Former Alabama prison official was on the run along with a suspect in murder. She was shot and then killed Monday by authorities. Officials said that they caught up to the two after more than one week of searching. She surrendered to the man with whom she fled.
Vicky White’s death, aged 56, has only made it more difficult to understand why Casey White (38), a respected prison official, would give everything in order to free Casey White. White was a terrifying and violent prisoner.
The two fugitives were caught — following a manhunt through three states — in Evansville, Indiana, when U.S. Authorities said that the Marshals who were chasing them collided with their car. Vicky White fired her gun and Casey White surrendered, and Vicky White was also taken to hospital. Steve Lockyear, Vanderburgh County Coroner, said that she was dead from the injuries.
Before Vicky White’s death, authorities celebrated the fugitives’ apprehension.
“We got a dangerous man off the street today. His name will not be seen again. It is good for the entire country, but also our local community. That’s a good thing for our country,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton of Alabama said.
Vicky White was the assistant director for corrections at the Lauderdale County jail. She allegedly orchestrated the escape of Casey White who was in the midst of a capital murder trial. Vicky White claimed to co-workers that she intended to release the inmate from jail, for a mental assessment at the courthouse. But the two women, who aren’t related, ran away.
They drove off in a car that was abandoned in Tennessee. However, the couple were never found again until U.S. Marshals Service was notified Sunday by a tip that surveillance images from Evansville’s car wash had shown a man closely matching Casey White as he exited a Ford F-150 pickup truck. White, who is approximately 260lbs and stands 6.9 inches tall (118 kilograms), weighs around 6 feet 9 inches.
On Monday, officials learned that the pair was spotted near the sheriff’s office, said Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding in Indiana. The pair fled the scene in a vehicle, leading police to pursue them, Wedding said. U.S. Marshals collided with them “to try to end the pursuit,” he said. Casey White was injured, not too seriously, in the crash and Vicky White then shot herself, causing “very serious” injuries, he said.
“We’re lucky that no law enforcement was injured, no innocent civilians were injured, the pursuit was short in nature and we have both people in custody,” Wedding said.
Casey White, who was currently serving a sentence of 75 years for attempted murder and various other charges, escaped. In 2015, he was being tried for the stabbing death of a woman aged 58. If convicted, he may face death.
Federal and local law enforcement officials have also learned Casey White threatened to kill his former girlfriend and his sister in 2015 and said “that he wanted police to kill him,” the Marshals Service said.
Vicky Sue White received a warrant on May 2, charging her with permitting and facilitating escape in first degree.
Alabama Sheriff said that before Vicky’s death was reported, he had hoped for answers from his former trusted prison employee. However, he acknowledged the possibility of not getting them. “I had every bit of trust in Vicky White. She is an outstanding employee. She is an example of exemplary employee. I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know,” Singleton said.
Vicky White’s family members and co-workers said they were stunned by her involvement. Singleton claimed that it was clear the plan had been planned for some time. Inmates at the Jail claimed that they had a special connection and Casey White was given better treatment than any other inmates.
She bought a rifle, a shotgun, and was also known to own a handgun. According to Marshal Marty Keely.
The house she owned was worth about half the market value. She then bought a Ford Edge orange in 2007 that she had hidden at a mall without any license plates.
“This escape was obviously well-planned and calculated. It took a lot preparation to pull this off. They had plenty of resources, had cash, had vehicles,” Singleton said.
Vicky White told co-workers that Vicky White had just finished her final day of work when she was forced to flee. Co-workers were told by her that Casey White was scheduled for a mental evaluation. It was against prison policy that she didn’t have another officer with her.
Singleton claimed that Video captured the couple moving from the jail into the shopping centre, where they got the Ford. They were not spotted for most of the day.
According to The Associated Press, investigators suspect that Casey White’s pickup truck was taken in Tennessee. The vehicle is then believed to have been driven approximately 175 miles (280 km) from Evansville. According to the official, they were not able to discuss specific details publicly but spoke with AP under condition of anonymity.
—Ken Kusmer was an Associated Press reporter from Indianapolis
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