LAUDERDALE COUNTY, Ala. — A grand jury has indicted Casey White on a murder charge in the death of Alabama corrections officer Vicky White during his escape from Lauderdale County Jail earlier this year, authorities said Tuesday.
The indictment charges Casey White with felony murder for allegedly causing Vicky White’s death while also committing first-degree escape, Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said in a news release obtained by WAFF. Under Alabama law, a person can face a felony murder charge if they’re suspected of causing another person’s death while committing any of several other felonies, including first-degree escape.
The Whites, who are not related, vanished in late April. Authorities believe that Vicky White, who served as assistant director of corrections in Lauderdale County, helped Casey White to escape. He had been awaiting trial on a murder charge in the 2015 death of Connie Ridgeway.
Officials have said the pair were involved in a jailhouse romance and that they appeared to have spent weeks preparing for the breakout, according to The Associated Press. Their disappearances sparked a nationwide manhunt that ended 11 days later, on May 9, after officials in Vanderburgh County, Indiana, spotted the Whites and initiated a chase.
Authorities said Vicky White shot and killed herself. Casey White was taken into custody and later transferred back to Alabama.
Casey White is serving a 75-year sentence for previous convictions on charges including home invasion and carjacking, according to officials. Connolly said Tuesday that he was served with a warrant for his arrest in connection with Vicky White’s death at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer.
Casey White is set to go on trial for the death of Ridgeway in December, AL.com reported.
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