Casey White is back behind bars. The murder suspect was taken into custody after a search ended with Vicky White, the corrections officer accused of helping Casey escape, dead from a gunshot wound.
Casey White was taken into custody in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, on Monday (May 9), following a car chase with authorities that ended with Vicky White apparently shooting herself. “We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again,” said Sheriff Rick Singleton of Lauderdale County, from where Casey, 38, and Vicky, 56, fled in Alabama, per USA Today. The authorities said Casey would remain in custody and won’t leave their sight.
Vicky and Casey were apprehended after a nationwide search for the pair. Vicky, a former assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Jail, allegedly helped Casey, a convicted felon and murder suspect, of escaping. The couple was on the run for more than a week before a police pursuit ended in a car crash in Indiana.
When Casey exited the vehicle, he exclaimed, “Please help my wife. She just shot herself in the head, and I didn’t do it.” (per NBC News). However, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding said that though initial information indicates Vicky shot herself, “we won’t rule anything out until we have a thorough investigation by the coroner.”
Casey was serving a 75-year prison sentence for attempted murder and kidnapping after he was convicted of trying to kill his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping her two roommates. In June, he’s set to go on trial for the murder charges stemming from the 2015 murder-for-hire slaying. He could face the death penalty if convicted.
“I had every bit of trust in Vicky White,” said Sheriff Singleton. “She has been an exemplary employee. What in the world provoked her, prompted her to pull a stunt like this? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know.”
The search for the Whites – who were not related – began in late April after Vicky told coworkers she was taking Casey to a courthouse appointment. The couple never returned. The authorities determined that the two developed a “jailhouse romance” and had been plotting their dramatic escape.
The search came to an end thanks to a tip on Sunday about a 2006 Ford F-150 truck abandoned at an Evansville, Indiana, car wash. The car wash owner provided security camera footage, which showed a man resembling Casey standing next to the vehicle. The subsequent chase began when an officer thought he recognized another car, a gray Cadillac, “associated with this criminal incident,” said Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding. “From there to here, it’s probably only three minutes, so it was a very short pursuit.”
The marshals collided with the Whites’ car, which in turn, ran into a ditch and flopped on its side. It’s at this point that Vicky is believed to have shot herself.
