Convicted killer who fled from a Phoenix-area halfway house is back in custody 4 days later

PHOENIX (AP) — A convicted murderer who fled from a halfway house in the Phoenix metro area is back in custody, authorities say.

Officials with the Arizona Department of Corrections, Rehabilitation & Reentry said Daniel Cahill was arrested Saturday afternoon by the department’s fugitive apprehension unit in partnership with the U.S. Marshals Service.

They said Cahill was booked into the Arizona State Prison Complex-Phoenix on a violation of community supervision.

Authorities began searching for Cahill after he disappeared Wednesday from a Maricopa County halfway house.

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Cahill was convicted of first-degree murder and sentenced to 25 years to life in prison in April 1980 for the stabbing death of a 39-year-old Tempe woman in December 1979.

Court documents show Cahill was 22 at the time of the slaying.

Prior to the murder, authorities said Cahill had escaped from a San Diego prison while serving a burglary sentence.

Authorities said Cahill was given the opportunity to complete “home arrest” in January 2013, but that was revoked after he violated the terms within one month of his release.

He had 116 disciplinary infractions during his Arizona incarceration with 39 being major violations, and the Maricopa County Attorney’s Office asked the state clemency board not to release him.