(CNN Spanish) — The case has been in the news since it began in late April. It was Casey White, an inmate from Alabama, United States, who had escaped from prison. Until then, it seemed like just another escape story; however, the case had an extra element: the prisoner escaped along with Vicky White, a Lauderdale County jailer who directly assisted him in the escape.
The resolution of the case came this Monday, May 9, when the police reported that they had Casey and Vicky White in custody following a car chase in Evansville, Indiana, with the authorities, who located the fugitives thanks to a clue that came from the public on Sunday.
Vicky White had to be hospitalized for self-inflicted gunshot wounds following she was taken into custody following the chase, the US Marshals Service told CNN Monday. Her injuries were “very serious,” said Dave Wedding, sheriff of the Vanderburgh county. Finally, the jailer died.
Wedding gave more details of the case on Tuesday morning. She said that Vicky was on the phone with operators at the time of the chase, and she indicated that she had a gun to her head. But by the time authorities took them into custody, the gun had gone off, the sheriff added.
Here we tell you the chronology of the case.
April 29
On Friday morning, April 29, authorities in Lauderdale County, Alabama began searching for Vicky and Casey White, who disappeared on their way to court around 9:30 a.m.
Vicky White, deputy director of corrections for Lauderdale County, escorted the inmate from jail, apparently to the Lauderdale county courthouse. Casey White was handcuffed and shackled when he boarded the jailer’s patrol car.
Vicki White coordinated all transportation from the detention center to the courthouse. However, she broke her protocol, since Casey, arrested on murder charges, was only accompanied by her and not by two sworn agents who had to be with him at all times.
Casey White was reportedly being transferred for a mental health evaluation in court, but authorities learned that no evaluation or other court hearing was scheduled for him that Friday.
May 2
On Monday, May 2, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said Vicky White was wanted on charges of allowing or facilitating a first degree escape.
This surprised Vicky’s relatives and colleagues: they were trying to understand how someone regarding to retire and with “an impeccable record” was the subject of an arrest warrant and was accused of helping a man detained on charges escape from prison. of murder
May 4th
On Wednesday, May 4, more information regarding the case was released. Singleton said that Casey White received extra food and special privileges that other inmates did not have.
Therefore, authorities believed that the jailer and the prisoner had a romantic relationship, which extended into non-working hours when Vicky White visited him several times in her spare time, according to Singleton.
In addition to this, Vicky White made big financial moves in the weeks leading up to the breakout. She had announced plans to retire from her position and sold her house for well below market value.
The house sold on April 18 for $95,550, documents show. But Lauderdale County’s online records put the property’s total value at $204,700.
Despite her retirement plans, the paperwork process was not completed and Vicky White was no longer on the county sheriff’s office workforce, authorities said Wednesday.
Also, Singleton told CNN Wednesday that Vicky White bought a 2007 Ford Edge SUV in Rogersville, regarding 22 miles east of Lauderdale County. The night before she disappeared with Casey White, the jailer parked the car in the parking lot of the shopping center where the couple would go the next day following the escape.
Also on that day, Singleton asked Vicky White to turn herself in: “Vicky, you’ve been in this business for 17 years, you’ve seen this scenario more than once, and you know how it always ends. End this now. Pick up a phone, call Call 911, turn yourself in and help us get Casey White back in jail because you know that’s where he’ll eventually end up,” Singleton said on ABC’s Good Morning America.
May 6th
On Friday, May 6, authorities announced a key discovery: They located the car they believed the couple was traveling in.
The car had been sitting in a Tennessee tow lot for regarding a week following local officials found it abandoned in the woods and without any identifying information last Friday, the same day the pair went missing, and towed it away.
US Marshals released photos Monday followingnoon of what they believe to be fugitive Casey White, caught on surveillance at an Indiana car wash.
This meant the two drove approximately two hours north to Williamson County, Tennessee, following the escape, Singleton said.
Authorities believed the vehicle may have had mechanical problems that caused it to stop abruptly in the area. But Singleton said investigators still don’t know if the couple stole another vehicle or if someone else gave them a ride and where they went, once more leaving them at a dead end.
“We’re kind of back to square one,” added the Lauderdale County Sheriff. “After Friday followingnoon, when they abandoned that car, which way they went from there, we don’t know.”
May 9
On the followingnoon of Monday, May 9, authorities filed new charges once morest Vicky White in connection with Casey White’s escape, the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Department announced.
The new charges stem from her allegedly using an alias to purchase the getaway vehicle, the 2007 Ford Edge, authorities said. The court order shows that Vicky White is facing charges of forgery and identity theft.
That same day, the US Marshals Service released images of the man they believed to be inmate Casey White. He was caught on surveillance camera at a car wash in Evansville, Indiana, where the search has moved on.
It was in this state that the couple was finally located and a car chase began. When they were arrested, Vicky White had allegedly self-inflicted gunshot wounds. The jailer was hospitalized, but she passed away from her injuries.
May 10
Wedding, the Vanderburgh County Sheriff, said Tuesday, May 10, that Casey White spoke openly with investigators.
“Last night he was pretty open with investigators. They had a pretty long interview,” Wedding said. The sheriff did not share details of the interview.
Likewise, Wedding pointed out that, according to the “initial investigation”, the authorities “believe that (Vicky) may have taken her life, but we will wait for the coroner’s office to examine the body to make a confirmation.”
With reporting from CNN’s Jamiel Lynch, Mallika Kallingal, Kelly McCleary, Chuck Johnston, Elizabeth Wolfe, Jaide Timm-Garcia, Amara Walker, Christina Maxouris, Theresa Waldrop and Miguel Marquez.
