Man serving life for ’74 Philly killing dies in prison

A 79-year-old man serving a life term for a 1974 murder in Philadelphia has died in prison.Paul Stanley died Sunday evening of natural causes at the State Correctional Institution-Laurel Highlands in Somerset, about 50 miles southeast of Pittsburgh, state police said.

Stanley was convicted of killing Timothy Shinn after he picked up the hitchhiker and they went drinking at a bar.

Stanley’s case was notable due to his escape from a cell at Philadelphia General Hospital’s prison ward in October 1975, about five months after he was convicted of killing Shinn.

Stanley used a hacksaw blade to cut through his cell bars, but left it in the car of a man who gave him a ride after his escape. That man called police when he recognized Stanley’s photo with a newspaper story about the escape the next day.