Robber Successfully Escapes from Prison Hole in 4 Months

In Bavaria’s Laufen/Bad Reichenhall district, an escape from prison has now resulted in a court appearance. Hussen R., a 29-year-old inmate, has been charged with escaping from Bad Reichenhall prison in December 2023. The escape was so well-executed, it could easily have been the plot of a movie.

Hussen R. made his escape using a spoon and a broken toilet paper holder to scrape away the mortar and plaster from the prison’s crumbling wall, which had been there since the prison’s establishment in 1951. He continued on until a hole measuring 30×30 centimeters was made, through which he then escaped on the night of December 18th. He lowered himself six meters down using tied-together bedsheets.

Interestingly, the act of escaping itself is not punishable as per the penal code. It’s a natural desire for any inmate. However, Hussen R., who already had a criminal record for drug trafficking and theft, was brought to the Laufen district court on Monday. He was charged for causing property damage and destruction of a building.

Hussen R. was initially imprisoned in Bad Reichenhall for his involvement in the desecration of 32 graves in four cemeteries in the Traunstein area, along with a gang. They stole heavy grave crosses made of brass and copper, which they sold as scrap.

During the trial, Hussen R. claimed that he only wanted to see his little daughter and didn’t intend to escape.

The hole took almost four months to finish. When asked by the judge about how he managed to avoid detection, R. explained that he would push the excavated material back into the hole and cover it with a small table.

The night he escaped, he removed the bricks from the outer wall and made a rope out of bed sheets, which he tied to his bed frame. He then squeezed himself through the hole to freedom.

His defense attorney, Markus Frank, expressed confusion at the state of the prison’s masonry and the fact that the prison officers never noticed the hole during their cell checks.

Hussen R.’s freedom was short-lived; he was recaptured the next day in Traunstein, 34 kilometers away, before he could see his daughter. He was immediately taken to the high-security Munich prison, where he was held in internal detention for 22 days.

The hole in the Bad Reichenhall prison has since been filled. According to Dr. Michael Bieber, the spokesman for the Ministry of Justice, no prisoners will be housed in detention rooms on the outer wall anymore.

Hussen R. has now been sentenced to seven months in prison without parole for property damage and destruction of a building.

He is now facing trials at the Traunstein regional court for his cemetery raids, which could result in an additional six and a half years in prison.