Lawyer: Would have told accused woman to keep diary private

John Sproat represented Hyatte after her arrest and contested her extradition from Ohio to Tennessee to face a murder charge.

“I had no knowledge of it. Obviously if I did, I’d have said, (to her) ‘Don’t give this to anybody,'” Sproat said.

Sproat said he had not seen the diary and was surprised Hyatte hadn’t mentioned it to him. He hasn’t had this happen with other clients, he said, adding that usually he just warns them not to say anything about their cases to cellmates.

Hyatte’s 34-page diary, which she titled, “A Modern Day Bonnie and Clyde,” calls husband George Hyatte the love of her life. It also says the couple’s ultimate destination wasn’t Ohio but Pennsylvania, Ohio prosecutor Ron O’Brien told Columbus television WCMH on Thursday.

On Monday, U.S. marshals brought the Hyattes to Kingston, Tenn., from Columbus, where they had been held since their arrests on Aug. 10.

They were caught 36 hours after authorities say Jennifer Hyatte, a former prison nurse, fatally shot a guard while helping her husband escape following a hearing at the Kingston courthouse.

O’Brien said the diary — a collection of letters and notes — has been turned over to a prosecutor in Tennessee.

“Not only is the escape (discussed), but the crime is discussed. As a prosecutor, this would be useful at time of trial,” O’Brien said.

District Attorney General Scott McCluen, who will prosecute the Hyattes in Tennesseee, declined comment on the diary.

Authorities accuse Jennifer Hyatte of ambushing two guards who were transporting her husband. Corrections officer Wayne “Cotton” Morgan, 56, was killed and Jennifer Hyatte was shot in the leg by a guard.

The Hyattes were captured late the next day at a motel in Columbus after the cab driver who drove them to the city called police.

George Hyatte, 34, has a long criminal record of robberies, assault and escape and already is serving a 41-year sentence. Jennifer Hyatte, 31, had been fired from her prison job because of her relationship with Hyatte, whom she married this year.