Original murder case dropped against inmate whose escape left jail guard accomplice dead
When Casey White slipped out of the Lauderdale County Jail in Alabama two years ago, he had the help of a senior corrections official with whom he'd been carrying on an illicit affair.
After an 11-day manhunt that ended in Indiana, the jail's former assistant director, Vicky White, shot herself in the head rather than face capture. The two were not related but were romantically involved.
He had a life prison sentenced added to his preexisting 75-year stint as a result of the escape, but the murder case for which he was awaiting trial when he broke out has been put on hold, according to the victim's son.
ALABAMA INMATE CASEY WHITE, WHO ESCAPED JAIL WITH HELP FROM ALLEGED LOVER VICKY WHITE, IS SENTENCED TO LIFE IN PRISON
Connie Ridgeway, 59, was murdered in her home in October 2015. (Courtesy Austin Williams)
Casey White, 40, could have faced death for the brutal murder of Connie Ridgeway, 59, in 2015. But he's recanted his confession, prosecutors backed off two weeks before he was supposed to go to trial, and her family has no clue who killed her.
"It's discouraging, but hopefully the attention on the case gets us somewhere," Austin Williams, her 45-year-old son, told Fox News Digital. "We feel like the public needs to know the real killer is out there."
Investigators have a list of potential suspects, he said, but no direct evidence linking White or any of the other people to the crime scene.
WHY CASEY WHITE WAS IN VICKY WHITE’S ALABAMA COUNTY JAIL TO BEGIN WITH, EXPLAINED
Casey White arrives at the Lauderdale County Courthouse for a sentencing hearing in Florence, Alabama, on June 8, 2023. (Dan Busey/Times Daily via AP)
Last spring, District Attorney Chris Connolly's office filed a motion to suspend the murder case, in part because White is expected to die in prison. The investigation remains active.
"Casey White's confession is basically BS. There's really no other evidence against him."
— Austin Williams, victim's son
At the time of the escape, Casey White was serving a decades-long sentence for a violent crime spree in which he shot a woman, killed a dog and burst into his ex-girlfriend's home – firing two pistols through her walls.
He later confessed to killing Ridgeway, saying he had been hired to do it, but his claims never added up, according to Williams.
ALABAMA INMATE WHO ESCAPED WITH FEMALE JAILER AND ROMANTIC PARTNER ENTERS PLEA DEAL
"The confessions mentioned people that were associated, kind of sort of, with my mother," he told Fox News Digital. "They kind of sort of made sense, but it wasn't easy to prove, I guess, the money changing hands."
Casey White arrives back in Alabama after 11 days on the run. (Michael Ruiz/Fox News Digital)
Ridgeway was supposed to be a witness in a credit card fraud case and was known to open her doors to people in need, including a man who she'd kicked out just a few days before her murder, Williams said.
His mother had a friend who had access to the apartment but didn't go in to check on things when she stopped responding to calls, which struck him as suspicious. That man was arrested for DUI hours after her remains were discovered.
And another local woman told police she thought her husband might have committed the crime, but police found no evidence backing up her claim. Witnesses also told detectives that Casey White was spotted near Ridgeway's apartment and behaving erratically shortly before she died.
None of the DNA collected at the crime scene matches any of them, according to Williams. The Lauderdale County District Attorney's Office did not immediately respond to a request for comment.
WATCH: Law enforcement vehicles catch up to Casey White and Vicky White in Evansville, Indiana, following brief chase
CASEY WHITE ESCAPE: TIMELINE FOR ALABAMA MURDER SUSPECT WHO WAS CAPTURED AFTER MANHUNT
Investigators recovered a hammer they believe is one of two murder weapons, he said. White told detectives he used his fists. The autopsy report lists her injuries as multiple stab wounds to the face, neck and hands as well as hammer blows to the head and fingers. There could have been more than one attacker.
White may have been fearing for his own life when he offered up his false confession, Williams suggested.
Room 150 at Motel 41 off Highway 41 in Evansville, Indiana, was where Alabama fugitives Casey White and Vicky White were reportedly staying before being captured by law enforcement on May 9, 2022. (Denny Simmons/Courier & Press/USA Today Network)
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White was serving a difficult sentence at the William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer, where he got into an argument over a smuggled cellphone.
The 6-foot-9-inch, 270-pound felon picked a fight with the wrong fellow inmate – the leader of that prison's largest gang – and wound up being stabbed with a shank as a result, according to Williams.
He may have falsely confessed to the crime knowing he would be transferred to the county jail in Lauderdale, where he would be safer, Williams said.
WATCH: Alabama jailhouse security camera catches murder suspect's shocking escape
"At this point, no one has been held accountable for Connie’s murder," Mark White, a family friend and former Rogersville police officer, told Fox News Digital. "Our mission remains the same as we continue to pursue justice for Connie Ridgeway."
The real killer is out there as Ridgeway's sons continue to seek justice, he said. White, meanwhile, is back behind bars in the Donaldson facility.
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Casey White and Vicky White (Vanderburgh County Sheriff's Office | Lauderdale County)
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"Austin and Cameron have been patient and respectful throughout this process, and I admire them for it," he said. "I know their mom would be proud."
Anyone with information on Ridgeway's death is asked to call the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency's tip line at 1-800-392-8011.
Alabama Gov. Kay Ivey announced a $5,000 reward for information in the case in 2018.
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