August 16, 2025 • 19 mins
A new report details how convicted rapist and murderer Grant Hardin, aka the Devil in the Ozarks, walked right out of prison last May. Amy and T.J. go over the 6 months of planning and the lax security that allowed the former police chief turned monster to go on the lam for nearly 2 weeks before police finally recaptured him. You’ll also hear how he got his moniker and what happened to the prison employees who were unintentionally complicit in his escape.
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Episode Transcript
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Speaker 1 (00:02):
Welcome everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's Saturday, August sixteenth, and we are finally learning about
how the Devil in the Ozarks escaped from prison. This
all happened late May of this year. I'm sure you
remember it. We're talking about that former Arkansas police chief
turned rapist and murderer. His name was Grant Harden, and yes,
(00:22):
Netflix devoted an entire series to him, and that series
was called Devil in the Ozarks.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I know, was that a buzzy one? I actually can't
remember when I heard the name. Definitely say yeah, I've
heard of that, But do you remember much buzz around it?
I actually don't.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I remember the buzz around it after he escaped and
then everyone was like, ooh, that's the one. That's the
guy that they did a Netflix series on. So yes,
they devoted an entire series to his crimes. Well, there
is now a new report that is out. It was
elicited by the Department of Corrections, but it's revealing some
of the fascinating details surrounding his brazen prison break. Do
(01:00):
you remember the prison break? Yeah, he walked right out
the back gate.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
He didn't shoot his way up.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
No, he doesn't know violence walked out.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Then he wave at the guy who there was a
tower guard who has since been fired, Yes, who waved.
All he did was waved at him, and the guy
opened the gate for him.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He acted like he knew what he was doing and
he was believed, and he was disguised as a law
enforcement Asian. But that had a lot of folks head
scratching because how was he able as a prisoner to
somehow come up with a uniform that mimicked unofficial And let's.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Be straight here, this is a guy who had a
whole hit series dedicated to him, and you all weren't
keeping a better closer eye on him than this. This
is what we're talking about, and this is why the
story made such a big deal at the time. It
wasn't just some convicted rapist or convicted murderer that was
(01:54):
that escaped. Y'all. Let the guy whose nickname is the
Devil of the Ozar walk out of prison. This is
a really big embarrassment at the time for those folks.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
My guess is he was the most famous prisoner in
that facility.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
And for sure, oh yeah, yeah, without.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
A doubt, obviously, But the big question is how did
he do it and what did he do for those
nearly two weeks while he was on the run. A
lot of folks had those questions. And we are getting
some answers now.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
And you were starting with first the uniform. There was
a uniform and a badge. So he was able to
get out because he was He walked out and showed
himself with a uniform on and a badge, waved to
a guy in the tower and the guy opened the
gate and let him walk out. So a uniform and
a badge, that's what.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, And you know what, don't forget we mentioned at
the top, but he was a police chief. He was
the chief of police of a small town in Arkansas
a few years earlier, so he knows how to carry
himself as a law enforcement official, and he knows how
to carry himself with somebody who's in charge, because you
would have to have a whole lot of money even
if you had this makeshift uniform somehow pieced together to
(03:04):
be able to present yourself with enough confidence that you
let or make at least a tower guard believe you
have every right to walk out that.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Door, or you're a terrible tower guard. Good argue could
be a little bit of a right. The guy put
together and we were gonna you're gonna explain here robes
what he put together, but a makeshift sharpie uniform, and
it fooled the tower guard. He literally let a convicted
(03:36):
rapist and murderer walk right out the front door, looked
at him, robed and let him do it.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I know, it's it's appalling, and it's startling, and it's
frightening if you live in the area. And certainly for
those folks who were concerned about him perhaps seeking some
sort of revenge, were scared for at least those twelve
plus days that he was out on the lamb. But
here is what we have learned, and this a lot
of this came from Aunt Harden himself while he was
being interviewed by investigators trying to figure out how he
(04:05):
managed to do what he did. So we know now,
according to Harden, that he spent six months planning his escape.
