Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - SHOCKING PLEA DEAL for Casey White After Jailhouse Lovers Hole up in Hotel With Take-Out, Sex Toys

Episode Date: June 3, 2023

Casey White, the Alabama inmate freed by corrections officer Vicky White, reached a plea deal in connection with his escape.  White pleaded guilty to first-degree escape in exchange for no prosecution for felony murder, meaning he will not be tried for his lover’s death. Jailer Vicky White commits suicide as cops close in on her and fellow fugitive Casey White.   Authorities tracked down the Alabama outlaws to a motel in Evansville, Indiana. The pair attempted to flee when they realized police had found them, which led to a chase. A released  911 call appears to contain the last words of Vicky White. As sirens screech in the background,  a woman’s voice says, "Airbags are going off! Let’s get out and run! We never should have left the hotel."  Dashcam video also reveals that when the vehicle rolled over, police could see that Vicky was holding a gun to her head. “She still has the gun in her hands,” one officer says in the video, “Finger’s on the trigger.”  Vicky White was hospitalized and died hours later. Casey White was extradited back to Alabama, where he has been charged with MURDER. He is already facing capital murder charges in connection with the death of Connie Ridgeway in 2015. Sentencing for his escape is June 8.  White is expected to receive a life sentence. Joining Nancy Grace Today: Sheriff Rick Singleton - Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office; Facebook: "Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office"   James Shelnutt - 27-year Atlanta Metro Area Major Case Detective and Former S.W.A.T. officer' Attorney: The Shelnutt Law Firm, P.C.; Twitter: @ShelnuttLawFirm  Caryn Stark - NYC Psychologist; Twitter: @carynpsych, Facebook: "Caryn Stark"   Brittany Harry - Reporter/Anchor, WAAY 31 (Huntsville, AL); Twitter: @BrittanyHarryTV, Facebook: "Brittany Harry News"   Xavier Wherry - Multimedia Journalist, WAAY-TV; Instagram: @XWherry, Twitter: @XavierWAAYTV  See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

This is an iHeart Podcast. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. Love behind prison bars turns deadly. I'm Nancy Grace. This is Crime Stories. Thank you for being with us here at Fox Nation and Sirius XM 111. The infamous Alabama inmate Casey White, who stages a bizarre and almost unbelievable breakout from jail with the help of his female lover and now dead jail boss, Vicki White. In the last hours, a stunning turn of events. During a routine courtroom hearing regarding the case of Casey White, the convicted felon unexpectedly goes to a mic

and apologizes to jail boss Vicki White's family, admitting in open court to the stunning escape that led to a wild, nearly two-week manhunt last spring. Then everything changes. In exchange for a guilty plea to first-degree escape, Casey White, 39 years old, gets the sweetheart deal of prosecutors dropping the murder charge he was facing in his lover, Vicki White's death. This very unplanned plea deal hastily arranged

when Casey White appeared at the courthouse Thursday for a routine status hearing. Now, after the defense went to prosecutors with a potential resolution, the DA's office went to Vicki White's family. Now, according to what we have learned, Vicki's family relieved that the entire ordeal is almost over and that it's all behind them. Or is it? What really happened? A female jail guard apparently helps a killer age 36 escape and both have seemingly vanished off the face of the earth.

First of all, take a listen to our friends at WVTM 13. Happening now in North Alabama, the search continues for an escaped inmate and missing sheriff's deputy. A blue alert was issued yesterday hours after deputy Vicki White failed to show up with Casey White who was not related to her. The Lauderdale County Sheriff says the inmate was never scheduled to be in court and says their disappearance is comes with plenty of unanswered

questions that she assist him in escaping. That's obviously a possibility. So we're looking into that as one angle of the investigation. Was she kidnapped in route to the she assist him in escaping, that's obviously a possibility. So we're looking into that as one angle of the investigation. Was she kidnapped en route to the courthouse and, you know, taken against her will? Well, the inmate, Casey White, is currently facing capital murder charges. He's considered to be armed and dangerous, as Deputy white was armed at the time so now we believe they are armed to the hilt she has her service weapon and what does he have how do we think this happened

to kwan lee now this situation is pretty remarkable we have a lady who recently just filed for retirement the day before this escape happened and just recently sold her house so the situation and as we start getting more details about it it really boggles my mind for one thing it's another thing to see how coordinated this attempt well this escape has been from top to bottom what do you mean by coordinated well i'm not i'm not necessarily saying she is aiding and abetting but when you look at too many circumstances that seem so TV-ish. I like that, TV-ish. You're right. Go ahead.

