Alabama jail escapee Casey White faces felony murder charge in death of jailer Vicky White
Accused Lauderdale County jail escapee Casey Cole White faces a felony murder charge in the death of the jailer authorities say removed him from the jail and spent 11 days on the run with him.
Vicky White died May 9 in Evansville, Indiana, from what authorities there said was a self-inflicted gunshot wound, after the car the two fugitives were in crashed during a police chase.
The indictment returned last month by a Lauderdale County grand jury says Casey White "in the course of and furtherance of committing Escape in the First Degree, caused the death of Vicky White, who died from a gunshot wound to the head."
Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly announced a writ of arrest had been issued Tuesday for Casey White, as a result of the indictment. In a press release, Connolly said no further information would be available.
Previous coverage: Escaped inmate Casey White captured, jailer Vicky White dead after U.S. Marshal chase in Indiana
'Convinced she orchestrated this': Vicky White flew under the radar before escape with Casey White
Casey White's defense attorney, Mark McDaniel, said White will enter a not guilty plea on the charge. He said he couldn't speculate on Connelly's theories regarding Vicky White's death that led to the charge.
He said the defense will file the appropriate motions — including a motion for a copy of Vicky White's autopsy report.
Casey White also faces a capital murder charge in the 2015 murder of Connie Ridgeway. The pending charges in the Ridgeway murder brought him to the Lauderdale County jail for court proceedings earlier this year.
On the morning of April 29, Vicky White told colleagues she was taking Casey White to a mental evaluation at the courthouse, and security cameras recorded her leaving the jail with him. Authorities would later learn that Vicky White had another vehicle waiting in a parking lot, where she abandoned her marked unit to leave town with the inmate.
By the time authorities realized the claim of an evaluation was bogus, the couple had a six-hour headstart.
By the time authorities made a vehicle description public, the duo had abandoned that car, buying a truck in Tennessee. They made their way to Evansville, where days later the truck would be found at a carwash, and the two would be traced to an Evansville motel.
Evansville police and U.S. Marshals had the two under surveillance when they left the motel in a Cadillac, and a chase began. It ended with the car crashed in a ditch, and Vicky White's death — by all law enforcement accounts thus far, at her own hand.
Casey White was taken into custody without further incident. Body camera footage made public captured him telling authorities he didn't shoot Vicky White, and denying that he murdered Ridgeway.
When he was returned to Alabama, Casey White was returned to Donaldson Correctional Facility, where he was serving a 75-year sentence on multiple charges from Limestone County, including robbery and attempted murder.
Contact Gadsden Times reporter Donna Thornton at 256-393-3284 or donna.thornton@gadsdentimes.com.
This article originally appeared on The Gadsden Times: Casey White charged with murder in Vicky White's death
