Attempted murder, fatal stabbing and an ex’s mystery ‘suicide’: Casey White’s long history with the law before jail breakout with prison guard lover
The suspected murderer recaptured after 10 days on the run has been involved in a series of crimes and suspected offences, writes Rachel Sharp
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Fugitive inmate Casey Cole White is finally back behind bars in Alabama, after his 10-day prison break came to a dramatic end with the death of his prison guard lover in Indiana.
White, 38, had been on the run with corrections officer Vicky White, 56, since 29 April when she helped him escape from Lauderdale County jail.
On Monday, the couple, who are believed to have been in a relationship for around two years, were finally tracked down to Evansville, Indiana.
There, the Whites, who are not married or related, led officers on a car chase before their vehicle was rammed off the road.
The inmate surrendered to authorities while the corrections officer was found with a gunshot wound to the head. The coroner has ruled her death a suicide.
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In the 10 days the couple were at large, officials warned that White was considered armed and dangerous.
The 38-year-old has a long rap sheet going back two decades, when he was arrested over a domestic violence incident involving his own mother in 2006.
Four years later in 2010, he pleaded guilty to attacking a male relative with an ax handle and was sentenced to six years in prison.
At the time of his prison escape last month, he was serving a 75-year sentence for a 2015 crime spree where he tried to murder his ex-girlfriend, held victims at gunpoint and shot a dog dead.
He is also due to stand trial in June for the 2015 capital murder of a 58-year-old mother-of-two who was found stabbed to death in her apartment.
Officials in Alabama are now also taking a fresh look at the 2008 shooting death of another girlfriend, which was – at the time – ruled a suicide.
Now facing new charges over his prison break that ended in the apparent suicide of his latest lover, here’s a look at White’s criminal past:
Crime spree and ex-girlfriend’s attempted murder
In December 2015, White embarked on a crime spree where he tracked down and tried to kill an ex-girlfriend.
The rampage spanned both Alabama and Tennessee as he held victims at gunpoint, shot one woman in the arm, killed a dog, carried out a home invasion and staged multiple carjackings before he was finally captured in a dramatic police chase.
The spree unfolded on the morning of 1 December 2015 when he broke into a home and stole two firearms.
Later that night, he then turned up at his ex-girlfriend’s house armed with stolen guns and opened fire on her and two men inside the home.
The woman and two men managed to escape but White shot and killed a dog. Two children inside the home were later found unharmed.
After that, White then broke into another home and stole a man’s car and gun.
Around an hour later, he then shot another woman in the arm in an attempted carjacking in Tennessee, before carjacking another person at gunpoint.
White was finally captured in a dramatic 100 mile per hour police chase that culminated in a standoff back over the border in Alabama.
During the standoff where he demanded to speak to the sheriff and threatened to shoot himself in the head, he asked for a pack of Marlboro cigarettes and a Sun Drop soda before surrendering.
In 2019, White was convicted on multiple charges over the rampage including the attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend.
He was sentenced to 75 years in prison.
He is still facing charges in Tennessee over the spree.
Stabbing murder of 58-year-old mother
White is currently awaiting trial for the 2015 stabbing murder of 58-year-old mother-of-two Connie Ridgeway.
Ms Ridgeway was found stabbed to death in her apartment in Rogersville, Alabama, on 23 October 2015.
The case went unsolved for five years until White sent a letter to the Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office confessing to the crime.
During a subsequent interview with authorities, he allegedly gave details about the crime that had not been made public and which only the killer could have known.
Prosecutors say he was paid to carry out the hit on his victim.
He was charged in 2020 with two counts of capital murder.
After confessing to the murder, he initially pleaded guilty before changing his plea to not guilty by reason of mental illness.
His trial is slated to begin in June and, if convicted, he faces the death penalty.
Prison escape with Vicky White
On 29 April, White left Lauderdale County jail with Ms White and went on the run, travelling across at least four states and changing into at least four different getaway cars in an attempt to evade capture.
Following his arrest on Monday, White allegedly told police that he had planned to get into a shootout with law enforcement.
On Tuesday night he appeared in Lauderdale County Courthouse in Florence, Alabama, where he was charged with escape in the first degree.
He is now being held in the maximum security prison in Jefferson County.
White has not been charged in connection to Ms White’s death.
Mysterious death of ex-girlfriend
On 1 February 2008, White’s then-girlfriend Christy Shelton was shot in the chest by a sawed-off shotgun inside an Alabama home belonging to White’s mother.
Ms Shelton, 31, died on the scene.
White was in the home with her at the time of the shooting but was ruled out as a suspect.
Back then, officials ruled the 31-year-old’s death as a suicide and the case was closed.
But Ms Shelton’s family has always doubted that version of events, with her daughter Somer Mitchell telling News 19 that “nothing was really done” to investigate her death at the time.
Last week, Limestone County Sheriff’s Office said it was reopening the investigation into her death.