Now, imagine you're selling Netflix a TV series, a miniseries, a docuseries, if you will, where you have this correctional officer and you have this inmate that's accused with murder and they escape together. She recently sold her house she recently filed

for retirement netflix would eat this up they would actually tell you it's too cliche and too cheesy to actually put on their lineup but here we are today and you have this situation playing out in front of us right here around 10 o'clock they say they're getting rid of the head to a mental health evaluation session that we now know is bogus and now we have two people on the run for the past couple of days and now we've got all the big wigs involved trying to figure out where these two could have possibly gone it's absolutely ludicrous this guy's already murdered a woman at least once that we know of and now he's alone with a woman,

her life is in danger. I mean, there is no two ways about it, Sheriff. Oh, exactly. And, you know, talking about the way that this was orchestrated, of course, we now know that she obviously assisted him escape. The facts that we've been able to put together.

Director White was the Assistant Director of Operations at the detention center. Part of her responsibilities were to coordinate all transports, all inmate transport. Hold on, Sheriff. I don't think the rest of the world knows how difficult a task that is. I remember at the courthouse, Sheriff, I'd be pulling in at quarter of eight, and I'd see buses, fortified buses coming in from the Fulton County jail and all around if people have been extradited going under guard underneath the jailhouse where

then a giant gate would come down behind them so they couldn't get out. They'd go under the courthouse and then brought up to the courtrooms on special secured elevators. So transporting, you just said she was in charge of all that transport. That is no easy thing. So she had to be really responsible and really smart to do all that. Exactly. Just about a few minutes before she left the detention center with inmate Casey White, two vans of inmates had left the detention center. The first van had two deputies and seven inmates. About 10 minutes later, the second van left with two deputies and five inmates headed to the courthouse, which is about four blocks up the street.

Just minutes after that second van left director white instructed one of the corrections deputies to bring casey white up and prepare him for transport by that we mean that he was handcuffed leg shackles were put on him uh she then advised the booking officer that she was the only certified uh deputy firearm certified deputy uh available to carry him and that she was going to carry him up but to the courthouse turn him over to other deputies and from there she was going to get a medical checkup because she wasn't feeling well so when you say you said something else it's really critical double shackle he's got handcuffs and leg shackles.

The only other thing he could have done is put a chain around his waist and put the leg shackles and the handcuffs chained to the waist shackle. And that was in place. He did have the waist chain on. Gosh. She had to help him. You can't get out of a triple shackle like that unless you've got the key. I mean, maybe somebody could get out of handcuffs shackle like that, just like, unless you've got the key. I mean, maybe somebody could get out of handcuffs like they do in the movies.

That does happen. You can actually wrangle around sometimes and get out of them, but out of a waist and a leg shackle, which was right. This guy's a killer. Of course he should be triple shackled. But to do that, he'd have to be in a Houdini.

He's got five minutes, less than five minutes, a four block drive to get out of a waist chain with handcuffs, leg shackles, somehow get into the control of the vehicle and her in a four block area that's very heavily traveled as far as traffic goes. So there's just no way. They never headed towards the courthouse. You went to the intersection and instead of going left to go to the courthouse, you turned right and went to the shopping center where they abandoned the car. Joining me, Percy Pitzer, former federal warden, 30-year career in corrections and founder of Creative Corrections Educational Foundation. You can find him at ccefscholarships.org.

Percy, so great to have you with us today. Well, thank you for having me. What protocols are typically in SAFE? Now, you're a fed, but what protocols would typically be set in place so a single warden, as I'm calling her, would not be tempted in any way to help an inmate. Well, you know, I think even more important is how was she allowed to get out of that jail? You know, it doesn't make sense. I was a warden and there's no way a newest correctional officer would not push that button to let me out with an inmate. Well, I mean, she had the indicia of reliability and authority.