So he meticulously, over a period of six months, tried
to figure out how to do this. He says he
didn't get any help from employees or other inmates.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Do you buy that that's a big deal?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I mean why at this point, I mean, he I
guess the one guy who he's now been fired. I'm
really on this tower.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Two people have been fired, several others have been suspended,
and someone else had some other sort.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Of disciplinary action.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
But multiple people within the prison system, even though they
didn't explicitly help him, certainly helped him without realizing they
were helping him.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I believe him because of some of the more details
you're going to get into here in a second that
make it seem like, Yeah, he put this together on
his own.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And probably smart enough to know that if you do
ask somebody to help you, that person is probably either
gonna tell on you, snitch on you later fuil your
plan in some way. So, yes, he says he was
a lone wolf, and that does make a lot of
sense given honestly, the.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Fact that he was successful at it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So no help from anyone else, but he pointed to specifically,
he told investigators, Yeah, y'all, security is lax in the kitchen.
So he was a kitchen worker and he was allowed
to kind of come and go.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Was he pleased according to him?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Convicted rapist, convicted murderer, Yes, he's working in the kitchen.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yes, and he was allowed to go unsupervised out on
this back in this back area, in this side area,
so he was able to do some things without anyone
really watching him or noticing him. So you mentioned the sharpies.
He claims he found and collected black sharpies, and he
found laundry that was lying around the kitchen, and he
(05:50):
used that black aprons, to be specific, to create a
fake uniform, and then he made a fake badge using
the lid.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Of the rash.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Can't maybe that's where the sharpiees came in, but it's
wild to think that he pieced together slowly over six
months black aprons, because if you see the visuals, the
video surveillance video they have of him, I mean, he
has black pants, black shirt, and what looks like a
black vest, I mean it from a distance looks legit.
And to know that those were black aprons is kind
(06:22):
of wild.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
It's almost comical. It seems like something you from some
caper movie from the nineteen fifties, just something silly almost
that this shouldn't be possible that someone convicted of these
crimes can fool the system with these rudimentary tools. That
(06:45):
just doesn't seem possible. This seems like this should be
highly sophisticated, something from Mission impossible. You would need help
from the outside. Of help from the outside, you would
need help that this is all it took. Is this
is not just some dude so we are, we're six months.
Give him credit. Knock yourself out, I used to. I've
said this before plenty. If someone is able to break
(07:07):
out of prison, I'm almost rooting for them.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Goodness, I say that because somebody's.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Jobs is to keep you there. You got caught, you
were convicted of your crime. It's somebody's job to make
sure you don't get out. How am I supposed to
fault you for being for your desire to be free
and you beat the system, knock yourself out. I do
not want somebody that this is this kind of threat
to the community out and about. Obviously this was scary
(07:35):
as hell and is the case as well. What is
this idea, this thing about a misclassification of what kind
of criminal he was. He should not have even been
in this.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Jail, and that is true, and that is also part
of this finding because this was not a maximum security prison.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So the type of prisoner that Harden.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Is was and is and yes, a convicted rapist, a
convicted murderer and abused his power. You know, this was
a man who was in a position of power, was
a police officer, was a actual chief of police for
a while, so that is deeply concerning. He has the
smarts and the wherewithal and knows enough about law enforcement.
(08:18):
You want him in a maximum security prison. So yes,
by the way, we'll get to it. But he has
since been moved to a maximum security prison. So yes,
he was given freedoms that he shouldn't have, period, and
that has been determined.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But I thought it was wild.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I didn't really start looking at some of the surveillance
video until I started looking at his account.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Of how he was able to pull this all off
without any help.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Because yeah, when you hear about a disguise, you would
think someone slipped him something, but no, he actually put
police in white on the back if you see in
the surveillance video. But also he is carrying something when
he goes to leave, he is carrying with him a
ladder that he made from wooden powerlle in case he
(09:00):
had to scale the prison fence, in case someone shouted
at him stopped him from going through that gate. Instead
of being able to just walk freely out, he thought
he might have to literally put a ladder up and
then make a run for it. So he had a
backup plan to his plan already prepared with him when
he was walking through. So it's wild to me he
(09:22):
didn't even have to use the thing he was thinking
he was going to have to use to scale a
fence because that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Good old, trustworthy tower guard up there that let him
go right on through. He didn't even need to use
the backup land because he got Barney five up there.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I mean actually, so when you see that and you
see the video, it's startling to know that he didn't
even have to use the thing he thought he was
going to have to use to break out of prison.
So yes, And he also talked about how he was
able to smuggle food with him. He said he when
he got out into the woods, he drank creek water.
He said, he ate berries, bird eggs, he said he
even ate ants.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And he had a plan. He was going to hide
out in these woods for six months.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I don't know how he was going to make all
that food last as long as he needed it to,
and then he was going to make his way out west.
