HARRISBURG, P.A. (WKBW) — Pennsylvania Attorney General Michelle Henry announced that 34-year-old Michael Burham has pleaded guilty to escaping from Warren County Prison.
Burham was arrested in May after kidnapping a couple in Pennsylvania and driving them to South Carolina before letting them go unharmed. He was being held in the Warren County Jail to face charges in connection to that kidnapping when he escaped in July. He is believed to have used exercise equipment to get onto the metal gated roof of the prison and tied bed sheets to climb down from the roof to the ground.
Pennsylvania State Police took Burham back into custody on July 15, nine days after he escaped from the prison.
READ MORE: Fugitive Michael Burham captured in Warren County
"The defendant was on the run for nine days in an attempt to evade justice," said Attorney General Henry. "I commend the efforts of Pennsylvania State Police who took this defendant into custody, as well as my team, the Warren County District Attorney’s Office, and the City of Warren Police Department, for their work in holding the defendant accountable for his many crimes."
The Office of Attorney General said it prosecuted Burham for the escape from prison and the Warren County District Attorney’s Office is prosecuting the kidnapping case.
Burham has pleaded guilty to charges in both cases and is scheduled to be sentenced on January 5, 2024.
Burham also faces charges in New York. In early May Jamestown police announced Burham was a suspect in the homicide of 34-year-old Kala Hodgkin and offered a reward for information leading to his arrest. According to court documents, at the time Hodgkin was killed there was also an active arrest warrant charging Burham in connection to raping Hodgkin.
The Chautauqua County District Attorney's office has previously said it would pursue charges in the Hodgkin case after the escape and kidnapping cases were complete.
