The family of an Illinois man slain during a botched robbery say they fear for their lives after the killer escaped from jail earlier week after beating a guard unconscious and stealing his uniform and SUV. As the manhunt continues, Nelson Williams Sr. of Kankakee, says he is worried that 23-year-old Kamron Taylor, the man convicted of his son Nelson Jr's murder, might attack him. 'As I go home every night, I figure he might ambush me like he did my son,' he told WLS-TV on Thursday. In a courthouse outburst in February, Taylor threatened the family minutes after hearing the guilty verdict. Williams, 48, says Taylor shouted, 'I'm going to get you mother*******.' Scroll down for video . In fear for his life: Nelson Williams Sr (left), the father of a murder victim, says he is scared his son's convicted killer, Kamron T. Taylor (right) will go after him after his daring prison break . Not going quietly: In this photo taken in February, Taylor was removed from a Kankakee County courtroom after struggling with the deputies and yelling at the Nelson family in the crowd, ' I'm going to get you, mother*******' Taylor, who has a history of escape attempts, fled from the Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee at about 3am Wednesday. He somehow escaped from his cell, hid inside the facility, then beat and choked the guard who was making rounds, said Kankakee County Sheriff Timothy Bukowski. Taylor, a 23-year-old from Kankakee, is considered armed and dangerous, the sheriff said. He was convicted of first-degree murder in February in the June 2013 death of Nelson Williams Jr, 21, and faces a sentence of 45 years to life in prison. Sheriff's officials believe someone may be helping Taylor hide. They warned the public that harboring a fugitive is a criminal offense that will be prosecuted. A $7,500 reward is now being offered for information leading to Taylor's arrest. Twenty-eight officers have fanned out across the county, searching dozens of residences with the help of dogs and surveillance helicopters above. Analysts from the Illinois State Police have been mapping out lists of Taylor's relatives and associates, examining his past phone conversations and jail visitation records to help lead investigators to probable locations where the fugitive might be hiding out. As of Friday morning, officers armed with rifles have searched about 50 home in eastern Illinois . Bukowski said investigators were also considering the possibility that Taylor could have fled elsewhere. Besides hunting him down, investigators were eager to determine how Taylor got free in what was the first successful escape from the decade-old lockup housing about 450 detainees. Escaped: The 23-year-old Taylor was awaiting sentencing for the June 2013 murder of Nelson Williams Jr, 21 (right), when authorities say he beat a guard into unconsciousness, took his keys and uniform and sped off in his SUV . Disguised: Taylor was captured on a surveillance camera fleeing the Kankakee jail dressed in a guard's uniform . 'The speculation on my part is somebody didn't do their job properly,' Bukowski said. After getting free of his two-man cell in a lockdown unit, where he has been awaiting sentencing, Taylor hid out and attacked the guard, a military veteran with 10 years of correctional experience, Bukowski said. By wearing the guard's uniform, Taylor was able to fool other guards in a master control room who opened three sets of doors for him after visual verification by surveillance video, Bukowski said. Once outside, the suspect repeatedly pressed the guard's key fob to locate his Chevrolet Equinox in a parking lot and drive away. Authorities didn't learn of the escape until about 30 minutes later, when jail staff found the wounded officer, who is hospitalized in intensive care with head wounds. 'He was in and out of consciousness, unable to understand the questions that were given to him,' Bukowski said of the guard at a news conference. A few hours after sunrise, officers found the abandoned SUV in a residential area of Kankakee and approached the vehicle with their guns drawn. But Taylor was nowhere to be found and it wasn't clear whether he fled on foot or someone picked him up in another vehicle, the sheriff said. At one point Wednesday, authorities issued an alert for a 15-year-old girl, Savannah Bell, who they believed was with Taylor. Illinois State Police later announced the girl had been found, but did not say where or how officials found her or whether she had been with Taylor. Wanted: A $1,000 reward is being offered by police for any information that leads to Taylor's capture . Dangerous: A woman rushes to her car in Kankakee, Ill., Wednesday, April 1, 2015, after being told by police that officers were searching in the area for prison escapee Kamron T. Taylor . Following the trail: Police approach a vehicle with guns drawn that convicted murderer Kamron T. Taylor stole during his escape . Jail staffing levels and procedures will be re-examined, but Bukowski said Taylor's history of violence and previous escape attempts didn't necessarily single him out for stricter security measures. 'It raises an alert, I guess,' he said. 'But you figure the people that are locked up in our facility aren't altar boys and you take certain precautions for all of them. And you can't become complacent with anybody ... especially a murderer.' Safe and well: Authorities say they’ve found a 15-year-old girl, Savannah Bell, who they had thought to be in the company of convicted murderer who escaped from jail. Bukowski told reporters that the detention center has lost between 15 and 20 per cent of its staff, forcing guards to work extra hours in a change that he said did not go unnoticed by the 450 inmates. Asked whether he thought staffing at the jail was adequate, Bukowski told reporters he would like to see the levels that pre-dated the budget cuts, acknowledging that guards working overtime 'get tired and they start to make mistakes.' 'The inmates could see them working a double shift and see that they were tired,' he said. 'So all those factors contribute to what's going on.' He said budget cuts also got in the way of planned security enhancements, but he refused to go into specifics on that or precise staffing numbers, saying 'the inmates already know too much.' During his trial in February, Taylor tried to escape from the courthouse minutes after hearing the guilty verdict. Several sheriff's deputies and bailiffs wrestled him to the ground, and Taylor shouted expletives at the gallery as they led him away, according to a report in The (Kankakee) Daily Journal. He also escaped briefly after his arrest in 2013 but was detained several blocks away, the newspaper reported at the time. Taylor was found guilty of the June 2013 shooting death of 21-year-old Nelson Williams Jr. during a botched robbery at Williams' home in Kankakee. Online court records show his sentencing is scheduled for May 11.
Kamron T. Taylor was recently convicted of murdering Nelson Williams Jr, 21, in June 2013 .
Victim's father, Nelson Williams Sr, 48, says he is afraid Taylor might ambush him .
He beat a guard unconscious, stole his keys and uniform, and fled in his SUV .
Taylor was awaiting sentencing at Jerome Combs Detention Center in Kankakee, Illinois, when he escaped early Wednesday .
The 23-year-old fugitive is wanted for aggravated battery to a correctional officer as well as escape .
Cash reward for any information has been increased to $7,500 .