An habitual criminal and three-time escapee from the Michigan state prison at Jackson, by autumn 1986, at age 35, Day was serving a seven-year term for attempted rape and prison escape. Transferred from Jackson to Ypsilanti's Center for Forensic Psychiatry in November, Day befriended Thomas Fortunato, a prison guard with fourteen years of service and a perfect record on the job. A short time later, Day asked Fortunato to assist him in escaping from the penitentiary; the guard, for reasons still unclear, agreed. On December 3, 1986, Fortunato smuggled Day out of prison in a laundry cart, withdrawing $5,000 from his personal bank account and driving the fugitive to Louisville, Kentucky, for a wild night of touring singles bars and porno shops. The odd couple checked into a Louisville motel on the night of December 5, and Fortunato woke next morning to find Day missing, along with all but fifty dollars of his money. The bewildered officer turned himself in on December 12, and five months later pled guilty to aiding escape, receiving a sentence of two to seven years in prison. William Day, meanwhile, was living on the highway, stopping only long enough to rob and kill. On December 9, elderly Mary Strobel, matriarch of a prominent Nashville, Tennessee family, was found dead in the trunk of her car, outside the local bus depot. She had been strangled, with her throat slit for good measure. Day rolled on across country, leaving a trail of bodies behind him. On December 23, Robert Arzabalo-Alcoser, a Mexican national, was beaten to death near the bus station in Tucson, Arizona. Ten days later, in Marianna, Florida, 55-year-old Evans Johnson was killed in his jewelry store, his throat cut from ear to ear. Fort Stockton, Texas, was the scene of mayhem on January 6, with tavern owner Billie Taylor murdered north of town; she was stabbed in the back, one side of her skull crushed by heavy blows. On January 12, 1987, Day was stopped for speeding near Van Horn, Texas. Driving a pickup truck registered to Stanley Robertson, of nearby Valentine, the fugitive carried Robertson's I.D. but gave his name as "Thomas Wilkins," of Portland, Oregon. Jailed on suspicion of auto theft, "Wilkins" saw the charges revised after officers visited Robertson's home and discovered his corpse, his throat slashed, skull crushed with a claw hammer found at the scene. Confronted with the evidence , Day finally confessed his true identity, regaling officers with a recital of his crimes and tacking on a murder in New Orleans, for a final score of six dead in as many weeks. Formally charged with Robertson's murder on January 14, Day was held in lieu of $200,000 bond. Eight days later, he was formally indicted in the Taylor case, while Nashville officers reported that a speeding ticket, written on December 9, linked Day with victim Mary Strobel. Physical evidence and eye witness testimony also confirmed Day's connection with the murders in Arizona and Florida, while investigation continues in New Orleans.