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Richard Matt Allegedly Gave These Paintings to Prison Guard Gene Palmer

Richard Matt — who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility and was shot dead last week after three weeks on the run — was a noted prison painter.
Richard Matt allegedly gave prison guard Gene Palmer these paintings.
Richard Matt allegedly gave prison guard Gene Palmer these paintings.

He was a convicted and incarcerated murderer — with an apparent artistic flair.

Richard Matt — who escaped from Clinton Correctional Facility in upstate New York with another inmate and was shot dead Friday after three weeks on the run — was also a noted prison painter.

Court documents allege that he gave some of his artworks to prison guard Gene Palmer in return for tools.

Palmer is alleged to have later destroyed the paintings — burning some of them in a fire pit at his home and burying others in woods nearby — after Matt and David Sweat escaped on June 6.

NBC News Investigations has obtained images of some of the paintings Palmer is accused of trying to bury.

Image: Painting by Richard Matt
A painting by Richard Matt.NBC News Investigations

Palmer has pleaded not guilty to charges of promoting prison contraband in the first degree (a class D felony), two counts of tampering with physical evidence (a class E felony) and one count of official misconduct (a class A misdemeanor). The charges carry prison terms ranging from 15 months to seven years.

Image: Painting by Richard Matt
A painting of a bald eagle by Richard Matt.NBC News Investigations
Image: Painting by Richard Matt
Another work by Richard Matt.NBC News Investigations
Image: Paintings by Richard Matt
Two landscapes by Richard Matt.NBC News Investigations