EVANSVILLE, Ind. — (AP) — A murder suspect and the jailer who helped him escape from an Alabama jail cell were carrying $29,000 in cash, four handguns and an AR-15 rifle and were prepared for a shootout when they were captured, an Indiana sheriff’s deputy said Tuesday.
Authorities caught up with the couple on Monday, more than a week after the escape and nearly 300 miles away, and dumped their car in a ditch after a short chase. Escaped inmate Casey White, 38, turned herself in, while jail official Vicky White, 56, was found with a gunshot wound to the head and was pronounced dead at a hospital, authorities said.
Authorities believe he committed suicide, but a coroner will make a determination, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding said.
The end of the manhunt left authorities trying to piece together what happened during the 11 days after Vicky White escorted Casey White from the Florence, Alabama jail for what she falsely claimed was a health screening. mental.
The inmate and long-divorced Vicky White appeared to have had a “prison affair,” Alabama authorities said last week. They weren’t related.
As for her role in the escape, the sheriff said: “He wasn’t forcing her. It was a mutual relationship.”
At the time of the escape, Casey White was serving a 75-year prison sentence for attempted murder and other crimes and was awaiting trial on charges of stabbing a woman during a robbery in 2015. If convicted, he could receive the death penalty.
Investigators believe the couple spent about six days holed up in a motel in Evansville. Authorities discovered wigs intended to hide their identities. Wedding said investigators don’t believe the two had relatives or other contacts in the city of 120,000.
“They thought they had driven far enough. They wanted to stop for a while, get their bearings, and then figure out the next place to travel,” the sheriff said.
They were approached by authorities after a car wash manager reported that a 6-foot-9, 260-pound man who closely resembled Casey White had been caught on surveillance camera getting out of a pickup truck.
Investigators said they located the truck and later learned the couple may have switched to a Cadillac, which was later seen outside a nearby motel. When the couple left the motel, police gave chase, authorities said.
Casey White told investigators after his capture that “he was probably going to have a firefight where they would both lose their lives,” the sheriff said.
The inmate appeared by video Tuesday in an Indiana court, where he waived extradition, and authorities said they will send him back to Alabama.
An attorney representing White in the murder case, Jamy Poss, declined to comment.
Vicky White, deputy director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Jail, had retired before the breakout, and the day of the breakout, April 29, was her last day on the job.
A woman who worked with her for 16 years could barely speak through tears on Tuesday.
“I know she messed up and made a terrible mistake, but she’s still your friend,” said Sherry Sylvester, a longtime jail employee.
She said White often tried to help prisoners, particularly those without families. But Sylvester said she never saw White do anything that crossed the line: “She did everything by the book.”
Connie Moore, Casey White’s mother, said the last time she spoke to him on the phone was the day before the escape. She said her son may not have known what was about to happen.
“Everything was as normal as it could be. I doubt he knew she was leaving when she came looking for him,” Moore said.
An order was issued on May 2 by Vicky White accusing her of allowing or facilitating the escape. Officials said the plan appeared to have been in the works for some time. She sold her house for about half its market value and bought an SUV that she hid in a strip mall with no license plates.
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Reeves reported from Florence, Alabama. Associated Press writer Rick Callahan contributed from Indianapolis.
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