(St. Joseph News-Press) – One of the two men accused and convicted in the stabbing death of Richard Berry last April now faces a charge of attempted escape from prison.
Sean Liechti, 25, who was convicted in Berry’s death on a county bridge over the Third Fork of the Platte River, was allegedly joined in the escape attempt by a Cameron, Missouri, man serving time for a robbery in Kansas City.
Liechti will find himself back in court facing a possible additional prison sentence of between five and 15 years for reportedly attempting to escape from the Western Reception, Diagnostic and Correctional Center. Liechti is serving a 10-year sentence after he pleaded guilty to being present for Berry’s stabbing and helping to dump the body off the bridge.
According to a probable cause statement, Liechti and his cellmate, 27-year-old Christopher Rice, forcefully exited their cell at 11:15 p.m. Dec. 30. The duo tried to assault a prison guard as they forced their way through several unsecured doors into a recreation area, according to the statement.
The pair are believed to have been wearing multiple layers of clothing and taken bedding that they planned to use in covering razor wire, but they didn’t get that far.
Multiple cameras housed in secure rooms throughout the prison are continually monitored. According to court records, prison guards captured both men in the recreation yard before they could reach the surrounding razor wire.
Associate Circuit Judge Rebecca Spencer has ordered Liechti to be brought from a Jefferson City prison and arraigned on the new charge Friday, April 1.
Rice has been ordered to be brought to court from the state’s maximum-security prison, Crossroads Correctional Center in Cameron.
