Vicky White died of suicide, coroner’s office says

EVANSVILLE, Ind. — Alabama fugitive Casey White was taken into custody in Indiana. His suspected accomplice, Vicky White, died Monday night from injuries sustained by a self-inflicted gunshot wound as authorities prepared to arrest the pair, law enforcement sources confirmed.

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>> Related: Warrant issued for Alabama corrections officer; sheriff said she participated in inmate’s escape

Update 2 p.m. EDT May 12: Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear ruled that Vicky White’s died of suicide on Tuesday, according to WEHT.

“The manner of death has been ruled a suicide,” the coroner’s office told CBS News.

Update 12:50 p.m. EDT May 10: Police said the pair had $29,000 in cash, four handguns and an AR-15 rifle when they were captured, The Associated Press reported.

Police have not said why Vicky White gave up her career to help Casey White escape or what they did on the run for almost 11 days.

“I had every bit of trust in Vicky White. She has been an exemplary employee. What in the world provoked her, prompted her to pull a stunt link this? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said, according to the AP.

Update 12:12 p.m. EDT May 10: Casey White has waived his extradition hearing and will soon be transported back to Alabama, CNN reported.

He told the court during his virtual appearance from the Vanderburgh County jail in Evansville, Indiana, “I want to go back to Alabama.”

Sheriff Dave Wedding said that Casey White had been speaking with investigators throughout the night after he was captured.

Wedding told CNN that Vicky White was on the phone with 911 during the chase, telling them that she had a gun to her head.

By the time officers got to them, she had apparently shot herself, Wedding said. Casey White told first responders to help “his wife,” though the two were not married, telling officers that he didn’t shoot her, CNN reported.

Update 9:25 p.m. EDT May 9: Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding confirmed Vicky White’s death to The Associated Press just after 9 p.m. EDT Monday. Earlier in the evening, Wedding characterized Vicky White’s self-inflicted injuries as “very serious” following a police pursuit and rollover crash.

According to Vanderburgh Coroner Steve Lockyear, Vicky White died just after 7 p.m. CDT at Deaconess Hospital, and an autopsy is scheduled for Tuesday, Fox News reported.

Original report: Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said the two fugitives, who are not related, were caught near Evansville, Indiana, after a chase with U.S. Marshals, The Associated Press reported.

“Casey White and Vicky White are in custody,” Singleton said. “This has ended a very long and stressful and challenging week and a half. It ended the way that we knew it would. They are in custody.”

>> Vicky White fired from corrections job, still no sign of her or escaped felon Casey White

Casey White is now charged with escape, and Vicky White is charged with permitting/aiding an escape, identity theft and second-degree forgery, AL.com reported.

Vicky White was a jail officer at the prison that was holding Casey White, who was awaiting trial for capital murder. Inmates and officials said they had a “special relationship,” the AP reported.

>> Related: Vicky White had ‘special relationship’ with accused murderer Casey White

The pair had been on the run since April 29 when the 56-year-old jailer told the Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, that she was transporting the 38-year-old inmate for a mental evaluation. Instead, they fled.

According to WAAY-TV, the fugitives were captured after a pursuit ended when the vehicle they were driving crashed.

According to the Vanderburgh County Sheriff, the police pursuit started when the couple was spotted near the sheriff’s office and ended in a rollover crash near Evansville Regional Airport, WXIN reported.

Casey White surrendered to police following the crash.

Sheriff Dave Wedding of Vanderburgh County Indiana confirmed to WXIN that Vicky White’s injuries are serious and were self-inflicted when she shot herself at some point during or at the end of the pursuit.

Wedding also confirmed to the TV station that Vicky White was driving the Cadillac the fugitives were in at the time of the crash. Singleton had previously reported Casey White as the driver and the crashed vehicle as a Ford F-150.

According to AL.com, U.S. Marshals were notified Sunday night that a 2006 Ford F-150 had been discovered at an Evansville car wash.

>> Related: Vicky White, Casey White getaway car located; investigation back to square one, sheriff says

“This escape was obviously well-planned and calculated. A lot of preparation went into this. They had plenty of resources, had tags, had vehicles. They had everything they needed to pull this off,” Singleton said during a Monday evening press conference.

“We got a dangerous man off the street today. He is never going to see the light of day again, and that’s a good thing, not just for our community but that’s a good thing for this country,” he added.

Evansville is about 175 miles north of Williamson County, Tennessee, where authorities on Thursday found the orange 2007 Ford Edge the pair used in their April 29 escape, the news outlet reported.

-- The Associated Press contributed to this report.

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