Fla. murderers mistakenly released are still on the loose

Forged documents led to the release of convicted murderers Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, who are still at large

/ WKMG

(CBS) - The documents that led to the release of two convicted murderers who are still on the loose bore the forged signature of a Florida judge, and an Orange County Clerk of Courts spokesperson says authorities may never be able to determine where the paperwork originated.

A manhunt is on for Charles Walker and Joseph Jenkins, both 34, who walked out of prison on Oct. 8 and Sept. 27, respectively, after paperwork bearing the forged signature of Ninth Circuit Chief Judge Belvin Perry was sent to the Department of Corrections.

"I don't know if we'll ever be able to determine where these pieces of paper came from," says Leesa Bainbridge, spokesperson for the Orange County Clerk of Court, the office through which the paperwork was routed.

"We have thousands of pieces of paper coming through this office," Bainbridge told CBS News' Crimesider. "There's no way to backtrack and say whether this was mailed in, faxed, or left in a dropbox."

Walker was sentenced to life in prison in 1999 on a charge of second-degree murder. Jenkins was also supposed to be serving a life sentence on a 1998 first-degree murder, according to the Orlando Sentinel.

The documents that led to Walker and Jenkins' release are remarkably similar. Each is titled "Order Granting Motion to Correct Illegal Sentence," and is followed by several pages of legitimate-looking and sounding legal language which explains that each man was improperly sentenced and due to be released.

A spokesperson for the Florida Department of Law Enforcement told Crimesider that they were currently focused on apprehending Walker and Jenkins, but that there would be an investigation into the origins of the forged documents.

Complete coverage of the escaped Fla. murderers on Crimesider