Investigators said Sweat and Matt used power tools to dig a hole in their cells and a steam pipe that led out of the prison. "So she gave it to her husband, Lyle, for their anniversary".
Lyle visited his wife on Tuesday for the first time since her arrest.
Richard Matt and David Sweat - who managed to break out of a New York prison earlier this month - will be the subjects of a TV movie from the makers of the "Ripped from the Headlines" style television production company.
The husband of a prison worker charged with helping two convicted murderers escape has said he was "blown away" after learning she had discussed having him killed, his lawyer has said.
Pool/Getty Images Joyce Mitchell is arraigned in June 12 in Plattsburgh, N.Y.
Lyle Mitchell is not standing by his wife and is not supporting any allegations of her innocence, but he wants to make sure she is not hurt, his attorney said.
"He's not supporting her", the lawyer said.
"He's in shock, still - this is a woman who he felt was his best friend for 21 years, and now he finds out that she was possibly even part of a plot to kill him", attorney Peter Dumas told the TODAY show Thursday.
Did you think the torrid relationship between Joyce "Tillie" Mitchell and Richard "Big Dick" Matt was just about sex?
Dumas said that on June 6, the night that convicted murderers Richard Matt and David Sweat escaped from the Dannemora, New York, prison, Lyle Mitchell and Joyce Mitchell had left the Clinton Correctional Facility, where they both worked and stopped at a Chinese restaurant for dinner.
Lyle Mitchell is on administrative leave from his job, suspended with full pay, with Mr. Dumas confirming it is likely that he will remain on administrative leave for the foreseeable future.
"She told Lyle she did not want to go through with it and because of her hesitancy, she was being threatened by the individuals", Dumas said.
Authorities have said Mitchell, who got close to the men while working with them in the prison tailor shop, discussed killing her husband.
WIBX 950 suggested Edward Norton, Woody Harrelson or Coldplay's Chris Martin for the role of Sweat, while Paul Sorvino or Tom Sizemore could play the older Matt, a reputed ladies' man. Other casting options could include Steve Buscemi as Sweat and Syracuse-born actor Johnny Messner (TV's "Killer Instinct", "The O.C.") as Matt.
The couple raised Joyce Mitchell's son, Tobey, who was adopted by Lyle Mitchell, Dumas said. More than 600 law enforcement personnel from several agencies are continuing to check seasonal camps, abandoned buildings, trails and railroad beds. Matt was serving 25 years to life in the beating death and dismemberment of his ex- boss.
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