(Photo courtesy of New York Post)

Casey White has been charged with felony murder – in connection with the death of a jail officer who aided in his escape – Vicky White.  Casey White was captured May 9th in Evansville, Indiana, eleven days after leaving the jail in Florence with Vicky White, who authorities said facilitated his escape.

The two stayed together and she died as police closed in, by what Indiana authorities said was a self-inflicted gunshot to the head.  Although Casey White has been charged with her death, the indictment does NOT say he killed her.  The indictment charges Casey White with first-degree escape “and, in the course and furtherance of committing escape, caused the death of Vicky White, who died from a gunshot wound to the head.”  That indictment was returned by the grand jury during the June session.

White’s defense attorney Mark McDaniel, said in a statement Tuesday – “Casey White will enter a plea of NOT guilty to the charge of felony murder at his arraignment – the defense team will file a number of pre-trial motions including a motion for the state to provide the defense with a copy of Vicky White’s autopsy and then, after receiving results of that autopsy, the defense team will file additional motions stating the relief sought.”

According to Lauderdale County officials Vicky White escorted Casey White out of the jail on April 29th, under the pretense of attending a mental evaluation hearing at the nearby courthouse.  There was no such hearing scheduled.  The two then went to a nearby shopping center and switched vehicles, staying on the run for eleven days before being discovered in Evansville, Indiana; as police pursued the vehicle the two were in, it crashed into a ditch and Vicky White took her own life.

No additional information regarding the case is being released at this time.

(AL.COM/www.al.com)