A female correctional officer and a murder suspect disappeared after she took him for a mental health assessment, which she said she was – only to find out that her colleagues had not scheduled such a meeting.
Vicki White, Lauderdale Sheriff’s Assistant Correctional Assistant, picked up Casey Cole White, 38, from a detention center Friday morning at 9:30 a.m., armed with a 9mm pistol.
The correctional officer said she should take Casey White – who is not related to her – for a mental health assessment.
But on Friday afternoon, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said there was no planned mental health assessment.
Vicki White’s car was found abandoned in a mall at 3:30 p.m., and the two have not been seen since.
“I am extremely, extremely concerned that he is not in custody,” said Chris Connelly, Lauderdale County Attorney, adding that the FBI is assisting in the search, in addition to state and local authorities.
This is a very dangerous situation.
It is unclear whether White is in any danger, with investigators still not saying whether they believe she is in a secret relationship with White to get him out of jail or has been abducted.
Casey White was sentenced to death for the October 2015 murder of Connie Ridgeway, 58, at her home in Rodgersville, Alabama.
Vicki White, assistant director of sheriff’s correction, went missing Friday night after returning Casey Cole White (no relative) from prison
Connie Ridgeway is pictured with her sons Austin and Cameron. She was killed in October 2015 after the killer told her she had been ordered to strike. No motive has ever been given
Ridgeway was found stabbed to death in a murder that shocked the 1,500-strong town 50 miles west of Huntsville.
It remains unclear why she was killed.
People said she was known for her friendliness and willingness to help others, and the community has been holding a vigil every October in her memory for many years.
Casey White was arrested in December 2015, then 32, after crimes in Tennessee and Alabama.
During one night, he organized a raid on the house, two car thefts and numerous shootings in which a dog was dead and a woman was injured.
The crimes were followed by a chase in which speeds reached over 100 miles per hour, the WHNT reported.
This ended in a stolen car stuck in a field south of Huntsville, and officers – who were obviously well known to him – begged him to drop his gun and surrender.
White got out of the vehicle with a gun and threatened to shoot the cops and himself unless he could talk to Limestone Sheriff Mike Blakely.
Camera footage shows lawmakers trying to get White to surrender by offering him smokeless tobacco and Sun Drop citrus soda while they wait for Blakely to arrive.
Police filmed Casey White in custody in December 2015 after a wild rampage in Tennessee and Alabama, which resulted in a chase at 100 mph and a stolen car stuck in a field.
White was seen during the hearing on the case of the murder of Ridgeway in 2020
Casey White was found guilty of a total of nine charges, including attempted murder of his ex-girlfriend and kidnapping of her two roommates. Other charges include first-degree robbery, first-degree burglary, third-degree burglary, breaking into and entering a vehicle, cruelty to animals for shooting a dog, and attempting to escape.
He was sentenced in April 2019 to 75 years in prison.
In June 2020, he wrote to Lauderdale County requesting a meeting with the sheriff’s office and admitted to killing Ridgeway, providing a detailed description of the crime scene.
He said he was paid to kill her, although no motive was ever revealed for hiring the killer.
In October 2020, Casey White, 37, appeared in court to hear the charges and asked to remain in Lauderdale County Jail instead of returning to prison, WAFF reported.
His request was rejected after authorities said they believed he planned to escape from Lauderdale County Jail.
They had found a makeshift knife hidden in the showers, and suspected that White intended to use it to force someone to release it.
“Yesterday we received information that he made a knuckle and intends to escape today and take hostage,” Connelly, Lauderdale County Attorney, said during the hearing.
“Our deputies did a great job.
“We found the shank and eliminated this threat this morning, so we are obviously not prepared to put anyone like that in our prison for this long time, so we are happy that the judge ordered him to return to the correctional facility.”
White, after pleading guilty, then pleaded not guilty to insanity.
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