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Olean native's husband was a correctional officer killed in Georgia prison transport

Posted at 2:43 PM, Jun 15, 2017
and last updated 2017-06-15 14:43:22-04

One of the two correctional officers killed in Georgia Tuesday morning during an inmate escape was the husband of an Olean native, according to the Olean Times Herald.

The news publication says the inmates shot and killed Christopher Monica, 42, and fellow Baldwin State Prison guard Curtis Billue, 58, while they were being transported on a bus through a rural area southeast of Atlanta.

Marie Flegal, 79, the mother of Monica's wife, Denise Monica, 53, told the Olean Times Herald the couple have a 16-year-old daughter. Flegal also told the publication her daughter was an Olean High School graduate and has lived in Georgia for about 16 years.

Flegal says Chistopher's death is devastating, because he was one of the nicest guys and a good worker, according to the article. Flegal told the Olean Times Herald he will be missed.

The Olean Times Herald reports the Georgia Department of Corrections spokeswoman could not confirm Denise Monica's wife identify "out of respect for the family."

Flegal told reporters at the paper she found out about her son-in-law's death after a call from her own son who lives in Maryland.

The inmates, Donnie Russel Rowe, 43, and Ricky Dubose, 24, were being transported with 31 other inmates from one prison to another when they got out of a locked section of the bus and into the driver's compartment. Around 6:45 a.m. the inmates overpowered Monica and Billue, took their guns, and shot and killed them, authorities say.

Rowe and Dubose then stole a car and drove to Madison, Georgia where they ransacked a house, according to officials. The two inmates are still at large as part of a multi-state manhunt. Officials say it is possible they are still armed with the guards' guns.

According to authorities, no other inmates tried to flee during the incident.

Flegal told the Olean Times Herald her daughter did not want Christopher to go into law enforcement out of fear for his safety. According to the department, he worked with the Georgia Department of Corrections since 2009, the Olean Times Herald reports. The publication also says he was promoted to sergeant at Baldwin State Prison in 2012 and then took a job at the prison's transportation unit last summer.

Flegal told the Olean Times Herald she plans to fly down to Georgia for a couple of weeks to be with her daughter.