Convicted Baby-Killer Escapes New Jersey Prison — The First Place He Goes Is Disturbing

A convicted killer named Arthur W. Buckel reportedly escaped from a New Jersey prison earlier this week and is still at large. Buckel is considered potentially dangerous so New Jersey locals have been instructed to lock the doors to their cars and homes.

According to the New York Times, Arthur Buckel was last reported still behind bars at the 6 a.m. bed check on Tuesday morning. But, the next thing the employees of Bayside State Prison knew, Buckel was nowhere to be found. He was filmed by a security camera in a CVS store in a New Jersey town called Barnegat. Authorities believe the fugitive has at least one family member in the town, who he could be staying with. A stolen Chevrolet Silverado was found outside the CVS, which police believe Buckel used in his escape.

Arthur Buckel was convicted in 1996 for beating an 10-month-old infant to death. The New Jersey man, who was only 18 at the time, claimed he killed the baby because she would not stop crying. The infant was the daughter of his then girlfriend. Buckel was sentenced to 25 years in prison without the chance of parole for at least 12-and-a-half years.

However, the convict was released in 2010. He went back behind bars for unrelated charges of assault, drug possession, and burglary. His second sentence was much shorter at only three years. And the strange thing is, the New Jersey fugitive was actually on the verge of parole eligibility once again when he escaped from prison.

Disturbingly, the relative who might have led Arthur Buckel to Barnegat, New Jersey is the mother of the baby he brutally murdered decades earlier. It seems unlikely that she would be helping him hide from the police, so it’s possible Buckel is trying to track the woman down. While the motivation for traveling to the town is unknown, authorities are convinced this can’t be a coincidence.

“We have hard links, and we have speculation,” said Barnegat police chief Arthur P. Drexler.

According to Time, Barnegat mayor Jon Novak encouraged residents at a press conference to keep watch for Arthur Buckel and increase security measures. However, Novak is confident that the convict will be brought to justice

“He is going to be found. He is going to be apprehended. My suggestion to [Buckel] is to surrender to law enforcement immediately. Make it easy for everyone, including yourself. You are going to be apprehended either way.”

Novak also revealed that police officers will be stationed at local schools in the New Jersey town and along bus routes. Investigators will be doing everything they can to track him down, but a post on the police department’s Facebook page claims Arthur Buckel has most likely left the city by now.

“The BTPD has received information from the state Department of Corrections that the escaped fugitive, Arthur Buckel, is no longer in the Barnegat area,” said the post. “Officers will continue to maintain a strong presence and respond to any tips or leads in the Barnegat area.”

While authorities received a large amount of tips from local New Jersey residents about where Buckel could be, none of them helped to find the convict.

Do you think Buckel returned to the New Jersey town to find the mother of the baby he killed? What do you think he’d want with her?

For another story about runaway criminals, read about how authorities in a helicopter found two hiding burglars thanks to a group of children who formed an arrow with their bodies on the ground.

[Photo via the Barnegat Police Department]