Authorities are re-opening an investigation into the mysterious death of Casey White's ex-girlfriend in 2008 as the hunt for the confessed killer and the female jail guard that let him out continues for the seventh day.
The Limestone County Sheriff's Office says it will reopen the investigation into the death of Christy Shelton.
Casey White, 38, was there when Shelton was shot in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun.
Her death was ruled a suicide at the time, but her family never believed the story, WAFF reports.
Casey has a history of violence with partners, having shot at his ex-girlfriend during a crime spree in which he killed a dog and held her roommates at gunpoint. The 2015 incident culminated in the 6ft 9in 'monster' being sentenced to 75 years in prison on charges including attempted murder.
The search for Casey and guard Vicky White, 56, is intensifying as Lauderdale County deputies join forces with the US Marshals, the Secret Service and other agencies to locate the fugitive pair.
The two developed a secret 'special relationship' during phone calls while Casey was being held in a different jail.
'We're having to do a nationwide search. And we've got boots on the ground across the country, following up on tips and leads for us through the U.S. Marshal’s fugitive task force,' Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told Al.com.
'So it's just a matter of time. We'll get them. Obviously, the sooner the better.'
Alabama deputies are reopening an investigation into the mysterious death of Christy Shelton, the ex girlfriend of fugitive inmate and confessed killer Casey White
Shelton was shot in the chest with a sawed-off shotgun. Casey was there when she died, authorities say, but her death was ruled a suicide
Corrections officer Vicky White (left) and confessed murderer Casey White (right) shared an intimate relationship dating back to 2020 that authorities were unaware of, investigation revealed. The pair are not related
Authorities have warned that the pair are 'armed and dangerous' and that Casey White is a 'bad guy' - having confessed to killing a 59-year-old woman back in 2015 while serving a 75-year sentence for other crimes.
Deputies in Limestone County will open an investigation into the death of his ex-girlfriend Christy Shelton.
On Thursday, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said the search for the pair continues across the country, but he revealed that local and national authorities have no idea where the two could be.
'We don’t really have a clue where they’re at,' he told Al.com.
He continued: 'I don’t know what their game plan was. It's obvious this was very well planned out. It could be they’re just holed up somewhere waiting for things to die down.'
The sheriff added that his department has brought in counselors for their colleagues, some of whom are still in shock that the stellar employee of 17 years could have run away with a confessed killer the day she was set to retire.
On Thursday, Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton - Vicky's boss - says the search for the pair is intensifying but they still have no 'clue where they're at'
'I think some of them had gotten gifts for her and different things because they all respected her but some of them almost looked at her as a mother figure,' Singleton said.
'They’re just devastated.'
Corrections officer Vicky White kept her 'special relationship' with Casey White alive while he served a 75-year sentence in state prison for a crime spree that involved him shooting at his ex-girlfriend, according to Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton.
Casey was moved from state prison to the county jail where Vicky works in February to face trial on separate capital murder charges.
Vicky then sold her house and planned to retire on Friday before taking off with him instead. A warrant has been issued for her arrest.
Video of her leading the 6ft9in inmate out of jail shows she was 'prepared' to help him escape, says Human Behavior Academy president Susan Constantine.
'It was really obvious to me what was going on here was planned out, methodical, and she had played it out in her mind, even to where how she parked the car,' she told Fox News. 'She was prepared.'
Her 'waddling gait' as she stepped out of her car and walked in to retrieve Casey shows she was 'rough around the edges' and somewhat masculine, Constantine said.
Authorities are on day seven of a US Marshal-led manhunt for the fugitive pair. They could be armed with an AR-15 and a shotgun and may have used a copper 2007 Ford Edge to get away.
Vicky is pictured 'waddling' into the jail and opening an interior door on Friday. Casey is believed to have been in the hallway at the time
Surveillance video previously released showed Vicky helping Casey escape from the Lauderdale County Jail, where he had been incarcerated. The pair then fled together
The latest footage shows them driving through the intersection of Huntsville Road and Cox Creek Parkway at 9.49am on Friday
Surveillance video shows the moment Vicky White, 56, snuck 'monster' Casey White, 38, out of jail.
She parks her cruiser by the door and takes her time exiting the vehicle, leaning back into the seat to grab something. She 'waddles' into the facility and leads Casey out, holding the door for him as he's shackled.
'She doesn't seem to have a care in the world,' said Constantine, the body language expert. 'Her stride movements are just at ease. There’s not a sense of franticness or rapid movement.'
Dave Katz, a former DEA special agent who helped hunt down mobster Constabile 'Gus' Farace, says the pair could be anywhere.
'If she's smart, you’re going to have a hard time catching her,' he told Fox News, adding that he would start the search by looking at where she had been shopping, what she had been buying, and who Casey had been talking to right before they left.
'She might not have used cash – she would have bought them in advance,' he said. 'If he’s a backwoodsman, if he can sustain them hunting and fishing, I wouldn't discount that the people in the area, who live there, who may even know him, they'll tell you where [he would fish or hunt].'
