VANDERBURGH COUNTY, Ind (WEHT) – During a press conference discussing the capture of Alabama fugitive Casey White and the death of former corrections officer Vicky White, Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding said they learned that Casey White was planning to have a shootout with police if it came to that.
Police say Vicky White drove to the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama on April 29, telling colleagues she was taking inmate Casey White to the courthouse for a mental evaluation. When she did not answer her phone or return in the afternoon, authorities realized the pair had gone missing.
Authorities eventually learned that the evaluation was never scheduled and said it was just a charade to allow her to sneak the inmate out of the jail without suspicion. The discovery triggered a nationwide manhunt.
The manhunt lasted for 11 days and ended after a police chase in Evansville, Indiana. Authorities say Vicky White died on Monday night after she was hospitalized for a self-inflected gunshot wound.
During the press conference, Sheriff Dave Wedding said that had police cruisers not rammed the suspects vehicle, they learned there would have been a shootout with police. Police recovered four handguns and an AR-15 after the arrest. They also had $29,000 on hand.
Sheriff Wedding said the two had no ties to the Evansville area. Sheriff Dave Wedding also confirmed that the two were not married despite sharing a last name.
An Evansville police officer first noticed the Cadillac the suspects were using in the parking lot of the old Motel 6 along Highway 41. Police say the two paid for a 14 night stay at the motel while they planned their next move.
Casey White is currently being held in the Vanderburgh County Jail where he is awaiting extradition to return to Alabama. Sheriff Wedding said Casey White will not face charges in Vanderburgh County.
