TEMPE, Ariz. — A convicted murderer who "absconded" from his supervised release has been taken into custody, according to the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation and Reentry (ADCRR).
The agency said Daniel Cahill was taken into custody at 4:30 p.m. on Saturday by the ADCRR Fugitive Apprehension Unit, in partnership with the US Marshals and local law enforcement.
Cahill was booked into ASPC-Phoenix on a violation of community supervision, the agency said.
The agency began searching for Cahill after he disappeared earlier this week.
"Mr. Cahill absconded from ADCRR’s community supervision while residing in a community placement in Maricopa County, on 2/14/24, ADCRR," said in a news release. "He did not escape from prison, as had mistakenly been reported by some outlets."
MORE DETAILS: Mary Yates' family relives trauma after man who brutally stabbed her to death in 1979 spends days on the run
Cahill was convicted of murder in the first degree in 1980. According to a 1979 Arizona Republic article, Cahill stabbed then 39-year-old mother Mary Yates on Dec. 3, 1979, and was then sentenced to 25 years to life in prison on April 14, 1980.
If an inmate escapes from an ADCRR facility or while on supervised release, the length of time the inmate was on escapee or absconder status will be added back to the sentence, according to ADCRR.
In a letter dated Dec. 1, 2023, from the Maricopa County Attorney's Office to the Arizona Board of Executive Clemency, the MCAO revealed further details about Cahill's criminal history.
According to the MCOA, before murdering Yates, Cahill had escaped from a prison in California.
Additionally, the MCAO said during his incarceration, Cahill had 116 disciplinary infractions, 39 of which were "major violations."
Cahill also was sentenced in 1992 for escape in the second degree in Cochise County. According to prison records, he committed the escape Sept. 10, 1991. The MCAO said that added 2 years to his sentence.
The MCAO said Cahill was given the opportunity to complete "home arrest" on Jan. 3, 2013, but it was revoked after he violated the terms within one month of his release.
In April 2023, Cahill was again "afforded the opportunity to complete home arrest" at the objection of the MCAO. After this was granted to Cahill, he committed six "minor itinerary infractions" along with "a missed UA since June 14, 2023."
"It is apparent to the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office that this Defendant cannot be trusted to live a law-abiding life outside of the Department of Corrections and should never have been granted a second opportunity at home arrest," the MCAO said.
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