According to Lauderdale County Circuit Court documents, former escaped convict Casey White has been charged with felony murder in the death of former Alabama jail guard Vicki White, who assisted him in a shocking escape attempt on April 30.

Vicky White went missing on April 30, after escorting Casey White (no relation), out of a detention center.

Vicky supposedly picked the prisoner up to take him to the county courthouse for a mental health evaluation. They drove to a nearby shopping center, dropped off her patrol car in the parking lot, and left in a Ford Edge SUV that Vicky had left there the previous night. The story about driving the inmate to the courthouse was a ruse. The mental health exam wasn’t on the schedule. 

On May 2, a warrant was issued for the arrest of Vicky White for “permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree,” a Class C felony.

An employee of the Sheriff’s Department for 17 years, Vicky filed retirement papers on the day before she went missing. She also had just sold her home, and purchased the car that was used in the escape. Vicky’s colleagues were shocked, and said she had an excellent employment record and was respected in the workplace. 

The sheriff’s office reportedly said the two appeared to have shared a “special relationship,” but did not go into detail.

The couple ran from the law for 11 days. The fugitive run ended in a car crash during the pursuit. The prisoner, Casey White was apprehended, but Vicky White died in the hospital due to, what was assumed to be, a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head. 

During the manhunt, the police were able to trace the couple’s movements in Indiana, where surveillance showed Vicky White coming out of a hotel disguised in a wig. She entered a Cadillac with Casey White in the driver’s seat. They were followed by the marshal’s team and the chase pursued. It ended in a wreck, with the Cadillac turning over. Police were able to remove the inmate from the car, but Vicky White was pinned inside with a gunshot wound to her head. The escaped convict denied having shot her, and referred to Vicky as his “wife.”

According to Lauderdale County, Alabama Sheriff Rick Singleton, no shots were fired by law enforcement officers during or after the pursuit. 

Audio from a 911 call inside the car was said to indicate that Vicky shot herself.  And someone at the scene could be heard saying,”She’s got a gun in her hand, and she’s breathing. She’s got her finger on the trigger.” 

Vicky White’s death was ruled a suicide by the coroner. The grand jury indictment alleges Casey White, while committing escape, caused the death of Vicky White. 

According to Alabama state law, felony murder charges can be filed against a suspect if a death of another person  occurs during the process of a crime, as in the case of an escape, even if the death was accidental or unintended.

Casey White was in state prison serving a 75-year sentence for robbery, burglary and several other crimes. He was awaiting trial for the 2015 stabbing death of Connie Ridgeway, 58, which he admitted to. He was returned to Alabama to face the previous murder charges and the new charges of escape and felony murder.