That's he had a plan. But unfortunately prison dogs picked
up his scent. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the
rest of us, they caught him just a mile and
a half from prison, by the way.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
But he did stay out there for almost two weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know, why is it they came out and gave
us all the impression that he wasn't even in the
area for whatever reason, they suspected that he had gone
over into Missouri.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Was it not?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yes, and they it sounded like he was gone, like
the focus of their efforts didn't even seem to be
right there anymore. And he was very close by the
whole time.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, he didn't even make it that far at all.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
They Yes, they absolutely were warning folks in nearby states
that he might be around and letting people who live
nearby not to worry. But certainly, yeah, he was right
there the entire time, and by the way, he was able.
This is how he was saying that apparently I did
I read this right, that the trash can or they
didn't shake it, or they didn't make sure there was
nothing below some of the trash bags, because he actually
(11:09):
stashed You think six months he's making this uniform, like
where does he put it? Or this fake uniform he
can't bring it back to a cell with him. They
do cell checks all that he actually hid it at
the or like underneath the trash bags at the bottom
of the trash can, because he said, no one actually
ever shook it and put the whole thing out, and
he knew the practices of the kitchen, and he knew
that nobody would actually ever overturn the trash can, so
(11:31):
he could just keep working on his little uniform, on
his fake disguise for months and months and months while
keeping it right under that trash can the entire time.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
That's kind of wild, isn't it great.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
We just have a fascination with prison breaks, and I
think we've had some famous ones over the years, of course,
but to hear now, this just isn't supposed to happen.
You think we have learned enough in our prison system
and there's enough sophistication you can and cameras and can't
(12:02):
get past this technology. And to hear how simple it was,
and how almost easy, frankly it was. He had to
make a uniform, he needed a sharpie and just to
wave at a guy. This was not complicated. He used
no force, he didn't have to overcome anybody, and walked out.
It's just fascinating anytime you hear about a prison brain.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
And the fact that he walked out being the violent
criminal that he was. That's the really scary thing. So
for those of you who want a little bit of
a refresher about how Grant Harden actually became known as
the Devil in the Ozarks and what happened to those employees,
and what's happening to him now that he's been caught.
(12:51):
Welcome back everyone to this edition of Amy and TJ.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
We are talking.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
About these new details that are just now making our
way to us about how Devil in the Ozarks convicted
murderer and rapist Grand Harden, former Arkansas police chief, how
he was able to walk right out of prison and
elude police for nearly two weeks before being recaptured. He
(13:17):
actually participated in this investigation because there are a lot
of questions about how this all happened, how he's able
to make this disguise and just escape in the middle
of the day in plain.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Sight with a very little effort.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
It's appalling, and certainly a lot of folks had to
pay for their participation, even if it was unknowingly into
allowing him to escape.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
But just to go back a little bit about who
this guy is.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
This is a man who pleaded guilty back in October
of twenty seventeen to first degree murder. He basically shot
a fellow city employee in the head.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
His name was fifty nine year old. He was fifty
nine years old.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
His name was Jamee Appleton, and he was actually on
the phone with the current mayor at the time, who
was his brother in law, when the gunshot went off.
So this was an unbelievable crime that happened in the
small town of Gateway. He worked for the water department
and again just the year prior, Harden was the chief
(14:18):
of police, So these two knew each other.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I mean, so this isn't even the devil part, right,
So you hear this and how heinus' this crime was.
But the reason rose he ends up getting famous, if
you will, with this documentary is because while he's in jail,
they figure out there was something he's connected to. How
(14:42):
far back was that crime? He was connected to a
rape that was unsolved how many years before?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
It was thirty years earlier.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So while he was behind bars facing charges of first
degree murder for the shooting death of James Appleton Police
his DNA from a nineteen ninety seven rape case of
an elementary school teacher in Rogers. It was a big
crime at the time, it was completely unsolved, unknown, but
(15:12):
this was a violent, horrific rape. And the fact that
he then gets connected to it and he goes on
think about it. He's committed these horrific crimes and he's
chief of police, so he's just operating right there in
a position of power in a town where he has
actually terrorized the area for several decades now. So this
(15:33):
was just an eerie, evil one of those stories where
you can't believe the person living next to you or
working with you actually is an evil monster. And that's
exactly what the case was with this man. So yes,
when he got then connected to this violent rape. So
he was sentenced to thirty years in prison for the murder.
(15:53):
Then he was given another fifty years for the rape.
So he's in prison for the rest of his life.
A violent criminal again, who is intelligent, who has mimicked
seeming normal, and has had positions of power within a community.