And I'm going to pose your question to Sheriff Singleton. Percy Pitcher is saying no way would, under optimal conditions, anyone buzz them out. But this woman, Vicki White, was in charge of transport. She had the guy triple shackled in the back of the vehicle, which I assume is an armored vehicle. In other words, it's got the metal between the driver and the passenger around the window

so they can't jump out of a window. Why not let her out with him? You know, as assistant director, of course, she's also their supervisor. And, you know as assistant director of course she's also their supervisor and uh you know the unfortunate thing about the corrections profession is it's it's hard to find people that take that job it's a very stressful job a very challenging job and it's not a job that anyone can do i hired a correction deputy about a month ago he came into work at six o'clock in the morning left for lunch never never came back.

I said he just couldn't handle it. It's a very stressful job, and so we have a lot of turnover. A lot of our staff are young, inexperienced, and it also is not uncommon for us to get a van to court and a judge say, oh, by the way, I need this inmate. And that's primarily what Director White would do. If that happened, then she would typically take that one inmate in her patrol car because she couldn't get multiple inmates in there and drum the courthouse and turn them over to other deputies. Now, in this case where you got a capital murder suspect, that was strictly against policy.

You know, she knew the policies. She's the assistant director. Dequan, Lee, isn't it true? Yes, ma'am. This woman, this woman now, we think, on the run with an accused killer. Well, there's no doubt he did it. He confessed.

She filed for retirement. She started early in this business. And she had been employee of the year. I don't mean of the month over at Walmart where they change the pic, they just slide your picture in. I'm talking about of the year. That's correct. Like four times in a row. She had medals of commendation. This woman was, we thought, pure as the driven snow. I mean, I've looked into her record.

That's the one you would trust. And Sheriff Singleton can confirm this. She was highly touted amongst her co-workers. She never was suspected to be a person that could aid and abet a criminal. No! It's actually out of the blue. When you are with the worst of the worst, day in, day out, you have got to have nerves of steel to stay in it. You have got to have nerves of steel to do it, Sheriff.

Absolutely. And Vicki White was with the department almost 17 years she had an unblemished record not a single disciplinary action in her file she was uh i've been sheriff seven years for those seven years she was voted by her peers and co-workers as a supervisor or employee of the year in our correction division everyone had the highest regard and respect for the director told me friday night that it was like a funeral wake at the detention center her co-workers were so upset about what had happened and you know people do you know you just have to been part of this family uh this sheriff's Office Corrections Division family, to understand how devastating this has been to our employees.

I mean, she was highly respected. I was told the judge had to sign the warrant or cried when she signed the warrant. She was well thought of by the judges. Hi guys, Nancy Grace here. Please join us now on Fox Nation for a brand new investigation, Parallels of Evil, the Bundy and Idaho Killings. In this gripping special investigation, we bring together an incredible panel of guests who analyze disturbing similarities of evil between these horrible crimes.

We speak with two female Ted Bundy survivors, Karen Pryor and Cheryl Thomas, who describe their life before and after they were victims of Ted Bundy. We also speak with the renowned private investigator Bill Warner, who worked in the cases, and Ted Bundy's defense attorney, John Henry Brown. We travel to Moscow, Idaho, to speak with Washington State University students and interview neighbors of Brian Koberger. One neighbor shares exclusive insights about the suspect in the Idaho killings, Brian Koberger. Don't miss Parallels of Evil, the Bundy and Idaho killings, streaming now exclusively on Fox Nation. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace.

For those of you just joining us in the last days, infamous Alabama convicted felon gets a sweetheart deal, pleading guilty to a prison escape in exchange for prosecutors dropping a murder charge in Vicki White's death. Now, this was a textbook felony murder charge in the death of jail boss Vicki White. This is how it works. Felony murder simply means that during the commission of a felony, any felony, a death occurs. That's felony murder. The perp may not intend for any death to occur i always give this great example uh let's just say jackie and i decide to rob a bank and we make it very clear nobody gets hurt we go into the bank and all of a sudden jack Jackie gets a wild hair and starts shooting an Uzi and kills a bank teller. I look at her like, have you lost your mind? Well, long story short, after we're caught racing away like Thelma and Louise, I'm busted for felony murder.

I was committing a felony and a death occurred. Whether I wanted it to or not, I'm on the hook for felony murder. In this case, during the escape, a prison jail bust, Vicki White ends up dead. As it turns out, it was by her own gun. Shooting herself dead as authorities closed in on the two. Even so, that's textbook felony murder. So in exchange for the guilty plea on escape, he has his murder charge dropped. Well, I will never forget the course of events that unfolded when those two broke out of jail.

