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Escaped Inmate And Corrections Officer Had ‘Special Relationship’ Starting In 2020, Sheriff Says
Alabama authorities believe a romantic relationship between Casey White and corrections officer Vicky White began as early as 2020, when Casey White was brought to the jail from prison for an arraignment.
An escaped inmate and corrections officer who allegedly helped him flee had a “special relationship,” with physical contact beginning as early as 2020, according to an Alabama sheriff.
Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton confirmed to CNN that investigators believe Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Detention Facility, and Casey White—a man awaiting trial for murder—had a romantic relationship that he classified as a “special” before they disappeared together Friday.
Authorities believe the relationship began as early as 2020 when Casey White, 38, was brought from a state prison, where he’s already serving a 75-year sentence for a string of crimes including kidnapping, attempted murder and robbery, to the county facility for an arraignment in a murder case against him.
“As far as we know that was the earliest physical contact they had,” Singleton told the news outlet, adding that inmates at the detention center told authorities that Casey White was getting “extra food on his trays” and “privileges no one else got” courtesy of the corrections officer.
Although the pair share a last name, they are not related to one another.
Vicky White, 56, is now being charged with facilitating or permitting escape in the first degree after authorities concluded that the corrections officer, who had been scheduled to retire on Friday, had “participated” in the brazen escape, according to a press conference Monday
Around 9:30 a.m., Vicky White allegedly told a booking officer that she was planning to transport Casey White to court for a mental health evaluation and then was going to seek medical care after dropping him off because she wasn’t feeling well, WVTM-TV reports.
Although the department’s policy required that at least two deputies accompany inmates at all times, Singleton believes the booking officer didn’t question Vicky White because she was the officer’s boss.
Footage released by the detention center showed Vicky White escorting the inmate to her patrol car Friday morning and placing him in the back seat and then getting into the driver seat and driving away.
But rather than head to the courthouse, Singleton told CNN that the two drove to a shopping center less than 10 miles away where Vicky White had stashed a gold- or copper-colored 2007 Ford Edge SUV she'd previously purchased to aid in the getaway.
"We know that there was never any effort to go to the courthouse,” he said. “They went straight to Florence Square parking lot, dumped the patrol car, got in the other vehicle and left.”
The pair’s current whereabouts are unknown.
Before Friday’s escape, Vicky White had been known at the detention center as a “model employee” with an unblemished record during her lengthy career with the department.
“All of her co-workers are devastated,” Singleton told CNN Monday, adding that staff “absolutely” felt betrayed by her alleged actions.
The correction officer’s family, including her mother, Pat Davis, is also stunned. Davis told WAAY-TV there had been nothing unusual about her final conversation with her daughter on Friday.
“I talked to her that morning,” Davis said. “She called, asking me about the dog, because he had been sick.”
Vicky had been staying at her mother’s home for the last five weeks after selling her own home.
Davis said she texted her daughter later that day to say she planned to cook dinner that night but never heard from her again.
“This is just not her,” she said. “This is like a total day and night.”
Vicky White’s mother-in-law Frances White also told The Daily Beast she wondered if her daughter-in-law “may have been brainwashed.”
According to Frances, Vicky’s husband Thomas White died in January from complications related to Parkinson’s disease.
“I’m just proud he wasn’t still alive, cause he still thought she was a good person,” she said, adding that she “can’t imagine” her daughter-in-law running off with a convicted criminal.
At the time of his disappearance, Casey White was awaiting trial in the 2015 death of 58-year-old Connie Ridgeway and was already serving a 75-year sentence for a crime spree that same year that included trying to kill his ex-girlfriend.
"He stated that he wanted to kill her and have the police kill him," a police report obtained by Fox News stated of his intentions toward his ex. "His only regret was that neither was successful. He stated that if he was released he would kill the victim."
The woman told WAAY-TV she’s now “freaking out” after learning of his escape.
“We don’t know if he is going to show up and take us out like he tried to do before,” she said.
The woman added that she believed she “would never have to worry about him ever again” after his conviction, but is now once again fearing for her life.
She described her ex as a someone who is “very dangerous to everybody that is around him” and issued a warning to Vicky White.
"If she is still alive, (she needs to) get the hell out. Run. Run as far as you can, and turn yourself in, and contact somebody. Like, do the right thing before you lose your life or somebody else does,” she said.
Anybody with information about Casey White or Vicky White’s whereabouts is urged to contact authorities.