So this is a scary, dangerous individual. The fact that
he was allowed into a not maximum security prison is wild.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Over a misclassification, as they say, I guess we'll figure
out what that means. But for whatever reason, he wasn't
labeled as the type of criminal he should have been
labeled as somewhere in the system, and therefore he was
able to go to a not maximum security prison. That's
just bizarre, and.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
It's so funny that Netflix decided to label him devil
Devil in the Ozarks. But nah, we don't need the
devil in maximum security, I guess.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
But a lot of changes.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
So the whole point of this investigation, the whole reason
why we're getting some of this information, some of these
fascinating details, is because yes, that community there in Arkansas
would like to make some changes so that this never
happens again. But yes, two prison employees were ultimately fired,
and certainly the one your favorite one on the tower guard,
but there was an the other one who allowed him
(17:01):
back on that dock unsupervised multiple times over the six months,
which allowed him to collect laundry, allowed him to collect
some of the things he used to make his disguise.
So because he was allowed unsupervised on a back dock,
which he should not have been, that.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Employee was fired.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
The tower guard was fired, and they said they didn't
give a number, but they said several other employees have
either been suspended or demoted just because of the lacks
security claims.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Hey, look, I want to always take a beat robes
to always be fair to folks, and I've been a
little harsh on that tower guard. I don't know what
was going on at the time and how that person
might have been fool don't want to just pass it
off to total incompetence and ignorance. So I don't know
what was going on, but that was a tough position
that person was getting put in to be literally the person. Yes,
(17:51):
other people contributed, but there was one person who literally
unlocked the door and let the devil of the Ozarks
walk out. That was the tower guard, and that kind
of be easy, and so I don't know, maybe give
everybody a break.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
There was word and they did they when they were
doing some of the I guess forensics behind the scenes
as to how it happened the way it happened.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They did say.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
That there were reports of guards being on the phone
with girlfriends hours and hours and hours, so they were
preoccupied with personal matters while on the job in a
professional setting where their job was to make sure that
prisoners didn't escape, but they didn't need to.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Worry about it because all the prisoners here are just
medium security prisoners.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Oh, yes, there was some distraction that was noted in
the report by some of the guards who had other
priorities while on the job.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yes, so that was mentioned, I must say.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
But Harden, yes, has been moved to a maximum security prison.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
And here's the interesting thing to me. I know, this is.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
What you do when you're a defendant, but it's just
it kind of made me chuckle to hear that he
pleaded not guilty to escape charges.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Don't really understand how that is a thing.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
But he pleaded not guilty to escape charges when we
clearly see him walking out of the prison on surveillance
and he was clearly caught in the woods hiding.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Is it escape if someone opened the door and lets
you walk in.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I guess that could be the argument, lawyer.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
But anyway, he does have a trial date set for
those charges. That is going to happen in November, so
we will of course continue to follow the story. But
it's just fascinating to hear how it happened because at
the time it really didn't make any sense, making a
lot more sense now when you see some of the
things that happened leading up to that unfortunate day in May.
But we want to thank you for joining us on
(19:46):
this Saturday edition of Amy and TJ. I'm Amy Robock
alongside my partner TJ.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Holmes.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Have a great rest of your day, Everybody,
Welcome everyone.
Speaker 2 (00:02):
It's Saturday, August sixteenth, and we are finally learning about
how the Devil in the Ozarks escaped from prison. This
all happened late May of this year. I'm sure you
remember it. We're talking about that former Arkansas police chief
turned rapist and murderer. His name was Grant Harden, and yes,
(00:22):
Netflix devoted an entire series to him, and that series
was called Devil in the Ozarks.
Speaker 3 (00:29):
I know, was that a buzzy one? I actually can't
remember when I heard the name. Definitely say yeah, I've
heard of that, But do you remember much buzz around it?
I actually don't.
Speaker 2 (00:37):
I remember the buzz around it after he escaped and
then everyone was like, ooh, that's the one. That's the
guy that they did a Netflix series on. So yes,
they devoted an entire series to his crimes. Well, there
is now a new report that is out. It was
elicited by the Department of Corrections, but it's revealing some
of the fascinating details surrounding his brazen prison break. Do
(01:00):
you remember the prison break? Yeah, he walked right out
the back gate.
Speaker 3 (01:05):
He didn't shoot his way up.
Speaker 1 (01:06):
No, he doesn't know violence walked out.