Take a listen to our friends at WAAY 31. We start with new details in the nationwide manhunt for an escaped Lauderdale County inmate and corrections supervisor who the sheriff's office says helped him. New video from the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office. It shows former corrections supervisor Vicki White. She was checking out of the Quality Inn in Florence in this video. This is the same day she disappeared with capital murder suspect Casey White. The hotel is located near where the pair got into their getaway vehicle. The car was found in

Tennessee just south of Nashville. Wow, so many questions with me and all-star panel, but the first person I want to go to is special guest Sheriff Rick Singleton, the Lauderdale County Sheriff. Sheriff, thank you for being with us. Sheriff, a couple of quick things based on what we just heard. Where the car was found in Florence, that is north of Lauderdale County? Well, Florence is actually the county seat of Lauderdale County. The car was found in Bethesda, Tennessee, which is about a two-hour drive north of Florence. Okay.

Well, you know what? I got that half right. Hold on. So that was in Bethesda, and you're saying it's two hours north, correct? Yes, ma'am. Would that suggest to you, Sheriff, that they are in fact headed north? Because no way would they go two hours north and then turn back and circle back down, let's just say, to get lost in Florida. They're definitely traveling north. Wouldn't

you agree with that? That's the indication from where the car was found. We do not know how they left that area, you know, where the car was abandoned. If they hitched a ride, if they stole another vehicle. To our knowledge, we haven't gotten any reports of stolen vehicles in the area. If they had a second car, you know, we're just not sure. Let's analyze what you just said, Sheriff Rick Singleton. You said they either walked away from the car, they either hitched a ride, or they had another car ready.

I want to analyze, did they have another car ready? First question, Sheriff, why did they ditch the car? Did they have car trouble? Well, we're still not certain that that was the issue. The car was abandoned in a rural area on a county road where it would obviously be seen and it would be reported. So, you know, it's either one of two things. They either ditched the vehicle there to throw us off or they had car trouble. I've not heard from the investigators if they've checked the mechanics of This woman, Vicki White, Karen Stark. In this case, Vicki White made elaborate plans. And Sheriff, correct

me if I'm wrong. She planned down to the day of her retirement. She sold her home ahead of time. She withdrew $90,000 cash from multiple banks. She stayed in a hotel the night before. She bought the getaway car under an assumed name, I think with cash. She parked that car in a shopping center. She had it parked in a spot where it would not be observed by surveillance video. She had everything planned. She'd been talking to her co-workers about her retirement, that she was going to go to sit on a beach somewhere. Everything was carefully planned. So why wouldn't there be a plan B, Karen Stark? Well, I'm hearing what everyone has to say, Nancy.

It seems to me, I mean, this is a very shrewd woman. She could have been working on this, I suspect, for years. And so there had to be some kind of a backup plan. To me, if she painted it, they planned to paint it, they had a flat tire, something happened. I have no doubt they found another vehicle, did something that got them to be able to travel away. Do you think they had a plan B? Just boil it down for me, okay? Because I'm just a JD. You're the shrink.

Plan B or no plan B? Very simple. Yes, no. Yes, you think there was a plan B. Okay, Sheriff Singleton. You know what else I think was planned? Something that his mother said. How she's talking about how he's really not a bad guy.

Okay, BS on that. She said, Sheriff, oh, he didn't kill that woman. He just confessed to it so he could get brought back to the local jail. So I'm wondering how long this plan had been in the works. Did he, of course, he killed Austin's mother. We know that. But did he give the confession in order to get back to the local jail to hook back up with Vicki White? What do you think about that? Well, I know that that theory is out there. I don't, I know that he confessed to the homicide of Connie Ridgway and he was facing charges for that. Some other things about how calculating Vicki White was in this plan. We also know now that

prior to the escape that she was shopping for clothes uh men's clothes in a local clothing store uh she also shopped in an adult store and uh you know the the thing about the abandoned car you know the thing question me if they were going to abandon it for a plan b why would they risk driving it for two hours? I guess assuming we might get a identification on the car sooner, it looks like they would have ditched it a little closer. But there's still a lot of questions to be answered concerning, you know, the car and where it was abandoned and how they left that area. We're looking at every possible scenario. A stunning plea deal in the case of convicted

felon Casey White. The inmate towering over his lawyer in court takes a plea deal. The plea deal, life behind bars for a string of felonies. And remember, he was already behind bars when he escaped. But how did the whole thing unfold at the time? How was this possible? You said that she had been shopping for men's clothing ahead of the bust, right? Yes, ma'am. Now, I think that's where that rumor is circulating that they stopped at some adult, I guess, a sex toy shop. But that was before she sprung him, right?

