Tennessee prison employee killed; inmate escapes

RIPLEY, Tenn. (AP) — Authorities in Tennessee are searching for an escaped inmate who is a person of interest in the recent homicide of a Department of Correction employee.

The Tennessee Bureau of Investigation says 44-year-old Curtis Ray Watson escaped Wednesday from the West Tennessee State Penitentiary, about 60 miles (97 kilometers) outside of Memphis.

The TBI issued a “Blue Alert,” which is used to inform the public of violent suspects who kill or seriously injure law enforcement officers in the line of duty.

Authorities didn’t immediately release additional information about the employee’s death.

Watson has been incarcerated since 2012 for an aggravated kidnapping conviction. Police said at the time that Watson knocked a woman over the head with an object and raped her multiple times.

TBI says Watson should be considered extremely dangerous.