Warren County, Pa. (WJET/WFXP/YourErie.com) — The prison escapee who was at the center of a high-profile search over the summer headed back to court in Warren County on Thursday.

According to court paperwork, Michael Burham was scheduled to appear for a formal arraignment on Thursday, Sept. 14. During his arraignment, Burham pleaded not guilty to the escape and kidnapping charges.

Burham, 34, escaped from the Warren County Jail in July 2023 and became the subject of a manhunt that lasted more than a week.

He escaped on July 6 by climbing on exercise equipment, using tied-up bedsheets to escape from a window.

He is accused of reportedly raping and killing a woman in Jamestown, New York, setting a car on fire, then kidnapping an elderly couple at gunpoint in Warren County and taking them to South Carolina while eluding police.

At the time of his escape, he was being held in the Warren County Jail on a $1 million bond after he was captured in May in South Carolina following a two-week manhunt. 

Burham was taken into custody Saturday, July 15 by the U.S. Marshals on a federal warrant for unlawful flight to avoid prosecution.

Burham has since been jailed in Erie County. He is scheduled to appear in court next on Oct. 30, 2023 at 9 a.m. in Warren County.