New videos show the lengths Alabama prison guard Vicky White went to in order to abscond with an extremely violent murder inmate who officials say she’d previously lavished with extra food.
White, 56, the assistant director of corrections in Lauderdale County, vanished last Friday with 38-year-old Casey White (no relation), an inmate awaiting trial for stabbing 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway to death in 2015. The six-foot-nine White had already been sentenced in 2019 to 75 years for a crime spree that included attempting to gun down his ex-girlfriend, stealing an SUV, shooting and killing a dog, and taking three hostages.
Vicky White had filed for retirement on Thursday after what Sheriff Rick Singleton described as an unblemished and decorated career, but investigators have since found out that she secretly had a “special” relationship with Casey.
“We got information from some of the inmates over the weekend, that they had a relationship,” Singleton told WAAY 31. “What they were talking about was he had extra food on his trays. He was getting special privileges. She was doing special things for him that other inmates didn’t get. That he was getting treated special.”
The pair, who may have first met in early 2020 when Casey White was brought to Lauderdale County for an arraignment, did not have any physical contact but their relationship extended after Vicky’s work hours, he said.
New videos released Tuesday show Vicky escorting a shackled Casey White into the back of her patrol car on Friday morning after telling colleagues she was taking him to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation before going to the doctor because she felt unwell. Casey White was supposed to be supervised by two deputies but Vicky told her subordinate that other officers had left for court, and she was the only one left with a firearm, Singleton said.
The pair then drove to a shopping center about 10 minutes away, ditched the patrol car, and jumped into a copper-colored 2007 Ford Edge SUV. A tipster provided information about the SUV but, according to Singleton, the information was prematurely released by the U.S. Marshals before investigators could try to track it down so the couple have possibly ditched that car by now, too.
Another short clip released Wednesday shows the pair driving down Huntsville Road on their way to the Florence Square shopping center, where they abandoned the patrol car.
Vicky was a frugal saver and was flush with cash after selling her home recently, the mother of her late ex-husband told The Daily Beast on Tuesday. While Francis White has no idea where her ex-daughter-in-law may have fled, she said Vicky had previously expressed a desire to head to Florida.
“Maybe he’s got her brainwashed,” she said.
Meanwhile, the ex-girlfriend terrorized by Casey White in his 2015 crime spree said she’s terrified he will track her down while on the lam.
“We are freaking out,” she told WAAY 31, without being identified. “We don’t know if he is going to show up and take us out like he tried to do before.”
Casey White is considered armed and dangerous as he would now have access to Vicky’s firearm.
A $15,000 reward has been offered for anyone with information leading to the pair’s capture, and a warrant has been issued for Vicky White for aiding an escape. While her colleagues initially hoped that she may have been coerced into the extraordinary escape, they now believe she was a willing participant.
“Personally I think she’s already regretting what she’s done,” Singleton said. “The sooner she brings this to an end the better for her.”