Inmate faces murder charges in botched jailbreak

JEFFERSON CITY, Mo. - An inmate who was behind bars when two guards were killed in an alleged botched attempt to free him was charged Monday with first-degree murder.

Roy Vance, 27, conspired with Michael Tisius, 19, and Tracie Bulington, 27, in the aborted escape, authorities said. Randolph County Attorney Mike Fusselman said he might seek the death penalty against all three.

On Thursday, Tisius allegedly killed county jail Supervisor Leon Egley, a city councilman who had pushed for tighter security at the lockup, and Sheriff's Deputy Jason Acton with a .22-caliber pistol.

Authorities said the two victims admitted Tisius and Bulington at about 12:30 a.m. after they rang the buzzer at the front door of the jail in Huntsville, about 110 miles east of Kansas City.

A sheriff's deputy saw Tisius fire multiple shots, then went for help as Tisius and Bulington searched unsuccessfully for keys to Vance's cell, court documents said.

Before police arrived, Tisius and Bulington fled, then were caught without resistance nine hours later in northeast Kansas, about 130 miles away, authorities said.

The charges against Vance were filed in Moberly, which is about 60 miles north of Jefferson City in north-central Missouri. They were first-degree murder, armed criminal action and escape from custody, though the jailbreak was unsuccessful, said associate criminal court clerk Ann McCune.

Tisius and Bulington face charges of first-degree murder, armed criminal action, burglary and aiding the escape of a prisoner.

Autopsies showed Egley, 33, and Acton, 36, died from gunshot wounds to the head. Both were unarmed, following county policy prohibiting firearms in the jail.

Tisius and Vance apparently became friends while both were jailed in May and June, investigators said, who added that Vance and Bulington were romantically linked.

County Sheriff Don Ancell said last week jailers allow visitors into the lobby if they appear unarmed. Nothing separates visitors from deputies in the lobby, but after the killings, Ancell closed the 91-year-old jail to erect a bulletproof barrier.