Alabama Correctional Officer Vicki White and fugitive murder suspect Casey Cole White were arrested in Indiana on Monday after more than a week of persecution, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said. Vicky White, who was hospitalized after the couple was detained, died later Monday night, the Conder of Vanderburg County said in a statement to the CBS branch of WEVV.
Coroner Steve Locker said in a statement that White died at 7:06 p.m. local time, adding that the autopsy was scheduled for 5 p.m. Tuesday.
Authorities have not made public the cause of death, but a source in the U.S. marshals’ office told CBS News that authorities believe Vicki White received a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
At a news conference earlier Monday, Singleton said Casey White surrendered without incident and Vicki White was hospitalized after their car crashed. He did not give further details about her injuries.
The seizure came after a citizen’s signal took authorities to Evansville, Indiana, more than 200 miles from where they originally went missing, Singleton said. Two law enforcement sources told CBS News senior investigator Pat Milton that investigators had “developed information” that they were potentially driving an older Cadillac model near a car wash where a Ford F-150 had been abandoned. A Ford F-150 was reportedly stolen from Tennessee, where authorities found the vehicle, which is known to have been driving, sources said.
The U.S. Marshal’s Office found a Cadillac in a hotel and established surveillance, sources said. They then spotted the couple leaving the hotel and boarding the vehicle, with Casey White driving and Vicki White in the passenger seat. A chase ensued when they refused to stop, which ended when the car overturned in a ditch.
A law enforcement source told CBS News that while investigators detained Casey White, he said, “She shot herself. I didn’t.”
Casey Cole White and Vicki White Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office
Prior to Vicki White’s death, Singleton said the couple would be extradited to Alabama, with Casey White being quickly convicted in Lauderdale County before being transferred to the Corrections Department.
“We took a very dangerous man off the streets today,” Singleton said. “And he will never see the light of day again.”
The news comes more than a week after the couple disappeared on April 29. Vicky White told her colleagues that morning that she was taking Casey White to court for a mental health assessment, authorities said. But her patrol car was found in the parking lot hours later – and by 3:30 p.m., officers learned she and Casey White were missing.
Authorities later said there was no planned mental health assessment, adding that Vicki White – who was due to retire at the end of the day – appeared to have taken her patrol vehicle to the car park, where it was later found immediately. after leaving the court with Casey White.
Singleton said the couple had a “special relationship” and had been in contact by phone months before Casey White’s escape. Singleton said there was currently no evidence that the relationship was physical or sexual.
He also said that the incident with his escape showed that it is difficult to understand who you can trust.
“You know, I had full confidence in Vicki White. She was an exemplary servant,” he said before her death. ”
Vicki White was initially charged with allowing or facilitating a first-degree escape, and on Monday was also charged with second-degree forgery and identity theft for allegedly using a pseudonym to obtain a vehicle used in the escape – a Ford Edge that was located “in the middle of nowhere” in Tennessee and was towed by local authorities around 2pm on the day the couple first fled.
Before being apprehended Monday, the U.S. Marshals Service said investigators were traveling to Evansville, Indiana, after receiving a tip-off.
The marshals’ office said it had been said that a 2006 Ford F-150, a car believed to have used the pair, had been found in a car wash in Evansville. Surveillance footage shows a man standing near the car wearing a hat, sunglasses, a pink shirt and brown pants – although the Marshals Service has not definitively identified the man as Casey White.
Screenshot of surveillance footage taken in the car wash. US Marshals Service
Casey White was initially jailed on charges of killing Connie Ridgeway in 2015. Singleton said Monday that when White is eventually returned to Lauderdale County for trial, he will ensure he is alone in a cage. with increased level of protection.
“He will be handcuffed and handcuffed while in this cell,” Singleton said. “And if he wants to sue me for violating his civil rights, so be it. He will not be released from this prison again, I assure you.”
Matthew Mosk contributed to the report. This story has been updated with further details by law enforcement.
Victoria Albert
Victoria Albert is a senior news editor at CBS News. Contact her at victoria.albert@viacomcbs.com
Add Comment