Speaker 3 (01:08):
Then he wave at the guy who there was a
tower guard who has since been fired, Yes, who waved.
All he did was waved at him, and the guy
opened the gate for him.
Speaker 2 (01:17):
He acted like he knew what he was doing and
he was believed, and he was disguised as a law
enforcement Asian. But that had a lot of folks head
scratching because how was he able as a prisoner to
somehow come up with a uniform that mimicked unofficial And let's.
Speaker 3 (01:34):
Be straight here, this is a guy who had a
whole hit series dedicated to him, and you all weren't
keeping a better closer eye on him than this. This
is what we're talking about, and this is why the
story made such a big deal at the time. It
wasn't just some convicted rapist or convicted murderer that was
(01:54):
that escaped. Y'all. Let the guy whose nickname is the
Devil of the Ozar walk out of prison. This is
a really big embarrassment at the time for those folks.
Speaker 2 (02:04):
My guess is he was the most famous prisoner in
that facility.
Speaker 1 (02:09):
And for sure, oh yeah, yeah, without.
Speaker 2 (02:11):
A doubt, obviously, But the big question is how did
he do it and what did he do for those
nearly two weeks while he was on the run. A
lot of folks had those questions. And we are getting
some answers now.
Speaker 3 (02:23):
And you were starting with first the uniform. There was
a uniform and a badge. So he was able to
get out because he was He walked out and showed
himself with a uniform on and a badge, waved to
a guy in the tower and the guy opened the
gate and let him walk out. So a uniform and
a badge, that's what.
Speaker 2 (02:41):
Yeah, And you know what, don't forget we mentioned at
the top, but he was a police chief. He was
the chief of police of a small town in Arkansas
a few years earlier, so he knows how to carry
himself as a law enforcement official, and he knows how
to carry himself with somebody who's in charge, because you
would have to have a whole lot of money even
if you had this makeshift uniform somehow pieced together to
(03:04):
be able to present yourself with enough confidence that you
let or make at least a tower guard believe you
have every right to walk out that.
Speaker 3 (03:12):
Door, or you're a terrible tower guard. Good argue could
be a little bit of a right. The guy put
together and we were gonna you're gonna explain here robes
what he put together, but a makeshift sharpie uniform, and
it fooled the tower guard. He literally let a convicted
(03:36):
rapist and murderer walk right out the front door, looked
at him, robed and let him do it.
Speaker 2 (03:43):
I know, it's it's appalling, and it's startling, and it's
frightening if you live in the area. And certainly for
those folks who were concerned about him perhaps seeking some
sort of revenge, were scared for at least those twelve
plus days that he was out on the lamb. But
here is what we have learned, and this a lot
of this came from Aunt Harden himself while he was
being interviewed by investigators trying to figure out how he
(04:05):
managed to do what he did. So we know now,
according to Harden, that he spent six months planning his escape.
So he meticulously, over a period of six months, tried
to figure out how to do this. He says he
didn't get any help from employees or other inmates.
Speaker 3 (04:22):
Do you buy that that's a big deal?
Speaker 1 (04:24):
Yeah?
Speaker 3 (04:25):
I mean why at this point, I mean, he I
guess the one guy who he's now been fired. I'm
really on this tower.
Speaker 2 (04:32):
Two people have been fired, several others have been suspended,
and someone else had some other sort.
Speaker 1 (04:38):
Of disciplinary action.
Speaker 2 (04:39):
But multiple people within the prison system, even though they
didn't explicitly help him, certainly helped him without realizing they
were helping him.
Speaker 3 (04:47):
I believe him because of some of the more details
you're going to get into here in a second that
make it seem like, Yeah, he put this together on
his own.
Speaker 2 (04:56):
And probably smart enough to know that if you do
ask somebody to help you, that person is probably either
gonna tell on you, snitch on you later fuil your
plan in some way. So, yes, he says he was
a lone wolf, and that does make a lot of
sense given honestly, the.
Speaker 1 (05:09):
Fact that he was successful at it.
Speaker 2 (05:11):
So no help from anyone else, but he pointed to specifically,
he told investigators, Yeah, y'all, security is lax in the kitchen.
So he was a kitchen worker and he was allowed
to kind of come and go.
Speaker 1 (05:23):
Was he pleased according to him?
Speaker 3 (05:25):
Convicted rapist, convicted murderer, Yes, he's working in the kitchen.
Speaker 2 (05:29):
Yes, and he was allowed to go unsupervised out on
this back in this back area, in this side area,
so he was able to do some things without anyone
really watching him or noticing him. So you mentioned the sharpies.
