Did Casey White KILL Vicky White? Alabama inmate charged with killing officer who helped him escape
Update: Prisoner Casey White who prompted a nationwide manhunt when he fled from an Alabama jail earlier this year has been charged with killing the corrections official Vicky White who is alleged to have helped him escape.
Casey, 38, has been indicted on a murder charge for the shooting death of Vicky Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly announced Tuesday, July 12. The indictment alleges that during the escape, "White caused the death of Vicky White, who died from a gunshot to the head." The indictment does not specify who pulled the trigger.
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LAUDERDALE COUNTY, ALABAMA: Escaped Alabama inmate Casey White was finally captured after an 11-day manhunt that spanned multiple states. His lover, Vicky White, allegedly died from self-inflicted gunshot wounds. She was hospitalized earlier after reportedly shooting herself following a car chase in Evansville, Indiana. Her wounds were "very serious".
Police initially said that Vicky killed herself. Audio of a dispatch call between 911 operators revealed that Vicky told them she was holding the gun with her finger on the trigger. However, it remained unclear whether Vicky really killed herself or Casey shot her dead. An autopsy is pending.
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Vicky White: Alabama jail guard's family insists she did not willingly help inmate escape
Despite the initial claim that Vicky killed herself, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said that it would not be surprising if it is revealed that it was Casey who pulled the trigger. "He will never see the light of day again. He will be in a cell by himself. He will stay in handcuffs and shackles while he's in that cell and if he wants to sue me for violating his civil rights, so be it," Singleton said. "He's not getting out of this jail again. I'll assure you that."
Casey had been missing since Friday morning, April 29, when he left the Lauderdale County Detention Center in a transport vehicle with his lover Vicky, the jail’s assistant director of corrections. The US Marshals Service on Sunday, May 1, offered a $10,000 reward for information on the duo as Vicky transported him to court for an appointment that was never on the books. They never arrived at the courthouse, which is located in downtown Florence. A manhunt was soon launched for the pair. While the evidence clearly suggested that Vicky let Casey escape, her family said she is a 'sweet person' who would not have helped a 'killer' escape.
Vicky and Casey, who had been in the Evansville area, were captured 219 miles away from the jail after someone called in a tip. US marshals had to crash in on them to end the chase. The male and female fled in a vehicle on Highway 41 northbound, went past Highway 57 as you can see they turned here on Birch Park Drive, they came through this grassy area," Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding had said, according to CNN.
Before the capture, the pair was found at a hotel. They were nabbed after a brief car chase in Evansville, Indiana, that lasted "less than a few minutes," according to Wedding. While Casey surrendered after their Cadillac overturned, Vicky, who was driving, shot herself sometime before the capture and was subsequently taken to a hospital, where she died.
Meanwhile, local authorities have reopened a probe into the 2008 suicide death of Alabama inmate Casey Coal White’s former girlfriend. The murder suspect's recent capture has now brought the several years old case to light yet again. Christy Shelton's family has maintained that her death in 2008 was not a suicide. As many as seven years after Shelton's death, White broke into another former gal pal's home and opened fire, killing her dog.