CBS Delves Into 50-Year-Old Wall Murder

The man who spent 41 years on the lam after escaping from prison following his conviction on charges he murdered a man at a Wall Township gas station was the subject of a CBS news show this weekend.

"48 Hours'' aired a 42-minute segment on the case of George Wright, who was convicted of killing Walter Patterson at his gas station on the Routes 33/34 circle on Nov. 23, 1962. 

Wright spent seven years in a U.S. prison for the murder before escaping in 1970. He then hijacked a plane in 1972 from the U.S. to Algeria along with other Black Liberation Army militants. He was captured just last year in Portugal after his U.S. fingerprint matched one in Portugal's database of prints for all citizens.

Portugal has refused to extradite Wright to the U.S. The decision was upheld in a Portugese court, which ruled that Wright, now nearly 70 years old, had become a Portuguese citizen and that the statute of limitations on his 15- to 30-year sentence for robbery-murder in New Jersey had expired.

Wright remains in Portugal.

The family of Walter Patterson recently appeared at a Congressional hearing where emotional testimony was given by Patterson's family members, who now live in Howell.

The whole episode of 48 Hours can be seen here.