The FBI caught a murderer who escaped from prison 36 years ago after he called his dying mother, reports the
New York Daily News.
William Walter Asher III, 66, was arrested Friday after investigators used phone records to locate him.
“After 36 years of looking over his shoulder, William Walter Asher III . . . is finally back where he belongs—in prison,” an FBI news release announced.
Asher was serving a life sentence after robbing a San Francisco bar and beating the bartender to death in 1967. He escaped eight years into his sentence from a minimum security prison in El Dorado County, Calif.
During his time on the run, Asher used an alias to work as a truck driver in the United States and Canada.
The search for Asher has been dormant for years, but the unexpected break came after a source tipped officials that Asher had been in contact with his dying mother in 2005.
“According to source information, shortly before [the mother’s] death, she asked various family members to assist her in using the ‘secret’ number to call ‘Billy,’ ” the FBI said.
After agents sourced phone records, they were able to identify a suspicious home in Salida, Calif., where they ultimately nabbed Asher.
“Although the trail went cold over the years, investigators never gave up their hunt for Asher and recently got the break they needed,” the FBI said.
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