LUCASVILLE, Ohio -- The man convicted for one of Shelby County's most horrific crimes was caught planning an escape from the maximum security prison at Lucasville.

33-year-old Christopher Harris is serving a life sentence for the April 2007 rape and murder of 84-year-old Victoria Eilerman near Fort Loramie.

The warden at the Southern Ohio Correctional Facility said he learned that Harris was planning to injure himself severely enough to require a trip to the hospital. Harris and a friend were planning to overpower police officers with a gun on the trip to the hospital.

Officials said that friend is 53-year-old Derrick Hancock, a convicted murderer out on parole. Hancock was arrested last week at his Cleveland home the day the plan was to be carried out.

Hancock's parole officer is credited for tipping off authorities about the escape plan. Charges are still pending.