Fmr Assistant FBI Director: Casey White escape appears to have been pre-planned
Former Assistant FBI Director Chris Swecker analyzes the ongoing investigation into Casey White's escape from prison with the alleged help from guard, Vicky White, as the pair were on the run
FLORENCE, Ala. – The multi-state manhunt for an escaped Alabama murder suspect, Casey Cole White, and high-ranking jail guard Vicky White, came to a close on Monday – more than 10 days after the pair fled from the county jail where the man had been awaiting trial, according to officials.
Law enforcement officers from the federal and local levels descended upon Casey White and Vicky White in Evansville, Indiana, on Monday afternoon prompting a short-lived police chase that resulted in a car crash and injuries to both fugitives. Both suspects were in custody and were being treated for their injuries, officials said. Vicky was hospitalized with "very serious" injuries from a self-inflicted gunshot wound, Indiana law enforcement authorities confirmed.
"Casey White and Vicky White are in custody," Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton confirmed to reporters during a press conference later on Monday.
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"What I’m very thankful for tonight is that no one was hurt. No citizens were hurt. No law enforcement officers were hurt as a result of this escape," Singleton went on. "We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again."
Vanderburgh County, Indiana, Sheriff Dave Wedding told reporters law enforcement became aware of a vehicle matching the description of a possible suspect vehicle, which had been spotted near the sheriff's department office, on Monday.
Inmate Casey Cole White and Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office Assistant Director of Corrections Vicki White (no relation) were last spotted when they left the detention for the court appearance at 9:30 am Friday according to the Lauderdale County Sheriff's office. (Lauderdale County Sheriff's office)
Officers and federal agents went to investigate and "soon thereafter, the male and female fled in the vehicle," Wedding said. He said Vicky White was driving and described the vehicle as a Cadillac.
The suspects then drove through a grassy area where Marshals "intercepted then actually collided with them, to try to end the pursuit," Wedding went on.
"When this occurred, the female driver of the vehicle shot herself and the passenger was injured, not too seriously," he said. "They’ve both been taken to local hospitals to be examined for their injuries."
Wedding said he does not know "the true extent" of Vicky's injuries, or where on her body she was wounded, but described her as being "in pretty serious shape."
Asked how long the pair had been in Evansville, Wedding said investigators knew so far that the vehicle that was recovered "had a date of May the 3."
"It’s hard to believe that they’ve been here that many days, but we were lucky that we stumbled upon them today," Wedding said.
Neither suspect resisted arrest after the crash occurred.
Casey White, 38, and Vicky White, 56, were said to have been in the throes of a "jailhouse romance" when they slipped away from the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, on April 29, Singleton previously told reporters.
At the time, Vicky White, a high-ranking corrections employee, left alone with Casey, telling co-workers she was transporting him for an evaluation at the county courthouse, officials have said. She allegedly said she would then go to see her doctor.
But Casey was not scheduled for an evaluation at the time, investigators later learned.
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In the month before the escape, Vicky White allegedly sold her home. She was supposed to retire on April 29 – the day the pair disappeared – but the paperwork had not officially been filed with the state.
She also allegedly purchased an orange-colored 2007 Ford Edge SUV, which investigators tracked down to Bethesda, Tennessee, in Williamson County, on Thursday night. Investigators revealed on Monday that they believed the pair then picked up a Ford F-150 from Tennessee and drove the vehicle to Evansville, Indiana, where it was abandoned in a local car wash.
Casey White was serving a 75-year sentence for a slew of crimes from 2015, including carjacking, a home invasion and a police chase. He had been serving his sentence at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, Alabama, but had been transferred to the Lauderdale County jail while he awaited trial for the 2015 murder of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway.
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Casey and Vicky White met in 2020, when Casey was being housed in the Lauderdale center after confessing to the 2015 slaying, authorities have said. The pair maintained contact and are said to have spoken by phone between 2020 and 2022, even when Casey was transported to the Donaldson center before he sent back to Lauderdale to await trial.
Casey White, a convicted felon facing pending murder charges, has a history of carjackings and violent crime and was considered armed and "extremely dangerous."
He has a long rap sheet, with convictions for attempted murder, armed robbery, animal cruelty and kidnapping, and was facing a pending murder case for the 2015 slaying of Ridgeway.
CASEY WHITE MANHUNT: ALABAMA JAIL BOSS VICKY WHITE VISITED HOTEL MORNING BEFORE INMATE ESCAPE
(Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, Alabama Department of Corrections)
The suspect allegedly confessed to the crime, saying he had been hired to kill Ridgeway, but then pleaded not guilty due to insanity. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
Vicky White faces charges including at least forgery, identity theft and permitting/aiding an escape. Prior to the manhunt, she spent months telling colleagues that she planned to relocate to the beach.
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Fox News' Adam Sabes contributed to this report.
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