Guard Is Killed as Convict Freed by Wife

A former prison nurse opened fire on guards escorting her shackled husband from a Tennessee courthouse Tuesday, killing one guard and escaping with her husband in a sport utility vehicle, authorities said.

Convict George Hyatte, 34, shouted “shoot ‘em” to wife Jennifer Hyatte, 31, and she opened fire with at least six shots from a handgun, scattering dozens of witnesses outside the Roane County courthouse in Kingston, Police Chief Jim Washam said.

Three bullets struck guard Wayne Morgan, 56, who died at a hospital.

Morgan was one of two guards escorting the shackled and handcuffed Hyatte back to a prison van after a court appearance.

Hyatte climbed into the SUV being driven by his wife, and the two sped off as a guard returned fire. The vehicle was found nearby with three bullet holes and blood on the driver’s side, indicating Jennifer Hyatte might have been wounded, Washam said.

Authorities said they believed the couple had another car waiting, and were trying to determine if an accomplice was involved.

Hyatte was serving two consecutive 15-year sentences for robbery convictions and a five-year sentence on top of that for assault in a case in Rhea County, state prison officials said. Several years ago he escaped from local authorities and was a fugitive for about a day after a holdup at a drive-in market.

Hyatte is two years into the 35-year sentence at Brushy Mountain Correctional Complex. He was at the courthouse to plead guilty in a deal with prosecutors over an armed robbery charge, Washam said.

Jennifer Hyatte was once a nurse under contract to the Tennessee Department of Corrections in Tiptonville, but her contract was terminated when she struck up a relationship with inmate Hyatte, a department spokeswoman said.

Kingston is 35 miles west of Knoxville in eastern Tennessee.