Jail escapee Casey White faces murder charge in connection with death of Vicky White
Casey White has been charged with murder in connection with the death of Vicky White, a corrections officer who authorities said helped the murder suspect escape from an Alabama jail in April, prosecutors announced Tuesday.
The high-profile escape ended on May 9 after an 11-day, multistate manhunt, with authorities apprehending the two in Indiana. Vicky White, 56, died later that day from an apparent self-inflicted gunshot wound, with an autopsy confirming the manner of death as suicide, officials said.
A grand jury has now indicted Casey White, 38, on felony murder for allegedly causing her death, Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said Tuesday.
The indictment, which was handed down in June, "alleges that during the course of and in furtherance of committing Escape in the First Degree, White caused the death of Vicky White, who died from a gunshot to the head," the district attorney's office said in a statement.
Casey White was served an arrest warrant on Monday at the Donaldson Correctional Facility in Jefferson County, Alabama, the Lauderdale County District Attorney's Office said.
No further information on the indictment is being released at this time, the district attorney's office said.
The code cited in the felony murder indictment states that, among other actions, someone can commit murder while committing or attempting to commit escape in the first degree when, "in the course of and in furtherance of the crime that he or she is committing or attempting to commit, or in immediate flight therefrom, he or she ... causes the death of any person."
Attorneys for Casey White said he plans to enter a plea of not guilty at his arraignment. They said they also plan to file a motion to obtain a copy of Vicky White's autopsy from the state.
"After receiving the results of the autopsy, the defense team will file additional motions stating the relief sought," his attorneys -- who include Marcus Helstowski, Mark McDaniel, Robert Tuten, Nick Lough and Nick Heatherly -- said in a statement.
Casey White had been in the Lauderdale County Jail awaiting trial for capital murder when he and Vicky White, a corrections officer at the jail, fled in her patrol car on April 29, authorities said.
Authorities said they believe Vicky White willingly participated in the escape, which took place on her last day before retirement.
The two, who are unrelated, eventually were spotted at an Evansville, Indiana, hotel on May 9. They led police on a car chase for several minutes in a Cadillac they purchased in Evansville before crashing in a ditch, authorities said.
Vicky White was hospitalized for injuries from the gunshot wound and died later that day.
"When we were taking Casey White into custody, upon his surrender he said, 'Help my wife, she just shot herself,'" Commander Deputy U.S. Marshal Chad Hunt told ABC News' "Good Morning America" in May, adding that there's no evidence to show the two were married.
Casey White was charged with escape in the first degree following his capture.
He also faces a capital murder charge for allegedly stabbing a woman to death in 2015 and is currently serving a 75-year sentence at Donaldson Correctional Facility for a 2015 crime spree involving a home invasion, carjacking and a police chase.
