A female corrections officer and a capital murder suspect disappeared after she picked him up for what she claimed was a mental health evaluation, only for her co-workers to learn no such appointment had been scheduled.
Vicky White, assistant director of corrections for the Lauderdale Sheriff’s Department, picked up Casey Cole White, 38, from a detention centre on Friday morning at 9.30 am, armed with a 9mm pistol.
The corrections officer said she was due to take Casey White, who’s not related to her, to a mental health evaluation, but on Friday afternoon, Sheriff Rick Singleton of Lauderdale County said that there was no planned mental health evaluation.
Vicky White’s car was found dumped at a shopping centre at 3.30 pm, and the pair haven’t been seen since.
Chris Connolly, Lauderdale County district attorney said that he was deeply concerned that he was not in custody, adding that the FBI was helping with the search, in addition to state and local authorities, and that this was an extremely dangerous situation.
It’s unclear if White is in any danger, with investigators yet to say whether they believe she conspired with White to break him out of jail, or whether she’s fallen prey to kidnapping.
Casey White was facing the death penalty for the October 2015 killing of Connie Ridgeway, 58, in her home in Rogersville, Alabama.
Connie Ridgeway was discovered stabbed to death in a slaying that shocked the town of 1,500 people, 50 miles west of Huntsville, and it remains unclear why she was killed.
People said she was known for her kindliness and willingness to help others, and the community for numerous years held a vigil every October in her memory.
Casey White was arrested in December 2015, then aged 32, following a crime spree across Tennessee and Alabama.
In one night, he staged a home invasion, two carjackings and numerous shootings that left a dog dead and a woman injured.
WHNT reported that the crimes were followed by a pursuit, where speeds reached more than 100 miles per hour.
It concluded with a stolen car stuck in a field south of Huntsville, and officers, who were clearly well known to him, pleaded with him to put down his gun and give himself up.
White got out of the vehicle with a handgun and threatened to shoot officers and himself unless he could talk with Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely.
Casey Cole White is 6 foot 6 inches tall and weighs 252 pounds. The only good thing about this is he will stand out in a crowd, and it’s very scary that he’s out and about walking amongst the general public.
Did Vicky White allow this or is he going to kill her as well? This woman doesn’t stand a chance against such a hideous man, but the fact is he’s on the loose and I hope that Vicky White doesn’t pay dearly for what she’s done, whether it be by choice or because she’s his prey.
We now know that Vicky White wasn’t taking Casey White to a real appointment. The point is, one woman, even armed isn’t enough against a violent offender, and it makes you wonder why no one in her department ever clocked this because she should have at least had some backup.
Perhaps Casey White did beguile her and take her prey, but monsters like Casey know just how to deceive people into doing what they want them to, and a lot of these female jailers fall in love with their prisoners, and it happens more often than people realise.
THE MONTHLY MOSQUITO 