Yes, ma'am. That was in the days leading up to the escape. Wow. You're doing a lot of background work. What about where she parked the getaway car, Sheriff? Was it in a spot in that shopping center where video would not catch it? Well, it was a very obvious spot. It was right on the side of one of the busiest streets here in Florence.

The cover there was that there are several other cars parked there that are for sale, older cars. And so it sort of blended in because it's a low profile car as far as the light bar on it and so forth. It's a Ford Taurus, sits a little lower. And, you know, it didn't just stand out uh you know at someone it wasn't wasn't like a big suv or something well what i'm getting at sheriff is if you could see it on video couldn't you see him i mean couldn't you see them getting into the car no ma'am there was no video

footage uh in the shop in the area that uh that, that, uh, depicted that. Uh, but there again, that's another reason. I think she chose this location because we did have a witness who saw the getaway car there the night before I actually looked at it. He was looking at the car that were for sale there. And, um, he looked at that specific car and went around the front number to call about it. And there was no for sale sign no phone number on it he thought that was odd being it was parked there among other cars for sale and sheriff uh

it didn't already have the green paint on it at that time did it no it did not have the paint on it gotcha okay you know i want to one more thing sheriff before i go to aust and Xavier Wherry. Sheriff, what about his medication? Is it medication that he has to have refilled? He is on medication. And, you know, there's no medication taken with him, to our knowledge. I don't know. I'm not that familiar with his specific situation concerning his medical needs. But I do know that I've been told that he can get pretty violent if he's not on his meds.

I'm just wondering if it's anything that he's going to have to get. Like, is he diabetic? Does he have a heart problem? Is there something he has to take they're going to have to stop and get somehow? Or did she that get that pre ordered as well? Xavier Waring joining me from WAAY TV. Xavier, thanks for being with us. Tell me the very latest. Yeah, so I mean, really, after speaking with Sheriff Singleton, we're still just trying to make sure that we, you know, push out the facts. Right. And the fact is that we really don't know where they are. Again, we know that the car was last located in Williamson County, Tennessee, a week after they actually ditched the vehicle.

So I spoke with someone from the U.S. Marshal Services, and they told me that, you know, although it is a week later, they are glad that they now have a sense of direction as to where they are. But again, they could really be going anywhere at this moment in time. Hey, Sheriff Rick Singleton, joining me, the elected sheriff in Lauderdale County. Sheriff, how far is it from where their escape vehicle, the Ford Taurus, Orange Ford Taurus, was abandoned to a major interstate? It was within about three miles of I-65, just south of Nashville, Franklin, Tennessee. Oh, my goodness. Just south of Nashville?

I know. Or Franklin? About. Okay. Yeah. I think I know what happened. Nancy, I hate to interrupt. Jump in.

But the interesting thing is for the last nine months, I've been driving through Bethesda for a project I was working on towards Spring Hill. So I'm very familiar with that kind of like with that route. And it's a very rural area, but it is close to the interstate and Spring Hill. So what interstate was it, Sheriff? I-65. And that's just three miles south of Nashville and Franklin? It was three miles east of I-65.

It's about 20 miles south of Nashville. Where will I-65 take you, Sheriff? If you follow it, where will it go? I-65 originates in Mobile, Alabama on the southern end, and it goes into Chicago. Okay. I'm learning a lot right now. So here we go. I-65, three miles from I-65 from where they dumped that car.

He says, the sheriff tells us it looks like it had a flat. They're trying to work the car over and see if there was any other problem. It was not spray-p painted green before it was left. They did that. So what is their thinking? Where will they go? To you, Bobby Chacon, joining me, 27 years FBI agent. If they only had three miles to walk, and this is in a rural area,

they could stay under the cover of trees. I would get canines out there to follow their scent to see which way they were going, but obviously toward that interstate, I-65. Once they get to I-65, anybody could have picked them up. I mean, you're right there at Nashville and Franklin. People from all over the world are going to Nashville. How far north of Florence were they? Was it two hours?

