Escaped NY Killer David Sweat Spent 6 Months Plotting Prison Break –– Find Out More Shocking Details Here

David Sweat told authorities he spent six months plotting his escape from Dannemora's Clinton Correctional Facility, studying the facility and conducting test runs.

Sweat cut a hole out of a wall in his cell for access to the entire prison, and would spend six hours each night (from 11:30 p.m. until 5:30 a.m.), checking out the tunnels and inner-workings of the grounds, the New York Times reported.

In leading to his June 6 escape from the prison with Richard Matt, Sweat made his way down a pipe and broke an opening through a brick wall that led to a steam pipe instrumental in the jailbreak. Sweat strategically bided him time from winter until spring, when the pipe was not being used, then cut into it with a hacksaw.

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Sweat said that Matt -- who authorities fatally fired on June 26 -- was discussing the possibilities of a shootout with cops or grabbing a hostage, leading to them parting ways while on the lam.

The many media outlets who compared the escape to 1994's The Shawshank Redemption weren't far off path: Sweat told cops that he and Matt spoke about the film and joked that their escape would take half the time of the 20 years that it took its lead character, Andy Dufresne (played by Tim Robbins).