2 former correctional officers charged with helping escape

MADISON, W.Va. (AP) — Two former correctional officers at a West Virginia juvenile facility are accused of aiding the escape of a teen-aged murder defendant.

Alexanderia Shelby, 25, of Harts and Larissa Mackall, 32, of Julian were charged Friday with conspiracy.

The complaint said the women helped an 18-year-old escape from the Donald R. Kuhn Juvenile Detention Center in June. WCHS-TV reported the teen deliberately injured himself and then escaped while being transported to a hospital.

Both women communicated in advance on social media about his plans, which called for him to make his way to Lincoln County, where Shelby would pick him up and take him home, State Police Cpl. Dean Brinegar said in the complaint.

The teen was missing for more than three hours before he was captured and taken back into custody. He is now being held at the Southwestern Regional Jail.

Mackall and Shelby were no longer employed with the Division of Corrections and Rehabilitation as of Aug. 7, agency spokesman Lawrence Messina said.

It wasn’t clear whether either woman has an attorney.