Casey White, the inmate who is believed to have escaped from an Alabama prison, allegedly had a relationship with a missing corrections officer, Vicky White, NBC News reported Thursday.
Rick Singleton, sheriff of the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, said the pair allegedly had a relationship that was at least two years old, NBC News reported. The pair was reportedly in contact via phone, according to the outlet. Despite sharing the same last name, the pair is not related.
Casey White, who allegedly murdered Connie Ridgeway in 2015, was indicted by a grand jury in connection with the case in 2020, also according to NBC News. In addition, the suspect was arraigned in 2020 and he supposedly stayed in touch with the corrections officer while in state prison, the sheriff said. He was charged on two counts of capital murder for his alleged role in Ridgeway’s death, the outlet reported.
White was previously serving a 75-year sentence for a crime he supposedly committed in 2015 when he was charged with Ridgeway’s death, according to CBS News.
White allegedly escaped from prison on April 29, CBS News reported. Corrections officer Vicky White claimed she was taking the inmate to a mental health evaluation at the courthouse and then going to a personal doctor’s appointment before authorities found her patrol car in a parking lot and learned the inmate had not been returned to custody. The corrections officer was set to retire at the end of the day, the outlet indicated. (RELATED: Alleged Murderer Heads To Courthouse With Correctional Officer. Convict Escapes, Officer Goes Missing)
Singelton said that no courthouse evaluation had been scheduled for the inmate. In addition, the corrections officer’s patrol car was captured on surveillance footage after she’d left the prison, according to the outlet.
A warrant for the corrections officer’s arrest has been issued, according to a tweet from the U.S. Marshals. The group previously shared on Twitter that they were issuing a $10,000 reward for any information leading to the inmate’s capture.
A warrant has been issued for Vicky White, 56, charging her with permitting or facilitating escape in the first degree in connection with capital murder suspect Casey White’s escape from jail: https://t.co/9Lx6DHM6PC pic.twitter.com/hULhU1g1QR
— U.S. Marshals (@USMarshalsHQ) May 3, 2022
The pair is believed to be traveling with firearms in an orange-colored 2007 Ford Edge, CBS News reported.