Sheriff: Fugitive Ala. Inmate, Jailer Planned 'Shootout' with Authorities

Former Lauderdale County corrections officer Vicky White died Monday night as a result of a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head, officials say.

Had she and escaped capital murder suspect Casey White not crashed in a brief chase, he planned to “engage in a shootout” with law enforcement “at the stake of both of them losing their lives,” Vanderburgh County, Ind. Sheriff Dave Wedding said at a press conference Tuesday morning.

Wedding said the two arrived in Indiana six days prior to being apprehended and paid to stay 14 days at an Evansville motel.

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The two were spotted at a car wash in a F-150. Wedding said at the car wash they stole the Cadillac they were in at the time of the capture.

After the crash, authorities found $29,000 in cash, four handguns and an AR-15 rifle.

Members of the U.S. Marshals Fugitive Task Force met with the Indiana sheriff’s office on Monday, Wedding said.

Wedding said Tuesday on NBC News’ TODAY that the Monday afternoon chase that led to the capture of escaped inmate Casey White was “very short” and began after an officer spotted a vehicle matching one linked to the pair.

“They were in a grassy area, so three of our task force members actually rammed the vehicle and pushed it into a ditch, so it ended up on its side,” Wedding said.

“As they approached the vehicle, it was obvious that the female driver was unconscious and still had a weapon in her hand. And they removed the murderer from the vehicle simultaneously,” Wedding added.

Casey White was booked into the Vanderburgh County Jail at 1:42 a.m., according to the jail log.

Northern District of Alabama U.S. Marshal Marty Keely, in an interview with CNN Monday night, said that after the crash “we got Casey White out (and he) immediately announced that his wife had shot herself in the head and that he didn’t do it.”

Keely said the pair was not married.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said officials expect Casey White to waive extradition and possibly return to Alabama as early as today.

For security purposes, when Casey White leaves the Indiana jail, “It won’t be a public spectacle… it won’t be a public display,” Wedding said.

Wedding said Casey White has waived extradition and will not be charged in Indiana in order to speed up his return to Alabama.

Vicky White’s autopsy is planned for today, Wedding said.

Regardless of what time Casey White returns, Singleton said he will be immediately arraigned and returned to Donaldson Correctional Facility in west Jefferson County.

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