The nationwide hunt for a former prison officer and an inmate who fled together in Alabama tragically ended Monday with their capture in southern Indiana, but the case is far from being solved, authorities warned on Tuesday, given the many questions surrounding why the agent helped a murderer escape and how she ended up shot in the head.
Vicky White, 56, and Casey White, 38, who have the same last name but are not related or married before their escape, were captured when their getaway car crashed following a police chase in Evansville, south from Indiana.
Officers were able to pull the inmate out of the wrecked car, and he immediately exclaimed, “Please help my wife.
She shot herself in the head and I didn't do it."
Vicky White was found in the passenger seat with a gunshot wound, and she was pronounced dead hours later at a local hospital.
Initially believed to be a self-inflicted gunshot, authorities have said key test results are still awaited, including an autopsy scheduled for Tuesday.
"We're not ruling anything out until the coroner does a thorough investigation," Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding told TODAY.
from NBCNews.
They publish new videos where the officer who disappeared with an inmate in Alabama is seen
May 8, 202200:21
The death of the woman leaves unresolved questions about her decision to help a prisoner escape, who was to be tried for murder, on his last day of work, on April 29, with the excuse of taking him for a medical examination. .
The investigators began fearing that she had acted under threat, and her life was in danger, but then they evaluated a possible romantic or close relationship between the two, while more details of the case were revealed to the surprise of their family and friends.
Sheriff Rick Singleton, of Lauderdale County, Alabama, where the agent worked, said they expected to be able to question her after arresting her: "She has some answers to give us."
“What the hell triggered her, what drove her into a stunt like this, I don't know.
I don't know if we'll ever know," he said before the woman's death became known.
the key track
The couple disappeared on April 29 when the former agent removed White from jail to take him to court for a mental evaluation that was not scheduled for that day, also violating several rules of the inmate transfer protocol.
Authorities later discovered that they drove to a shopping center parking lot, abandoned the patrol car there and escaped in a vehicle that Vicky White had driven there the night before.
Thus began the national search, which included a $10,000 reward for data leading to the capture of both.
The last trace of the couple was over the weekend in Williamson County, Tennessee, where a car was found that the couple is believed to have used to flee after leaving the patrol car in Alabama.
But the key tip, among a hundred received, came Sunday night: Investigators were told the inmate had been seen driving a 2006 Ford F-150 at a car wash in Evansville, Indiana, about 175 miles away. miles north of Williamson.
[This prisoner said he would kill his ex-girlfriend if he escaped. Now he has fled and an officer with "a special relationship" was able to help him]
The business owner provided security camera footage to authorities, and the Marshals Service confirmed that it was indeed the prisoner.
Security camera video appears to show inmate Casey White, 38, who fled with a corrections officer, cleaning the Ford F-150 at a car wash in Evansville, Indiana.
Officers patrolling the area saw Vicky White leaving a hotel wearing a wig on Monday, Sheriff Matt Keely said.
She and the prisoner then got into a Cadillac and drove away.
Authorities continued to watch them until a car chase began that ended when a Marshals deputy collided with the Cadillac, causing it to flip.
an unexpected attitude
"Clearly this escape was well planned and calculated," Singleton said.
The former officer had been described as "an exemplary employee" with an "impeccable record" who commanded the trust and respect of her colleagues.
As the investigation unfolded, the sheriff admitted that her apparent behavior was not consistent with the person his colleagues thought they knew.
"Obviously, there was a side to Vicky White that we weren't aware of," she told CNN.
New Clues Indicate Missing Alabama Prisoner and Jailer Had Two-Year Romance
May 5, 202201:39
White is charged with two counts of murder in the stabbing death of a 58-year-old woman.
He confessed to the crime when he was already in prison serving another 75-year sentence for various crimes, including breaking and entering and carjacking.
Authorities later discovered that Casey White had a "special relationship" with Vicky White, who was deputy director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Jail.
Authorities said they had been in that relationship for at least two years and communicated by phone.
