Murder suspect waited at bus stop to be recaptured after prison gaffe

A murderer was accidentally freed from prison in the UK while he was being brought to court for trial in August last year. 

But instead of escaping, he sat at a bus stop for three hours waiting for prison officers to realise their mistake.

Martynas Kupstys, 26, was to go to court for the trial over the murder of Ivans Zdanovics, 24.

But prison officers told him he was free to go. Kupstys told the officers that they had made a mistake and that he was due for court.

Yet the officers ignored his warnings. 

Kupstys, who is accused of killing a 24-year-old Lithuanian resident, said:

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"I told them I was supposed to be at court. I was told everything was fine. I was told everything was in order and I was being released."

The trial was then abandoned. Kupstys (below) recounted the incident at his retrial this week, where he was given a life sentence.

He told the court:

"I thought about running away. I thought about many things. I could go home, I could return to my friends but I understood it cannot be that I was released. I should go to the court."

While he was seated at the bus stop for the most part of his wait for the prison officers, Kupstys said that he did move to go to the toilet.

He said: "Near the prison is the hospital. That's where I went. I know the hospital. My daughter was born there. When I had used the toilet, I returned to the same bench."

So what did he do during his brief period of freedom? 

Kupstys said: "I enjoyed the sunshine for a few hours. I sat on the bench 20 to 30 metres from the prison gate.

"I was out of the prison for about three hours. (Then) prison officers came and fetched me." 

After he was taken back into prison, the Ministry of Justice ordered an urgent security review.

The Prison Service spokesman said: "All of the recommendations raised in an externally led investigation have been implemented by HMP Lincoln. A wider investigation into this incident, which will consider disciplinary action, is still ongoing."

Source: Mail Online, The Telegraph