An Allegheny County Jail inmate plunged to his death Thursday while trying to escape from his 16th-story cell using a 200-foot rope he had cobbled together from sheets, blankets and pieces of inmate uniforms, Warden Ramon Rustin said.
The rope would have been long enough for Frank Sebetich, 58, to reach freedom 187 feet below, Rustin said.
"Whether the rope was strong enough, we don't know," Rustin said. "He took his chances."
Sebetich, of Ellsworth, Washington County, was found dead by jail guards shortly before 6 a.m. yesterday on the east end of the Uptown jail along Second Avenue.
An autopsy found that Sebetich died from blunt force trauma to his entire body, Allegheny County Medical Examiner Dr. Cyril Wecht said. The official manner of death was pending investigation.
Sebetich was housed in a high-security pod that was intentionally placed high up on the 17-floor building as a security measure.
"Unfortunately, the design worked," Rustin said.
Allegheny County police and jail investigators do not know what went wrong in Sebetich's escape attempt yesterday, or even if he tried using the rope. Guards last saw Sebetich, who weighed approximately 180 pounds, at about 3 a.m.
The entire rope was found inside Sebetich's cell, with one end tied to the inmate's bed, Rustin said. But an inmate in the cell next to Sebetich's -- Andre Jacobs, 23, of Harrisburg -- was in on the escape attempt and could reach the rope from his cell, Rustin said.
Jacobs, who was not cooperating with investigators, may have pulled up the rope after Sebetich died, Rustin said.
The two cells share a single window that was broken in the escape attempt.
High-security Lexan windows were installed at the 11-year-old jail after a Lawrenceville man died in a 1997 escape attempt. "It looks like we're going to have to beef up that window in every cell again," Rustin said.
Sebetich somehow pried the Lexan window from the wall, then broke a vertical steel bar that is supposed to block escape, Rustin said. "He had to have some kind of lever or bar to break that," Rustin said, adding that investigators do not know what tool was used.
Sebetich could have hidden bits of his makeshift rope in various places in the jail, and collected them when he planned to make his break, Rustin said. It is difficult for jail officials to keep close track of all linen and uniforms because inmates often willfully destroy items or flush others down the toilet, he said.
Rustin promised a search of the entire jail for any clues, contraband or escape tools.
Sebetich was in the jail awaiting trial on numerous assault, robbery, burglary and other charges after being accused of taking part in an April 21, 2004, home invasion robbery in Ellsworth, Washington County.
Prior to his arrest, he had evaded a two-day manhunt by up to 200 police officers partly by hiding in an abandoned mine in New Eagle, Washington County. Police used tear gas to flush him out and capture him May 6, 2004.
Rustin said Sebetich was shifted to the Allegheny County Jail after he threatened the family members of a deputy warden at the Washington County Jail. Washington County District Attorney John C. Pettit could not be reached for comment on whether Sebetich was charged in that incident.
Jacobs is awaiting a March 27 trial in Allegheny County on aggravated assault causing serious injury charges, criminal mischief and other charges. Now, he also will face escape charges, Rustin said.
Additional Information:
Escape attempts
Jerome Bullock, 18, of Lawrenceville died Nov. 12, 1997, while trying to use a rope improvised from bed sheets to climb down from his 17th story cell.
The rope, which was 111 feet long -- 86 feet short of the driveway below -- snapped as Bullock tried to make his escape.
Bullock, who was jailed on a homicide charge, had two partners in the escape attempt. The partners were later given added jail time for the escape attempt, but one conspirator told investigators he was glad Bullock had gone first.
Stevens, jailed on drug charges, had help waiting on the ground. Police stopped a female motorist who sped away from a parking lot near the jail close to the time of the escape attempt and found a picture of the woman with Stevens on her keychain. After popping the trunk, police found a duffel bag containing men's clothing and $17,670 in cash.
