By Carol Robinson
al.com
MONTGOMERY, Ala. — Never-before-seen letters Casey White wrote to Vicky White just before his capture revealing the nature of their relationship will be part of a ‘20/20′ special scheduled for Friday on ABC.
The 2022 manhunt for the escaped Alabama inmate and the Lauderdale County jailer is the focus of “Catch Us If You Can,” a two -hour show that will air at 8 p.m. CST.
“When Vicky White disappeared with maximum-security inmate Casey White on her last morning as a corrections officer, local authorities feared that a violent felon had taken her hostage,’’ according to a preview statement from 20/20.
“When investigators dug deeper, they began to question Vicky’s role in Casey’s escape, which led to an 11-day, multistate search involving multiple law enforcement agencies,’’ the statement reads.
Casey White, 40, was in state prison when he confessed in 2020 to the 2015 death of Connie Ridgeway of Rogersville. While in the Lauderdale County Jail awaiting trial, White met Vicky White, the jail officer, who was not related to him.
On April 29, 2022, she slipped him out of the jail, touching off a dramatic 11-day manhunt that ended in Evansville, Ind. during a high-speed pursuit. Vicky White took her own life as law enforcement closed in.
Read next: Vicky White armed with service weapon, AR-15, shotgun during Casey White escape
Rick Singleton, Lauderdale County Sheriff at the time, said Casey White and Vicky White had a jailhouse romance.
In June, Casey White said in court that he “loved Vicky and I wouldn’t drag her name through the mud for anyone in this courtroom.” White said she was the first person to “give me a hug in six years.”
Casey White in June pleaded guilty to felony murder after Vicky White took her own life as law enforcement closed in to capture them in Evansville, Indiana, on May 9, 2022. He faced murder charges because Vicky White’s death occurred during the commission of a felony.
In July, a judge granted a request by prosecutors to drop the capital murder charge against White in Ridgeway’s death.
The couple will also be the subject later this month of a Lifetime movie. “Bad Romance: The Vicky White Story” will air Oct. 21 at 7 p.m. CST on Lifetime.
According to 20/20, Friday’s special includes exclusive interviews with Casey White’s former cellmate, who provides a first-hand account of Vicky and Casey’s relationship; Vicky White’s friends and co-workers who speak to her character and devotion to her job; retired U.S. Marshal, Great Lakes Fugitive Task Force Bryan Bishop and former Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding, members of the team that captured Casey and put him back in prison; Matt Burbank, a Lauderdale County Sheriff’s Office investigator and a friend of Vicky’s; Marshal Martin Keely, Commander Chad Hunt and Deputy Commander Ross Manley, who headed up the search for Casey and Vicky; Casey’s attorney, Mark McDaniel; and Major Jason Ashworth, the first police officer to interrogate Casey after authorities apprehended him.
The episode will also feature exclusive police body camera and dashcam videos of the manhunt’s deadly ending.
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