He claims he found and collected black sharpies, and he
found laundry that was lying around the kitchen, and he
(05:50):
used that black aprons, to be specific, to create a
fake uniform, and then he made a fake badge using
the lid.
Speaker 1 (05:59):
Of the rash.
Speaker 2 (06:00):
Can't maybe that's where the sharpiees came in, but it's
wild to think that he pieced together slowly over six
months black aprons, because if you see the visuals, the
video surveillance video they have of him, I mean, he
has black pants, black shirt, and what looks like a
black vest, I mean it from a distance looks legit.
And to know that those were black aprons is kind
(06:22):
of wild.
Speaker 3 (06:24):
It's almost comical. It seems like something you from some
caper movie from the nineteen fifties, just something silly almost
that this shouldn't be possible that someone convicted of these
crimes can fool the system with these rudimentary tools. That
(06:45):
just doesn't seem possible. This seems like this should be
highly sophisticated, something from Mission impossible. You would need help
from the outside. Of help from the outside, you would
need help that this is all it took. Is this
is not just some dude so we are, we're six months.
Give him credit. Knock yourself out, I used to. I've
said this before plenty. If someone is able to break
(07:07):
out of prison, I'm almost rooting for them.
Speaker 1 (07:10):
Goodness, I say that because somebody's.
Speaker 3 (07:12):
Jobs is to keep you there. You got caught, you
were convicted of your crime. It's somebody's job to make
sure you don't get out. How am I supposed to
fault you for being for your desire to be free
and you beat the system, knock yourself out. I do
not want somebody that this is this kind of threat
to the community out and about. Obviously this was scary
(07:35):
as hell and is the case as well. What is
this idea, this thing about a misclassification of what kind
of criminal he was. He should not have even been
in this.
Speaker 2 (07:47):
Jail, and that is true, and that is also part
of this finding because this was not a maximum security prison.
Speaker 1 (07:54):
So the type of prisoner that Harden.
Speaker 2 (07:56):
Is was and is and yes, a convicted rapist, a
convicted murderer and abused his power. You know, this was
a man who was in a position of power, was
a police officer, was a actual chief of police for
a while, so that is deeply concerning. He has the
smarts and the wherewithal and knows enough about law enforcement.
(08:18):
You want him in a maximum security prison. So yes,
by the way, we'll get to it. But he has
since been moved to a maximum security prison. So yes,
he was given freedoms that he shouldn't have, period, and
that has been determined.
Speaker 1 (08:29):
But I thought it was wild.
Speaker 2 (08:31):
I didn't really start looking at some of the surveillance
video until I started looking at his account.
Speaker 1 (08:35):
Of how he was able to pull this all off
without any help.
Speaker 2 (08:38):
Because yeah, when you hear about a disguise, you would
think someone slipped him something, but no, he actually put
police in white on the back if you see in
the surveillance video. But also he is carrying something when
he goes to leave, he is carrying with him a
ladder that he made from wooden powerlle in case he
(09:00):
had to scale the prison fence, in case someone shouted
at him stopped him from going through that gate. Instead
of being able to just walk freely out, he thought
he might have to literally put a ladder up and
then make a run for it. So he had a
backup plan to his plan already prepared with him when
he was walking through. So it's wild to me he
(09:22):
didn't even have to use the thing he was thinking
he was going to have to use to scale a
fence because that.
Speaker 3 (09:28):
Good old, trustworthy tower guard up there that let him
go right on through. He didn't even need to use
the backup land because he got Barney five up there.
Speaker 1 (09:37):
Yeah.
Speaker 2 (09:37):
I mean actually, so when you see that and you
see the video, it's startling to know that he didn't
even have to use the thing he thought he was
going to have to use to break out of prison.
So yes, And he also talked about how he was
able to smuggle food with him. He said he when
he got out into the woods, he drank creek water.
He said, he ate berries, bird eggs, he said he
even ate ants.
Speaker 1 (09:59):
And he had a plan. He was going to hide
out in these woods for six months.
Speaker 2 (10:03):
I don't know how he was going to make all
that food last as long as he needed it to,
and then he was going to make his way out west.
That's he had a plan. But unfortunately prison dogs picked
up his scent. Unfortunately for him and fortunately for the
rest of us, they caught him just a mile and
a half from prison, by the way.
Speaker 1 (10:19):
But he did stay out there for almost two weeks.
