Family of man 'murdered' by escaped inmates sues Canada prison

Family of a man, who was allegedly killed by escaped convicts in Canada's Metchosin, have sued the correctional facility authorities on charges of negligence. The body of Martin Keith Payne was discovered on July 12, 2019, and the duo, who escaped, were caught after two days.

The family of Martin Keith Payne have filed for damages and costs for an undisclosed amount from the Correctional Service Canada (CSC) for the death of their father.

It is alleged that Payne was murdered by two inmates who escaped the correctional facility in Metchosin on Vancouver Island in 2019. The family believes the staff at William Head, a minimum correctional facility, was negligent in responding to the incident that led to Payne's death.


The suit filed by the family in July talk about charges of the facility's irresponsible behaviour in reacting to the escape of the two inmates. The family (of Payne) believes that Payne's death directly resulted from the facility's poor situation management.



The authorities have confirmed acceptance of the claim, which is currently under review.

What happened on July 7 2019?

James Lee Busch and Zachary Armitage, two inmates of the William Head Correctional Institution at Metchosin B.C, escaped the prison at around 6:45 P.M; the staff did not realize the inmates were missing until a regular head count at 11 P.M.

Formal communication from the CSC was published on Twitter the following day at 6.23 A.M. The CSC mentioned searching for the inmates in association with the local Police.

The duo was on the run for about two days until an off-duty RCMP officer spotted them, leading to the pair's re-arrest.

Circumstances revealed that the 60-year-old Payne was murdered in his home in the period Busch and Armitage were on the run. In addition, neighbours (of Payne) reported hearing an unusual commotion.

The fact that Payne is missing came to light only on July 12 when he failed to show up for work.

Initially, the Police refused to correlate the two incidents, the inmates' escape and Payne's death.

Subsequently, in June 2020, BC RCMP charged Busch and Armitage with first-degree murder.