Jail officer Vicky White committed suicide following a police chase on Monday. An Indiana coroner said the Alabama jail officer died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound. Vicky White had been on the run for ten days after helping inmate Casey Cole White escape from the Lauderdale County Jail.
Vicky White died at 7 p.m. at the Evansville Deaconess Midtown Hospital, Vanderburgh County Coroner Steven W. Locklear said, according to WHNT. On Tuesday, an autopsy is scheduled.
Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding announced at a news conference Monday that the escapees had been captured in Evansville, Indiana, following a police chase and crash. As authorities approached, Vicky White shot herself. Shortly after, Casey White was taken into custody.
Information was passed on to law enforcement that a vehicle, matching the description of one believed to be used by Vicky White and Casey White, was in the area. Wedding said a chase ensued after the jailbreakers fled from police.
Speaking to CNN, U.S. Marshal Matt Keely said that officers watched the fugitive after seeing Vicky White at a hotel. Investigators followed the pair. The escapers got into a vehicle and left the area. After striking the car, it rolled over into a grassy area.
Keely told CNN that Vicky White was pinned in the car and had a gunshot wound to the head. He added that Casey White requested that officers help Vicky White.
“Y’all help my wife, she shot herself in the head, and I didn’t do it,” Keely told CNN Casey White said at the scene. The pair are not related and are not known to be married.
Vicky White’s injuries from the self-inflicted gunshot wound was “serious,” Wedding said before her death. He said that Casey White was taken to a hospital but was “not too seriously injured” in the crash.
Wedding said, at the scene, a single gun was found. Speaking Monday before Vicky White’s death, she was wished no harm by Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton.
Vicky White was a longtime employee of the department. On the day of the escape, she was set to retire.
“I hope she survives this… I don’t wish any ill will on Vicky in terms of her health, but she has some answers to give us,” Singleton said.
The escape began on April 29 when Vicky White said she was transporting the prisoner to a mental health evaluation. The transport turned out to be a well-planned jailbreak.
Investigators uncovered evidence of Vicky White’s involvement since their disappearance. According to media reports, her home was recently sold for $95,000, and multiple banks were used to withdraw the funds.
Via a report verified by WAFF News, fellow inmates of Casey White said he and Vicky White allegedly had a “special relationship” that was non-physical.
For her suspected help in the escape, U.S. Marshals issued a warrant for Vicky White.
The pair left behind a vehicle identified Thursday in Bethesda, Tennessee, as the two made their way to Indiana.
