The death of an Alabama jailer found shot in the head with a gun in her hand after a weeklong manhunt has only deepened the mystery of why a trusted official would help free a hulking murder suspect with a violent and frightening history.
Vicky White, 56, was pronounced dead at a hospital after Casey White, 38, gave up without a fight in Evansville, Indiana. The fugitives had spent more than a week on the run.
NBC’s “Today” show reported that federal marshals said Casey White told officers at the scene, “Please help my wife. She just shot herself in the head and I didn’t do it.” The two Whites were not related, let alone married, officials said.
Before Vanderburgh County Coroner Steve Lockyear announced her death, the sheriff in Alabama had said he hoped to get answers from his once trusted jail employee.
“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 like this? I don’t know. I don’t know if we’ll ever know,” Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said.