A pair of Alabama fugitives — an inmate serving time for robbery and murder and the female corrections officer who apparently helped him escape — led police on a chase that ended when the fugitives’ car was forced into a ditch. Authorities took the escaped inmate into custody, but the corrections officer was found shot in the head.
The Alabama prisoner who was charged with Escape in the First Degree in Alabama has now also been indicted by a Lauderdale County, Alabama, grand jury with felony murder in the death of the corrections employee whom police say helped him escape.
In April, Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections at Lauderdale County Jail, aided 38-year-old Casey White in escaping prison; though they share the same last name, the two are of no relation. She reportedly led him out of the jail in handcuffs, telling coworkers that she was taking him to a mental health evaluation.
Their escape led to an 11-day manhunt. Once the pair had been located in Indiana, a high-speed police chase ended with the getaway car crashing. Vicky White was found dead in the car, a victim of an apparent suicide, and Casey White was arrested.
Investigators believe Vicky White and inmate White developed a romantic relationship after meeting in jail. Friends and coworkers of 56-year-old Vicky were shocked by her apparent involvement; she had worked at the sheriff’s office for 16 years.
The prosecution alleges that Casey White caused the death of Vicky White, who died from a gunshot to the head. However, it was unknown who pulled the trigger. After an autopsy of Vicky White’s body, authorities stated that the gunshot wound was self-inflicted.
Officials have also claimed that Vicky White and Casey White had a suicide pact in which Vicky committed to shoot herself and Casey committed to dying in a shootout with law enforcement.
At the time of the escape, Casey White was serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder and robbery and awaiting sentencing for the murder of Connie Ridgeway.
Mark McDaniel, Casey White’s defense attorney, stated that he would plead not guilty to the murder of Vicky White at the coming December arraignment hearing in Alabama.
As for the Escape in the First Degree charge, the defense blames the county jail escape on Vicky White, as Casey White was in her care and custody at the time.
A person can be charged with Felony Murder Section 13A-6-2 in Alabama if someone dies while they are committing a felony, such as escape, even if the death was unintentional or accidental.
