The prisoner and the Alabama jailer were prepared for a shootout – the Chicago Tribune

The murder suspect and his jailer, who evaded power more than a week after leaving a cell in Alabama, had $ 29,000 in cash, four pistols and an AR-15 rifle and were ready to shoot when they were captured. said the Indiana sheriff. Tuesday.

Escaped convict Casey White has not repented of the death of prison official Vicki White, who was found mortally wounded on Monday with a handgun after a brief chase after a car, Vanderburg County Sheriff Dave Wedding said. Authorities do not believe Casey White shot Vicki White, but the final decision will be made by the coroner.

Casey White, 38, surrendered without a fight, saying he did not kill the woman he called his wife. He appeared in a video Tuesday in a courtroom in Indiana, where he refused extradition, and authorities said he would soon be sent back to Alabama.

The end of the hunt did little to answer the lingering questions surrounding the escape from prison: why did a respected prison official on the eve of his retirement give up everything to help a dangerous criminal escape? What did they do when they evaded power for about eleven days? And when they were finally surrounded, did she really pull the trigger to end her life?

Vicky White, 56, was pronounced dead at a hospital Monday after members of a U.S. task force of U.S. marshals pushed a Cadillac she was driving into a ditch where he found himself on the side, a sheriff in Evansville, Indiana, said. They were nearly 300 miles (480 miles) from Alabama Jail, where he was awaiting trial for murder.

The attorney representing White in the case, Jamie Poss, declined to comment on Tuesday, saying he was still trying to find out what happened in Indiana.

On Tuesday, the show “Today” on NBC reported that federal marshals said Casey White told officers at the scene: “Please help my wife. She just shot herself in the head, and I didn’t. ” According to officials, the two Whites were not relatives, let alone married.

Before Vanderburg County Coroner Steve Lockier announced her death, the Alabama sheriff said he hoped to get answers from his once trusted prison officer.

“I trusted Vicki White. She was an exemplary employee. What provoked her, pushed her to such a trick? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever find out, ”Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said.

Authorities shut down after the head of the car wash said he told U.S. marshals on Sunday that a man very similar to Casey White had been spotted by a surveillance camera coming out of a 2006 Ford F-150 pickup truck. White is 6 feet 9 inches (2.06 meters) tall and weighs about 260 pounds (118 pounds).

After locating the F-150, authorities received information that they could have boarded a 2006 beige Cadillac, said U.S. Marshal Marty Keeley, “Good morning, America.”

“We sent our people to the car wash area and watched the vehicle at the hotel,” Keeley said.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Task Force went on an investigation that led to a brief chase, Vanderburg County Sheriff Dave Wedding told Today.

“The chase was very short. He was climbing the main artery here in Vanderburg County, and they crossed the parking lot at a large factory. They were in a grassy area, so three members of our task force rammed the car, pushed it into a ditch, so it was on its side. When they approached the vehicle, it was clear that the driver was unconscious and still holding a weapon. And at the same time they took the killer out of the car, ”Veding said.

The wedding said it was not officially determined that Vicki White had indeed committed suicide.

“The gunboat will check and they will determine if it was a gunshot wound. Initial evidence that this was the case, but we will not rule anything out until a thorough investigation is carried out by the Coroner. “

The hunt began on April 29 after Vicki White, assistant director of correctional facilities in Lauderdale County, told colleagues she was taking Casey White, who was awaiting trial for murder to death, from prison for mental health. There was no such appointment.

“Today we took a dangerous man off the street. He will never see the world of the day again. This is good not only for our community. This is good for our country, ”Singleton said.

At the time of his escape, Casey White was serving a 75-year prison sentence for attempted murder and other charges. He was awaiting trial for stabbing a 58-year-old woman during the 2015 theft. If convicted, he could face the death penalty. White will be returned to Lauderdale County, Alabama, where he will be brought to trial on the latest charges, authorities said.

Federal and local law enforcement also learned that Casey White threatened to kill his ex-girlfriend and sister in 2015 and said he “wanted the police to kill him,” the Marshals Service said.

On May 2, a warrant was issued for Vicki Sue White, accusing her of allowing or facilitating first-degree escape.

Family members and colleagues Vicki White said they were stunned. Singleton said the plan seems to have been in the works for some time. Prison inmates said they had a special relationship, and she gave Casey White better treatment than the other inmates.

Over the past few months, she bought a rifle and a rifle and also is known to have had a gun, Keeley said. She also sold her house – for about half the market value – and bought a 2007 orange Ford Edge, which she hid in a mall without license plates.

“These escapes were obviously well planned and calculated. There was a lot of preparation for this. They had a lot of resources, cash, vehicles, ”Singleton said.

In a video that Vicki White said would be her last day at work, the couple went from jail to a mall where they picked up a Ford and left, Singleton said.

Associated Press writer Ken Kusmer has contributed to Indianapolis.