 minutes before you blow the wall.”
— “Have a change of clothing in the car for me and I will let you know where to pick the car up after I get a new one.”
— “Put the bomb in the middle of the window that is where it is weak and light the fuse and take off fast.”
Middleton is due in court Monday to continue an adjourned initial appearance. Middleton’s attorney has withdrawn from the case citing a conflict of interest, and a new attorney will be assigned.
It wasn’t clear whether prosecutors were pursuing charges against the mother. A message left with the district attorney’s office Thursday was not immediately returned.