Inside the manhunt for a detainee and his alleged prison guard lover
When a suspected murderer escaped from an Alabama jail last year, investigators and the country were on edge not only because of the danger he posed, but how he was able to escape.
On April 29, 2022, Casey White, who was serving time for a violent crime spree that included attempted murder and robbery and was also awaiting a capital murder trial, escaped the facility with the assistance of Vicky White, no relation, a longtime corrections officer at the facility.
"I can't believe she willingly went along with anything," Candy Allen, a friend and co-worker of Vicky White, told "20/20."
But there was more to the story behind the escape, according to investigators.
Detectives and others later found that Vicky White had allegedly fallen in love with the inmate, and gave him special treatment at the jail. She ultimately helped concoct the plot for Casey White to escape which ended 11 days later with his capture and she died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
MORE: Timeline: How a murder suspect escaped an Alabama jail
This "20/20" airing Friday, Oct. 6 at 9 p.m. ET and streaming on Hulu the next day, takes a look at the 11-day manhunt and subsequent investigation, with interviews with key figures, including one of Casey White's former inmates, prison officials, and investigators.
The episode, with reporting by co-anchor Deborah Roberts, will also go inside the jail cell where Casey White was held and reveal key surveillance footage of him and Vicky in the weeks leading up to the escape.
Casey White, now 40, had a lengthy rap sheet of violent crimes. While he was housed at the Lauderdale County jail, he was serving a 75-year sentence for a 2015 crime spree that included a home invasion, two car-jackings, and multiple shootings. He had also been convicted on multiple charges in 2019, including attempted murder and first-degree robbery.
In June 2020, prosecutors said they received a letter from Casey White, confessing to a murder-for-hire of a 59-year-old woman named Connie Jane Ridgeway. Ridgeway's body was found in October 2015, but the case had gone cold for nearly five years. After receiving the confession, prosecutors charged White with capital murder.
He later recanted his confession and pleaded not guilty to the charge.
"When he had that crime spree…he didn't care about anybody else but himself," Chris Connolly the Lauderdale County, Alabama district attorney, told "20/20." "'I think he's a dangerous guy…That's why, when he escaped, we were so worried about Vicky. We were worried that he would kill her."
Vicky White worked at the jail for over 25 years and was well respected by her colleagues and other members of local law enforcement, according to those who knew her.
"Every person that we came in contact with had a similar message about Vicky," Deputy Commander Ross Manley of the U.S. Marshal, Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, told "20/20." "She was a hard worker, had an impeccable service record. She was well-liked."
Sgt. Matt Burbank, of the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office, who knew Vicky White said that she was never intimidated by any inmate.
Surveillance footage, recorded phone conversations, and other evidence that came to light during the manhunt, however, showed Vicky White had a secret correspondence and relationship with Casey White.
The pair were recorded having intimate conversations on the phone, sometimes with a burner number that Vicky White had used, according to Burbank.
"In total, there were approximately 1,100 phone calls between the two of them that we've discovered," he said.
MORE: Corrections officer dead after being caught with missing inmate in Indiana
Burbank said that Vicky White, 56, who was divorced for a long time before the incident, was able to get personal one-on-one time with Casey White and suspects they were likely engaging in clandestine romantic relations.
"Vicky was the supervisor of the jail. Vicky, she managed manpower. She was able to pull guards away. And she had the authority to make that happen," he said.
On April 29, 2022, jail surveillance video captured the moment when Vicky White walked out of the jail with Casey White.
Vicky White told her supervisors that she was taking Casey White for an inmate "mental health evaluation." But that appointment did not exist.
David Terry, the current director of corrections at the Lauderdale County Detention Center who was not in office during the escape, told "20/20" that since he has taken over at the jail, policies have been enacted to prevent anyone from so casually leaving with an inmate.
Casey White didn't show up at court and soon local, state, and federal investigators were called in to look for the pair.
The marked corrections patrol vehicle that the two were last seen in was found that day in a parking lot in town.
Investigators quickly looked to see if Vicky White was a hostage or had been coerced into helping the inmate. However, all of the evidence began to point to the likelihood that she was a willing accomplice.
Deputy Commander Ross Manley, of the U.S. Marshal, Gulf Coast Regional Fugitive Task Force, told ABC News that Vicky White had made a lot of major purchases, including camping gear and a shotgun and rifle, before she and the inmate fled.
"It became apparent that there was some type of prepping for this. The items that were purchased would indicate that there may be some type of stay in the woods or camping or some remote living arrangements being made," he said.
It was at this point that investigators discovered the fugitives were having a relationship.
Vicky White also purchased an orange Ford car as a getaway vehicle, officials said. The car was discovered seven days after the escape in a tow yard.
As the investigation continued, law enforcement discovered the pair purchased a truck and later tracked that truck to Evansville, Indiana.
Surveillance footage from the location near where the truck was found showed Casey White getting into another car, a Cadillac sedan, and driving off.
On May 9, law enforcement officers tracked the fugitives to a motel in Evansville and began to stake out the location. Casey White and Vicky White drove out of the motel in the Cadillac and law enforcement followed in tow.
A law enforcement vehicle attempted to make a traffic stop, but Casey White instead sped off. The law enforcement vehicle caught up and rammed the Cadillac causing it to crash into a ditch.
"My first priority was to exit my vehicle, [and] give them both verbal commands to come out of the vehicle. That's when she discharged a firearm," Bryan Bishop, a retired U.S. Marshal with the Great Lakes Regional Fugitive Task Force, said.
Vicky White shot herself. She was hospitalized for her injuries from the gunshot wound and later died.
Casey White surrendered and asked officers to help "his wife." Inside the vehicle law enforcement officers claimed there were weapons, journals, and letters by Casey White in which he indicated he wanted to go out in a confrontation with police.
But according to one officer, Casey White's attachment to Vicky White may not have been as strong as once thought.
Casey made it clear during the interrogation that Vicky "had no future with him," one officer alleged.
MORE: Jail escapee Casey White faces murder charge in connection with death of Vicky White
"He had a certain destination that he was going to get to in the mountains," Jason Ashworth, a now-retired major with the Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office who conducted the first interrogation with Casey White after his arrest, told "20/20." "And it was clear by him that once they got to the mountains and felt like they made it, that he was going to kill her and get rid of her because she was a liability."
Casey White’s lawyers denied he had a plan to kill Vicky White.
"I think Casey White was in love and is in love," Casey White's defense attorney Nick Lough told "20/20."
Casey White was charged with escape in the first degree and felony murder in connection with Vicky White's death.
He pleaded not guilty to both charges, but on May 5, 2023, he pleaded guilty to the escape charge in exchange for dropping the murder charge.
MORE: Casey White pleads guilty to jail escape with corrections officer Vicky White
In July, prosecutors decided to suspend the capital murder charge for the murder of Connie Ridgeway. Prosecutors say since Casey White is serving what amounts to a life sentence for the escape conviction, there is no need to pursue the capital murder charge.
Marcus Helstowski, one of Casey White's attorneys, told "20/20" that his client loved Vicky White and it was never his intention to kill her or for her to die.
"It breaks his heart to this day that Vicky is not walking around," Helstowski said.
In June, Casey White was sentenced to life in prison and will not be eligible for parole until 2081, when he will be 98 years old, according to the DA's office
Vicky White's friends and family said they are still trying to come to terms with what happened.
"The ending was not what any of us would have written for her, but we all chose to remember our Vicky," Allen said.
Vicky White's friend and co-worker Tonya Lester told "20/20", ''I loved her. I loved her dearly. She did wrong. But I loved her dearly."