Accused murder inmate Casey White, left, and prison employee Vicky White.AP
A prison break has kept American cable television viewers in suspense for the past two weeks.
Love, adrenaline, threats, speed, a jail, an escape, chases and death.
It had all the makings of a movie getaway, but it was real.
And, as is often the case, it has ended badly for the escapees: an inmate suspected of murder and the prison officer who tricked him out.
She ´she she has died after shooting herself and crashing into a car in Indiana as they were about to be caught by police.
He has given himself up.
Casey White, 38, and Vicky White, 56, who were not related despite sharing a last name, disappeared from the Lauderdale County Jail in Florence, Alabama, on April 29.
The official took the prisoner out of jail saying that she was going to accompany him to court for an examination to assess his mental health.
The alarms took six hours to go off, when it was found that they did not return.
Then the search began.
Casey White already had a 75-year prison sentence for trying to kill her then-girlfriend in 2015, for killing her dog and for holding her roommates.
In addition, in 2020 she was accused of the knife murder of another woman.
White admitted to doing so, but pleaded not guilty, citing mental illness.
He was awaiting trial when he absconded.
Video capture in which prisoner Casey White is seen following prison officer Vicky White on her way out of prison. HANDOUT (AFP)
At first, there were questions about whether the prisoner had threatened, coerced or even kidnapped his jailer.
Authorities offered a $10,000 reward to anyone who helped capture him.
“Casey White is believed to be a serious threat to the corrections officer and the public,” Marshalls member Marty Keely said.
A "special" relationship
But the images from the security cameras did not leave much room for doubt: she made it easy for him to get out.
In addition, subsequent investigations certified that there was a "special" relationship between them, as defined by the police after interviewing inmates.
It started two years earlier, when he first passed through the prison where she worked.
Although a good part of that time they did not coincide in the same prison, they kept the relationship at a distance.
It became clear that the court's excuse was a lie.
They had eloped together.
Another ingredient was added to the film: “Investigators have learned that during the pre-sentence investigation, in 2015, he made threats against his ex-girlfriend and her sister, warning that if he ever got out [of jail], he would kill them and that he wanted the police to kill him, ”the authorities said in a new statement, who contacted the possible targets to notify them of the threats and the escape and provide them with protection.
The prison officer had previously purchased an orange Ford for her getaway.
A garish car that attracted attention.
The police released images of it last Wednesday and on Friday it appeared abandoned.
It had some paint cans inside, as if they had considered painting it another color to continue their escape.
The fence tightened thanks to witnesses and surveillance devices.
Casey was recorded by security cameras at a car wash.
The car that escapees Casey White and Vicky White crashed in at the end of their escape.
She died after being hospitalized. DENNY SIMMONS / COURIER & PRESS (AP)
This Monday the couple was seen and chased by the police in another car in the state of Indiana, more than 300 kilometers from the prison.
In the middle of the chase, the couple's car overturned and crashed.
The prison officer, who was facing charges of forgery, identity theft and aid to escape, was injured in the accident and, according to police sources, shot herself in circumstances not yet fully clarified.
She was hospitalized and died within hours.
Casey White turned himself in after the accident.
At the press conference in which he announced his arrest, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton predicted his future: "He will never see the light of day again."
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