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Prison Psychologist Pleads Guilty to Aiding Escape
Elizabeth Feil, 43, a former psychologist at the Patuxent Institution in Baltimore, MD has pled guilty to accessory to escape for her role in helping her lover, Byron Smoot, 29, escape from a medium security prison in Jessup, Maryland.
Smoot had been under the care of Feil when he was at Patuxent. For over a year the couple enjoyed a deep love affair through both physical contact and extensive letters. The affair continued even after she was fired.
On May 18, 1999, eleven months after Feil was fired, Smoot and Gregory Lawrence, 39, escaped by sneaking out a front door past a guard tower to an awaiting Feil who whisked them away. They were apprehended two days later in a motel in Baltimore.
During the subsequent investigation it was revealed that over 100 love letters were found in a shoe box in Feil's home. Even detailed escape plans were found there. Meanwhile, Smoot had a photo of a scantilly clad Feil taken while she was on vacation with her husband, Glenn Bosshard. When deputies asked Bosshard to identify his wife in the photo a shocked husband said, "I thought we were deeply in love. You have no idea how devastated I am by this.".
Feil visited Smoot 60 times in a nine month period. Between visits, Smoot used five prison fax lines to call Feil, ringing up a $595 phone bill. The visits and phone calls escaped notice from prison administrators until Smoot was gone.
Feil was sentenced to six years in jail and three years probation.
Sources: Keeper's Voice, Seattle Times
Smoot had been under the care of Feil when he was at Patuxent. For over a year the couple enjoyed a deep love affair through both physical contact and extensive letters. The affair continued even after she was fired.
On May 18, 1999, eleven months after Feil was fired, Smoot and Gregory Lawrence, 39, escaped by sneaking out a front door past a guard tower to an awaiting Feil who whisked them away. They were apprehended two days later in a motel in Baltimore.
During the subsequent investigation it was revealed that over 100 love letters were found in a shoe box in Feil's home. Even detailed escape plans were found there. Meanwhile, Smoot had a photo of a scantilly clad Feil taken while she was on vacation with her husband, Glenn Bosshard. When deputies asked Bosshard to identify his wife in the photo a shocked husband said, "I thought we were deeply in love. You have no idea how devastated I am by this.".
Feil visited Smoot 60 times in a nine month period. Between visits, Smoot used five prison fax lines to call Feil, ringing up a $595 phone bill. The visits and phone calls escaped notice from prison administrators until Smoot was gone.
Feil was sentenced to six years in jail and three years probation.
Sources: Keeper's Voice, Seattle Times
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