Ex-Alabama corrections officer who helped convict escape dies after being captured in Indiana, authorities say

Celina Tebor, Jon Webb and Houston Harwood, USA TODAY
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EVANSVILLE, Ind. – 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 after shooting herself in the head. The Vanderburgh County Coroner's office ruled her death a suicide following an autopsy Tuesday.

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.”

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Hamrick's Towing & Recovery hauls the Cadillac sedan fugitives Casey White and Vicky White, no relation, were driving when law enforcement officials forced them into a ditch at Burch Drive in Evansville, Ind., after a short chase Monday evening, May 9, 2022. The two have been on the run since Vicky White, a detention officer, helped the inmate Casey White escape the Lauderdale County Detention Center April 28, 2022.

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.

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Muddy tracks mark the spot where the Cadillac sedan fugitives Casey White and Vicky White, no relation, were driving when law enforcement officials forced them into a ditch at Burch Drive in Evansville, Ind., after a short chase Monday evening, May 9, 2022. The two have been on the run since Vicky White, a detention officer, helped the inmate Casey White escape the Lauderdale County Detention Center April 28, 2022.

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.

Contributing: Ryan W. Miller, USA TODAY; The Associated Press

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Alabama fugitives caught: Officer, inmate captured after car chase