The corrections officer, who escaped with an inmate from an Alabama prison and evaded authorities for more than a week, has died after the fugitives were taken into custody Monday, officials said.
Former corrections officer Vicky White, 56, and inmate
Casey White, 38, were arrested after a police chase and subsequent car wreck in
Evansville, Indiana, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said at a news
conference Monday.
Casey White was injured in the crash, and Vicky White later
died at Deaconess Hospital. The Vanderburgh County Coroner's office didn't
release a cause of death, but police said Vicky White shot herself after U.S.
Marshals stopped the Whites' car after a short chase and suffered serious
injuries.
Casey White was serving a 75-year prison sentence for kidnapping
and attempted murder charges after he was convicted of trying to kill his
ex-girlfriend and kidnapping her two roommates.
He
also faces capital murder charges in the 2015 murder-for-hire slaying of
Connie Ridgeway after he confessed to the killing while in custody. He was set
to go to trial in that case next month.
“Casey White and Vicky White are in custody,” Singleton
said. “We got a dangerous man off the street today. He’s never going to see the
light of day again.”
'BACK AT SQUARE ONE':Alabama police
find abandoned SUV but escaped inmate, officer still missing
Investigators discovered an
abandoned 2007 orange Ford Edge getaway vehicle Friday
about 100 miles from the jail, Singleton said. The U.S. Marshals Service said
Sunday that investigators located another abandoned
vehicle, a 2006 Ford F-150, at an Evansville car wash.
Security camera footage provided by the car wash's owner shows a
man standing next to the truck who resembles Casey White.
Singleton said at the news conference Monday that officials
located the Whites at an Evansville hotel, which led to a car chase and
eventual crash where the two were taken into custody.
The
Whites, who are not relatives, disappeared from the Lauderdale County
Detention Center on April 29, and authorities have since
said the couple had a "jailhouse romance" and
were planning their escape.
'RELATIONSHIP OF A DIFFERENT NATURE':Alabama
officer Vicky White, escaped inmate Casey White had 'special relationship,'
sheriff says
PREVIOUS USA TODAY REPORTING:Authorities
issue warrant for Alabama corrections officer who disappeared with inmate:
Here's what we know
Vicky
White, whom authorities have since called an accomplice, allegedly told
coworkers she was taking Casey White to a courthouse appointment before the
couple vanished. Surveillance footage shows Vicky White escorting Casey White
out of the Lauderdale County Detention Center and into a patrol car, which
was found abandoned in a shopping center later in the day.
Vicky White allegedly sold her home and was set to retire the
day the couple fled, the U.S. Marshals Service said in a statement.
Singleton
said that Vicky White had been an "exemplary employee," and that he
had "every bit of trust" in her. “What in the world prompted her to
pull a stunt like this ... I don’t know," he said. "I don’t know
if we’ll ever know.”
Singleton previously disclosed the inmate and corrections
officer had a "special relationship" spanning two years.
Vicky White provided Casey White with extra food and privileges, police
said.
A warrant was issued on
May 2 for Vicky White charging her with permitting or
facilitating escape in the first degree.
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