Speaker 3 (10:21):
You know, why is it they came out and gave
us all the impression that he wasn't even in the
area for whatever reason, they suspected that he had gone
over into Missouri.
Speaker 2 (10:32):
Was it not?
Speaker 3 (10:33):
Yes, and they it sounded like he was gone, like
the focus of their efforts didn't even seem to be
right there anymore. And he was very close by the
whole time.
Speaker 1 (10:41):
Yeah, he didn't even make it that far at all.
Speaker 2 (10:43):
They Yes, they absolutely were warning folks in nearby states
that he might be around and letting people who live
nearby not to worry. But certainly, yeah, he was right
there the entire time, and by the way, he was able.
This is how he was saying that apparently I did
I read this right, that the trash can or they
didn't shake it, or they didn't make sure there was
nothing below some of the trash bags, because he actually
(11:09):
stashed You think six months he's making this uniform, like
where does he put it? Or this fake uniform he
can't bring it back to a cell with him. They
do cell checks all that he actually hid it at
the or like underneath the trash bags at the bottom
of the trash can, because he said, no one actually
ever shook it and put the whole thing out, and
he knew the practices of the kitchen, and he knew
that nobody would actually ever overturn the trash can, so
(11:31):
he could just keep working on his little uniform, on
his fake disguise for months and months and months while
keeping it right under that trash can the entire time.
Speaker 1 (11:40):
That's kind of wild, isn't it great.
Speaker 3 (11:41):
We just have a fascination with prison breaks, and I
think we've had some famous ones over the years, of course,
but to hear now, this just isn't supposed to happen.
You think we have learned enough in our prison system
and there's enough sophistication you can and cameras and can't
(12:02):
get past this technology. And to hear how simple it was,
and how almost easy, frankly it was. He had to
make a uniform, he needed a sharpie and just to
wave at a guy. This was not complicated. He used
no force, he didn't have to overcome anybody, and walked out.
It's just fascinating anytime you hear about a prison brain.
Speaker 2 (12:23):
And the fact that he walked out being the violent
criminal that he was. That's the really scary thing. So
for those of you who want a little bit of
a refresher about how Grant Harden actually became known as
the Devil in the Ozarks and what happened to those employees,
and what's happening to him now that he's been caught.
(12:51):
Welcome back everyone to this edition of Amy and TJ.
Speaker 1 (12:54):
We are talking.
Speaker 2 (12:55):
About these new details that are just now making our
way to us about how Devil in the Ozarks convicted
murderer and rapist Grand Harden, former Arkansas police chief, how
he was able to walk right out of prison and
elude police for nearly two weeks before being recaptured. He
(13:17):
actually participated in this investigation because there are a lot
of questions about how this all happened, how he's able
to make this disguise and just escape in the middle
of the day in plain.
Speaker 1 (13:28):
Sight with a very little effort.
Speaker 2 (13:31):
It's appalling, and certainly a lot of folks had to
pay for their participation, even if it was unknowingly into
allowing him to escape.
Speaker 1 (13:40):
But just to go back a little bit about who
this guy is.
Speaker 2 (13:44):
This is a man who pleaded guilty back in October
of twenty seventeen to first degree murder. He basically shot
a fellow city employee in the head.
Speaker 1 (13:55):
His name was fifty nine year old. He was fifty
nine years old.
Speaker 2 (13:57):
His name was Jamee Appleton, and he was actually on
the phone with the current mayor at the time, who
was his brother in law, when the gunshot went off.
So this was an unbelievable crime that happened in the
small town of Gateway. He worked for the water department
and again just the year prior, Harden was the chief
(14:18):
of police, So these two knew each other.
Speaker 3 (14:21):
I mean, so this isn't even the devil part, right,
So you hear this and how heinus' this crime was.
But the reason rose he ends up getting famous, if
you will, with this documentary is because while he's in jail,
they figure out there was something he's connected to. How
(14:42):
far back was that crime? He was connected to a
rape that was unsolved how many years before?
Speaker 1 (14:47):
It was thirty years earlier.
Speaker 2 (14:50):
So while he was behind bars facing charges of first
degree murder for the shooting death of James Appleton Police
his DNA from a nineteen ninety seven rape case of
an elementary school teacher in Rogers. It was a big
crime at the time, it was completely unsolved, unknown, but
(15:12):
this was a violent, horrific rape. And the fact that
he then gets connected to it and he goes on
think about it. He's committed these horrific crimes and he's
chief of police, so he's just operating right there in
a position of power in a town where he has
actually terrorized the area for several decades now. So this
(15:33):
was just an eerie, evil one of those stories where
you can't believe the person living next to you or
working with you actually is an evil monster. And that's
exactly what the case was with this man. So yes,
when he got then connected to this violent rape. So
he was sentenced to thirty years in prison for the murder.
