Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said these are just some of the clues that support the belief that Alabama Corrections officer Vicky White and homicide convict Casey White had a romantic relationship before disappearing last week.
Vicky White, 56, and Casey White, 38, went missing on Friday morning after being told they would take the prisoner to court and seek medical help because he was unwell.
But the two never came to court. And Vicky White did not come to the medical facility.
The sheriff said Monday that Vicky White is now under active arrest warrant for allowing or facilitating first-degree escape. Authorities believe the officer and prisoner had a romantic relationship until Vicky White’s non-working hours, Singleton said.
Vicky White made big financial moves in a few weeks to escape. He announced his retirement as assistant director of amendments and sold his home for less than the market value.
The house sold for $ 95,550 on April 18, documents show, while online records in Lauderdale County list the total parcel value of the house at $ 204,700.
Details of a ‘special relationship’ are emerging, the sheriff says
Authorities say Vicky and Casey White’s relationship dates back to 2020, when Casey White, who was already in a state prison, was first brought to Lauderdale County for trial on a 2015 murder – related murder charge. Connie Ridgeway, 58.
“As far as we know, it was the earliest physical contact they had,” Singleton said.
Singleton said there was a “special relationship” between Casey White and Vicky White, which was confirmed by other inmates, who said Casey White was “getting extra food on his plates” and “getting privileges not available to anyone else.” It all came from her. “
The sheriff said the two continued to communicate after Casey White was transferred back to state prison, where he served 75 years in 2015 for a series of crimes. Casey White returned to the Lauderdale County Detention Center in February to attend court hearings in her capital. Murder case.
Two incumbent deputies at Lauderdale County Jail had a policy of going with inmates at all times – including when taking them to court. Singleton said the policy was strengthened after authorities discovered that Casey White had a makeshift knife in 2020 and was planning to escape and be held hostage.
But last Friday morning, Vicky White ordered Casey White to be ready for traffic and told the booking officer that he was going to take him to court because he was the only officer with a certified gun as the other officers had already gone to court. Alone, the sheriff said.
“Despite being the boss, she told the booking officer that she was going to take him to court and drop him off because he was on the move, which is a blatant violation of policy. But I firmly believe it was her boss. The booking officer did not question it,” Singleton said.
Sheriff Casey White described him as a “very dangerous person” and warned people not to approach him if they saw him and called the police instead.
Authorities believe Casey White was armed because Vicky White was armed. The U.S. Marshall Service on Tuesday warned that they may have AR-15 rifles and ammunition.
How escaped
Surveillance video released by the Detention Center on Tuesday shows Casey White handcuffed in an orange jumpsuit and taken to the back of Vicky White’s patrol car on Friday morning.
Singleton says he drove to a shopping center less than 10 minutes later, abandoned his patrol car, and boarded a 2007 Ford Edge SUV in gold or copper. Authorities said there was minor damage to the rear left bumper of the vehicle.
Vicky White bought the car in Rogersville, 25 miles east of Lauderdale County, and staged it in the parking lot the night before they went missing, Singleton said.
“We know there was no attempt to get to the courthouse. They went straight to the Florence Square parking lot, put the patrol car down and got out of the other vehicle,” Singleton said.
“The explanation is that we think they’re going to push that car at the first opportunity when the wind blows,” the sheriff said. “So we go back to the first level.”
Florence City Councilman Bill Griffin said he saw Vicky White and Casey White in the vehicle Friday during this escape.
While Griffin was filming a commercial for his council district, he saw Vicky White passing by with Casey White in the back seat. He recognized her, so shook her, Griffin said. They drove slowly, and she waved to him twice before continuing through a roundabout.
Griffin, who returned home that evening, said he learned from his wife that the two were missing.
‘I was very disappointed with her,’ says DA
Vicky White was scheduled to retire on the day of her disappearance after nearly two decades in the department – although her pension fund documents have not been processed, the sheriff said.
Now, the woman’s relatives and colleagues, who have been described as “a model employee” with a “non-model achievement”, have expressed disbelief about her disappearance and the details that will come out.
Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly spoke last day before Vicky White’s disappearance, and said he was “completely shocked” to learn of the situation. Connolly described the officer as “the most determined person in prison.”
“I was so disappointed in her,” he said. “She was trusted, and she took advantage of that trust.”
Vicky White’s mother, who sold her house and lived there for the past five weeks, said she did not mention her daughter, Casey White, and was shocked to find her missing with the alleged killer.
Davis lived next door to his daughter, and he told CNN on Wednesday that home sales below the market had not raised red flags.
“She’s coming home from work, having dinner at my house, and taking her dog,” she told CNN. “She walks her dog, and that’s her routine every day.”
They last spoke last Friday and discussed his dog, Davis said.
The Marshals’ Service rewards up to $ 10,000 for information leading to the whereabouts of a fugitive prisoner and up to $ 5,000 for a missing officer.
CNN’s Tina Burnside, Jade Gordon, Chuck Johnston, Eric Levenson, Jamiel Lynch, Jon Passantino, Jaide Timm-Garcia, Amara Walker and Ryan Young contributed to the report.
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