Vicky may still be in danger, he warns.
'He's a bad guy. I wouldn't be surprised if she’s at risk, given his predilection for violence,' he said.
Vicky and Casey White, who are not related, shared a 'special relationship.'
It dated back to 2020, when the prisoner was first brought to Lauderdale County for his arraignment on murder charges that he confessed to while already in state prison for 75 years.
Although Casey was in custody at a state prison ahead of his arraignment and was transferred back to the facility immediately after, the pair stayed close, Sheriff Rick Singleton confirmed to DailyMail.com Wednesday.
Singleton previously said she visited him in person at the prison, but he corrected himself on Thursday, saying the unlikely couple communicated only by phone, WAAY reports.
The details of their secret relationship emerged just hours after officials released new video of the couple's escape. The footage shows the squad car they were traveling in pass a gas station as Vicky drove Casey to a mental health evaluation appointment, which did not exist.
The pair abandoned the vehicle about a half-mile from the gas station.
New video released Wednesday shows Vicky and Casey driving to the Florence Square shopping center on Friday where they abandoned the sheriff's car used during the escape
US Marshal Services released this picture showing the size difference between Casey and Vicky and a Ford Edge like the one they used
Another mock up published by the officials shows the pair - believed to be lovers - compared to a door frame
Surveillance video taken at the Lauderdale County Jail showed the moment Vicky snuck 6ft 9in 'monster' Casey out of the facility before they went on the run with an AR-15 and a shotgun.
Casey was serving a 75-year sentence for attempted murder, burglary, robbery, kidnapping and animal cruelty. He also faced murder charges after confessing to the fatal stabbing of Connie Ridgeway, 59.
The apparent lovers made a break for it on Friday after Vicky told superiors she was going to take Casey for a mental health evaluation on her last day before retirement.
The 56-year-old widow held the door for the 38-year-old thug - who was still wearing handcuffs - before they got into a black car and sped off at 9.30am on Friday.
New video released Wednesday shows Vicky and Casey driving to the Florence Square shopping center where they abandoned the sheriff's car used during the escape.
The latest footage shows them driving through the intersection of Huntsville Road and Cox Creek Parkway at 9.49am on Friday, WAAY reported. The intersection is about a half-mile from the shopping center.
The cruiser was found abandoned in the center parking lot several hours after the escape.
The jailer and confessed killer shared an intimate relationship dating back to 2020.
Inmates allege Vicky ensured Casey 'was getting extra food on his trays' and 'was getting privileges no one else got,' a claim that Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton told CNN has been confirmed by an independent investigation.
'As far as we know that was the earliest physical contact they had,' Singleton said of the arraignment. He claims Casey and Vicky continued to communicate after the accused murderer was transferred back to the prison.
Investigators are analyzing surveillance footage recorded at the Lauderdale County Jail, where the escape occurred, to learn more about their relationship.
Sheriff Rick Singleton (pictured) told DailyMail.com that jail staff were unaware of the relationship between Vicky and Casey
Meanwhile, the confessed murderer's mom, Connie White, has defended her son, claiming he is innocent and 'not a monster.'
'I just have no idea why they've painted him as a monster,' Connie White told The New York Post in a phone interview Tuesday. 'The only reason he came out to Lauderdale County was to get out of the prison he was in.
'He wrote a letter to say that he murdered that woman. But he didn't really murder her, he just done that to get back up here. He just wanted to be out of that prison because it was so bad and there was no food.'
Connie denied having any knowledge of her son's alleged relationship with Vicky. 'He never mentioned Vicky White,' she said. 'He said he had a pen pal but I had no idea who it was.'
She also claimed that when she spoke to her son the day before his vanishing act, his behavior was seemingly normal.
'Everything was perfectly fine,' Connie said.
The US Marshals Service said they suspected the pair are armed with an AR-15 and a shotgun and may have used a copper 2007 Ford Edge during their escape.
But cops and federal agents have launched a huge manhunt and drip-fed more information about the duo - including that the jailer had two aliases herself.
Casey exits the hallway and follows Vicky outside the facility
The manhunt comes as Casey's ex-girlfriend begged Vicky to flee the killer, warning her she was not safe with him
Sheriff Singleton, who described Vicky as 'an exemplary employee,' issued a plea to the former jail guard, asking her to turn herself in.
'Vicky you've been in this business for 17 years, you've seen this scenario play out more than once and you know how it always ends,' Singleton told Good Morning America Wednesday.
'Now go ahead and end it now, get to a phone and call 911, turn yourself in and help us get Casey White back behind bars because you know that's where he's going to eventually end up.'
The sheriff said that as of Wednesday morning, investigators 'don't have any idea where they might be.'
'We were making some good progress on that. We may be hindered now that some of that information has gotten out,' Singleton explained. 'But, you know, we're still working around the clock to locate them and try to get