(15:53):
Then he was given another fifty years for the rape.
So he's in prison for the rest of his life.
A violent criminal again, who is intelligent, who has mimicked
seeming normal, and has had positions of power within a community.
So this is a scary, dangerous individual. The fact that
he was allowed into a not maximum security prison is wild.
Speaker 3 (16:16):
Over a misclassification, as they say, I guess we'll figure
out what that means. But for whatever reason, he wasn't
labeled as the type of criminal he should have been
labeled as somewhere in the system, and therefore he was
able to go to a not maximum security prison. That's
just bizarre, and.
Speaker 2 (16:32):
It's so funny that Netflix decided to label him devil
Devil in the Ozarks. But nah, we don't need the
devil in maximum security, I guess.
Speaker 1 (16:40):
But a lot of changes.
Speaker 2 (16:41):
So the whole point of this investigation, the whole reason
why we're getting some of this information, some of these
fascinating details, is because yes, that community there in Arkansas
would like to make some changes so that this never
happens again. But yes, two prison employees were ultimately fired,
and certainly the one your favorite one on the tower guard,
but there was an the other one who allowed him
(17:01):
back on that dock unsupervised multiple times over the six months,
which allowed him to collect laundry, allowed him to collect
some of the things he used to make his disguise.
So because he was allowed unsupervised on a back dock,
which he should not have been, that.
Speaker 1 (17:15):
Employee was fired.
Speaker 2 (17:16):
The tower guard was fired, and they said they didn't
give a number, but they said several other employees have
either been suspended or demoted just because of the lacks
security claims.
Speaker 3 (17:28):
Hey, look, I want to always take a beat robes
to always be fair to folks, and I've been a
little harsh on that tower guard. I don't know what
was going on at the time and how that person
might have been fool don't want to just pass it
off to total incompetence and ignorance. So I don't know
what was going on, but that was a tough position
that person was getting put in to be literally the person. Yes,
(17:51):
other people contributed, but there was one person who literally
unlocked the door and let the devil of the Ozarks
walk out. That was the tower guard, and that kind
of be easy, and so I don't know, maybe give
everybody a break.
Speaker 2 (18:08):
There was word and they did they when they were
doing some of the I guess forensics behind the scenes
as to how it happened the way it happened.
Speaker 1 (18:17):
They did say.
Speaker 2 (18:17):
That there were reports of guards being on the phone
with girlfriends hours and hours and hours, so they were
preoccupied with personal matters while on the job in a
professional setting where their job was to make sure that
prisoners didn't escape, but they didn't need to.
Speaker 3 (18:33):
Worry about it because all the prisoners here are just
medium security prisoners.
Speaker 2 (18:38):
Oh, yes, there was some distraction that was noted in
the report by some of the guards who had other
priorities while on the job.
Speaker 1 (18:48):
Yes, so that was mentioned, I must say.
Speaker 2 (18:50):
But Harden, yes, has been moved to a maximum security prison.
Speaker 1 (18:54):
And here's the interesting thing to me. I know, this is.
Speaker 2 (18:56):
What you do when you're a defendant, but it's just
it kind of made me chuckle to hear that he
pleaded not guilty to escape charges.
Speaker 1 (19:03):
Don't really understand how that is a thing.
Speaker 2 (19:06):
But he pleaded not guilty to escape charges when we
clearly see him walking out of the prison on surveillance
and he was clearly caught in the woods hiding.
Speaker 3 (19:17):
Is it escape if someone opened the door and lets
you walk in.
Speaker 1 (19:21):
I guess that could be the argument, lawyer.
Speaker 2 (19:24):
But anyway, he does have a trial date set for
those charges. That is going to happen in November, so
we will of course continue to follow the story. But
it's just fascinating to hear how it happened because at
the time it really didn't make any sense, making a
lot more sense now when you see some of the
things that happened leading up to that unfortunate day in May.
But we want to thank you for joining us on
(19:46):
this Saturday edition of Amy and TJ. I'm Amy Robock
alongside my partner TJ.
Speaker 1 (19:51):
Holmes.
Speaker 2 (19:51):
Have a great rest of your day, Everybody,
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