Yes, it is about two hours. Or was it three? Was it two or three hours north? It's about two hours. The vehicle was found due east of Spring Hill, as the gentleman said, Spring Hill, Tennessee. So, yeah, it's about two hours from Florence, Alabama to that location. Yeah. Okay.

You know, to Sheriff Rick Singleton joining me, the elected sheriff there in Lauderdale County, again, especially to you and Austin, I'm so grateful for you guys being with us. You know, I'm trying to figure out, Sheriff Singleton, what else I can learn from that car that was abandoned. Obviously, they tried to spray paint it green. That tells me they wanted to stay in that car. That tells me they did not have a plan for a second vehicle. Tell me about, you said in your press release, in your conference, that they left it in a very obvious spot.

Do you believe that was by plan? I don't, I don't, what's your thinking, Sheriff? I don't perfectly think it was planned. The reason it attracted attention so soon, this car was reported, spotted at 1.50 p.m. on Friday, April 29th, the same morning that they escaped. They left the Florence area at approximately 10 o'clock. So that's three hours and 50 minutes. It's a two-hour drive. Obviously, somewhere along the route, they stopped and took the time to try to paint the car i don't really think it was because it was parked right in an intersection and

what attracted the attention so soon was a homeowner right up the road was out walking uh and saw the vehicle and she was concerned the school bus would not be able to make the turn because it was abandoned at an intersection. And so she immediately called. This was just shortly before school was to let out. So she immediately called the sheriff's office. They sent a dispatch to the deputy.

They had the car towed, and it was towed at 237. So, you know, I don't really think that was in their plan personally. Again, I can't prove that. I wish I could. I wish we had more facts where we knew exactly why they abandoned the car. But my gut's telling me that it threw them a curve, that they got caught without transportation and took some kind of desperate means to find transportation from there. Now you're telling me they abandoned the car how many hours after they left the shopping center? The patrol car was spotted on video at 9.49 a.m. at an intersection just two blocks from where the car was abandoned and where they switched vehicles.

So, you know, by the time they got it parked, got into the other vehicle, they were leaving the Florence area at approximately 10 o'clock that morning. The car was found at 150, which was three hours and 50 minutes. Crime Stories with Nancy Grace. For those of you just joining, headline, infamous convicted felon Casey White takes a sweetheart plea deal in an Alabama courtroom, never going to trial for the death of his lover, Vicki White. Reality, maybe it was a sweetheart deal for the state too. Would a jury have actually convicted him when his lover, jail boss Vicki White, shot herself as authorities closed in after nearly two weeks on the run? Would they hold Casey White liable under the strict letter of the law? Yes, but you never know what a jury is going to do, But I do know this.

I know the facts surrounding this case. Listen to what we have on record as the last transmissions of hearing Vicki White on radio. 911. Wake up! They're going to airbag us. They want to kill us. Hello? It's gone. Airbags are going off. Don't get out.

Run. Get us back to the hotel. They're going to kill us. Hello? you are hearing the last utterances of vicky white on the run with her jailhouse lover six foot nine at the least what happened after that is very well documented take a listen to our cut 36, our friends at WEVV Fox 44. We are right over here just off of Highway 41 in Burton. You can kind of see the scene is very chaotic right now. We are still learning details, but we can confirm that both Casey and Vicki, one is in custody and one is in the hospital. The female is actually in the hospital. We know that they are driving down here. Police pursuit about 70 miles per hour. You can see that car flipped over in the ditch.

Let's get out and run. The chilling 911 audio reveals on the run prison guard Vicki White's last words to her escapee lover, Casey White. Special guest joining us, Sheriff Rick Singleton, the Lauderdale County elected sheriff. Sheriff, thank you for being with us. I know that you're going through a lot right now from losing a trusted jailhouse employee for many, many years. Somebody that you respected, a co-worker, a friend, the betrayal of that, and now her death. It's been an emotional roller coaster the last couple of weeks. I just don't really know how to explain it. got word that they had left. Our initial feeling was that he had somehow overpowered her and

taken her against her will. It wasn't too many hours into the investigation when we realized that she had played a part in it. We were still grasping at straws, hoping that maybe someone from outside on his behalf had threatened her, threatened her family, coerced her into helping him escape. But within a matter of a few days, it became obvious that she was very much involved in this plan. Very much involved in the plan, if not even the mastermind of the plan. Guys, take a listen to our cut 40, our friends at WVTM 13. Nikki White has died tonight.

