4 escapees use blades smuggled in Bible

BAYOU LA BATRE, Ala. (WALA) - Four men escaped from a maximum security prison in Covington Louisiana on June 18th, but police say they couldn't have done it without help from the Bible, and one of the inmates wives, Claudia Buras.

Authorities believe Buras smuggled three hacksaw blades inside the leather binding of a Bible. She gave the Bible to her husband Eric Buras. He and three others used the blades to get out.

It didn't take long for news of the escape to make it to the Bayou la Batre and Irvington areas. That's where the Buras' live. It's also where the woman her husband is accused of murdering is buried.

Katie is buried next her brother. As painful as his accidental death in 2004 is, it's even harder for the family to deal with Katie's death because it was the result of a brutal murder.

Junior Wilkerson was too upset to talk on camera. His pain is as strong as it was four years ago when he talked about his daughter's murder just weeks after he lost his home to Hurricane Katrina.

"Nobody deserves to be treated the way she was treated. I don't know what the world is coming to," he said.

The family did get some good news. Buras and the other inmates were recaptured. Claudia Buras is now behind bars too.

A status hearing for Eric Buras is set for July 17th. His trial date has not been set.