Inmate Casey White Distraught Over Prison Guard's Death, Says Mother

Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office — Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office

The convicted felon whose time on the run ended when his guard’s girlfriend shot herself in the head Monday night was distraught over the death of his loved one, his mother said.

Casey White, 38, escaped prison late last month with former assistant director of corrections Vicki White. The two spent 11 days together on the run from authorities until a police chase ended in which Vicki shot herself.

White’s mother, Connie Moore, told the Daily Mail that her son was deeply in love with the jailer, with whom he had had a secret telephone relationship for at least two years, and that he even started calling her his wife.

“I spoke to him yesterday and he cried and said he couldn’t believe she was gone,” Moore said. She said she believed Vicki was “really, really, really good for him – just being there for him, talking to him. They really had something.”

White is incarcerated in a Lauderdale County, Alabama, jail awaiting trial on a capital murder charge after confessing to killing 59-year-old Connie Ridgeway. He had previously been convicted of attempted murder and theft after attempting to kill his ex-girlfriend and kidnap her roommates in 2015.

But his mother said her son was “a very good person” who was simply misunderstood.

“Casey isn’t the monster they set him up for,” she said, adding that his problems stemmed largely from drugs and poor choices in women.

“All the women he’s been with have emotional issues and Casey has a big heart and just wants to help people,” she said.

Vicky White died Monday of a self-inflicted gunshot wound.

Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office

Investigators in Limestone County, Alabama are currently investigating the case of another ex-girlfriend of White, who, according to authorities, committed suicide in February 2008. Now her family is wondering if her death was really suicide, or if White had something to do with it.

The woman, Christy Lynn Shelton McKee, had been dating White for about a year when she died at age 31 from a gunshot wound to the chest while staying in White’s caravan. Investigators said at the time that they found no blood on White’s clothing and that he appeared upset over her death.

McKee suffered from drug addiction and was distraught when her children were taken by child protection services. But her brother, Tyler Rolin, told AL.com that he never believed his sister committed suicide.

“It was just all too much — a woman committing suicide with a sawed-off shotgun?” Rolin said, adding that his sister was considering ending things with White around the time of her death.

“The police said he was crying and very hysterical and I don’t doubt that for a moment because I know he can turn it on,” added Rolin. “He’s a master manipulator.”

Authorities also briefly questioned whether the criminal was the one who pulled the trigger in Vicki White’s death. The two were camping in a cheap Indiana motel room when police found them Monday and engaged in a high-speed chase that ended with the criminal’s Cadillac flipping over into a ditch.

In a 911 recording of the incident, Vicki White can be heard saying, “Oh my God,” and “Let’s go outside and run!” before I screamed a few times and fell silent. Officers approaching the car’s officers can be heard saying, “She’s got a gun in her hand!” and “She’s got her finger on the trigger!” before noticing that she appeared to be unconscious.

After the chase, Casey White was extradited to Lauderdale County to face his existing murder charges, while Vicki White was taken to a hospital where she later died. The Vanderburgh County, Indiana coroner ruled Thursday that her death was suicide.

Vicki was a 25-year-old employee of the Lauderdale County Corrections Department who had an impeccable track record until she facilitated White’s escape on April 29. Colleagues were shocked to learn that she had been in a long-term relationship with the inmate and snuck him out under the guise of a fake mental health assessment.

Asked if she had a message for Vicki’s grieving family, Casey’s mother told The Daily Mail: “I just want to say I’m very sorry and from everything I’ve heard from Casey and from everyone else she was a really good person. †

She added: “I just hate with all my heart that it happened.”

Inmate Casey White distraught over prison guard’s death, says mother