Investigators say she shot herself following a car chase with law enforcement. It all came to an end today in Evansville, Indiana. That's about a 220-mile journey from Lauderdale County. This is the press conference we've been talking about all week that we wanted to call. After days of searching across the country. Casey White and Vicki White are in custody. The duo was hunted down in Indiana. U.S. Marshals received a tip about a car this Cadillac,

believed to be driven by Casey and Vicki in Evansville that led to a chase. The Marshall's task force officers intercepted them actually collided with them to try to end the pursuit. After the crash according to law enforcement Vicki shot herself and later died in the hospital. Casey peacefully surrendered. We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again. Trade out to Brittany Harry joining us from WAAY 31. You can find her on Facebook, Brittany Harry News. Brittany, thank you for being with us.

Explain how the whole thing unfolded. And you know, everybody keeps saying, we knew how it was going to end. We knew how it was going to end. I felt all along that there was a very high percentage, if I was a betting person, that somehow Vicki White would end up dead. And you hear her last words, let's get out and run. And you hear her also saying, I knew we shouldn't have left the hotel we should never have left the hotel tell me how the whole capture played out here in Evansville I have been in contact with the sheriff here and police and local authorities and what we know according to the sheriff as he mentioned in a press conference yesterday was Vicki and Casey were seen leaving that motel 41 along highway 41 here in Evansville, Indiana.

And not long after they left the parking lot, we know that a pursuit ensued. And not long after that, it ended with a crash. But Sheriff Dave Wedding here in Vandenberg County, Indiana, said yesterday that U.S. Marshals actually rammed the vehicle, that Cadillac that they were in, into a ditch. And that's really how that crash happened and how all of this ended. And Sheriff Wedding said yesterday that had that not happened, this might have had a different ending because he says that Casey told authorities that he planned to have a shootout with law enforcement. So Sheriff Wedding obviously said that he's very, very grateful that that is not what happened here.

Sheriff Rick Singleton joining us, the elected Lourdale County Sheriff. Sheriff, how did they get the caddy? My understanding is they purchased it. We found the first vehicle that we were able to identify, the Ford Edge, abandoned in Tennessee actually a week after they left. And it was actually abandoned the day they left um we know that they purchased a black pickup truck in that area uh that's the pickup truck that was found at the car wash up in indiana uh the local police ran that vehicle it was didn't come back stolen because it wasn't stolen they purchased it uh they abandoned it and apparently got the Cadillac. I'm assuming they probably purchased it too. They had the cash with them. Were they down to about $29,000? That's my

understanding that was the approximate amount that was recovered. So they ran through $70,000. Is that right, Sheriff? You know, she had already purchased one vehicle here. she had made several other purchases, clothes for him, you know, that sort of thing. So they had a considerable sum of money. It's amazing to me that they managed to pull off so many car purchases, staying in a hotel. They had to eat. How were they getting that? Were they going out? Were they ordering in?

How did they register into the hotel without driver's licenses or without anyone identifying them? We understand they may have paid a guy to register at the hotel, but the buying of the multiple cars, the vehicles, the hotel, the food, the car wash. Take a listen to our Cut 37, our friends at WAAY waay just today investigators released this photo of a 2006 ford f-150 pickup truck in evansville that authorities say the couple abandoned at a car wash around may 3rd it wasn't until sunday that authorities got the tip turns out the two were still in the area we got a dangerous man off the street today he is never going to see the light of day again. For days, law enforcement had urged the public to be on the lookout, hoping Casey White's 6'9", 340-pound size would make him easy to spot.

Sheriff Singleton is anxious to have him back in custody in North Alabama to face charges of capital murder from the 2015 stabbing of Connie Ridgeway. We've already made arrangements for the Department of Corrections. He will be brought here for arraignment. If it's 2 o'clock in the morning, it doesn't matter. The judge has agreed to come out. Another good feature of a guilty plea is that it can very rarely be overturned by an appellate court, unlike a trial. Hopefully, Vicki White's family finally getting peace. Nancy Grace, Crime Story, signing

off. Goodbye, friend. This is an iHeart Podcast.