The 11-day search for the pair began in April when Vicki White, a 56-year-old corrections officer, disappeared from the prison along with 38-year-old Alabama inmate Casey White, authorities said. Prison officials described a prison romance between the two. The investigation ended in May with the death of Vicky White, who officials say she shot herself after a brief police chase. PREVIOUSLY REPORTED: Hunt for Alabama fugitives comes to an end TIMELINE: How Vicky White, Casey White eluded police, US marshals in 11-day manhunt On July 6, Casey White was charged with felony murder “in connection with the death of Vicki White” following a grand jury indictment, Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly said in a statement. Prosecutors say Casey White “caused the death of Vicki White, who died from a gunshot wound to the head,” according to the indictment. Casey White was also charged with escape in the first degree in connection with the incident. Felony murder charges are filed against suspects when a death occurs in the course of another crime, including a hit and run, according to Alabama state law. This even includes whether the death was accidental or unintentional. For example, if while someone is trying to steal property, another person slips and dies, then the person committing the crime can also be charged with felony murder, even if they didn’t mean for anyone to die, Jenny Carroll, a law professor at University of Alabama School of Law, he told USA TODAY. “The only thing you really have to do is intend to commit the underlying offense and then death has to occur,” he said. But Carroll said a felony murder charge in connection with a suicide is rare. “I was surprised,” he said. “I tried to locate another case in which the felony-murder rule had been applied to a suicide, and I could find no other case in which this was the case.” The story continues In general, Carroll said “the felony murder rule is very controversial” with many legal experts seeing it as “over-prosecution”. Casey White’s defense attorney, Mark McDaniel, said he will plead not guilty to the charge. He said he could not speculate on Connolly’s theories about Vicky White’s death that led to the charge. Connolly’s office declined to comment further. McDaniel said the defense will file appropriate motions — including a motion for a copy of Vicki White’s autopsy report. AN 11-DAY SEARCH: How did Alabama inmate and officer elude authorities for so long? Money, says the expert. Casey White is being held by the Alabama Department of Corrections and is serving a 75-year sentence from previous convictions, Connolly said in the statement. He was sentenced to 75 years in prison after being convicted of attempted murder and kidnapping charges. He was also due in court in June on manslaughter charges in connection with a 2015 hit-and-run murder. Contributing: Donna Thornton, The Gadsden (Ala.) Times Contact News Now reporter Christine Fernando at [email protected] or follow her on Twitter at @christinetfern. This article originally appeared in USA TODAY: Alabama inmate escape: Casey White charged in Vicki White’s death
