Jailer who fled with inmate kills self as police close in
An Alabama Corrections officer who ran away with an accused killer she helped to escape killed herself after they were cornered Monday following a week on the lam.
Vicky White, 56, and Casey White, 38 — who are not related — were caught in Evansville, Ind., after authorities rammed their vehicle.
Casey White surrendered, and Vicky White died of her self-inflicted wound at a local hospital, Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear said Monday night.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding had said earlier that she was in “pretty serious shape.”
An autopsy was expected Tuesday. “We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again. That is a good thing, for not just our community. That’s a good thing for our country,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton of Alabama said.
One witness described the scene as “crazy.”
“These cats came flying by me followed by every cop in Evansville!” Cory Bradley wrote on Facebook.
News of their apprehension comes shortly after the fugitive may have been seen at an Evansville, Ind., car wash, according to the U.S. marshals.
Vicky White was not shown in the photos.
The pair went on the run April 29 after Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections for the jail in Lauderdale
County, helped Casey White, who was awaiting trial in a capital murder case, break out. Casey White had been serving a 75-year prison sentence for attempted murder and other charges and was awaiting trial in the stabbing of a 58-year-old woman during a burglary in 2015. He potentially faces the death penalty.
Charges had also been filed against Vicky White. She would have faced accusations of forgery and identity theft for allegedly using an alias to purchase one of their getaway vehicles — a 2007 Ford Edge. She already stood accused of helping her runaway partner break out of jail.
Other inmates had reported the pair had bonded — and Vicky White
apparently had planned the escape for some time.
In the past several months, she bought a rifle and a shotgun and also was known to have a handgun, U.S. Marshal Marty Keely said. She is also believed to have had a large amount of money after she sold her house shortly before the escape.
“She had two false IDs that we’re aware of, and I wouldn’t be shocked if she had additional or new ones now,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told CNN.
Co-workers of the former correction officer were shocked at this hidden side of their widowed colleague, who they had seen as a stalwart, according to CNN.