Vanderburgh County Sheriff Dave Wedding shared new details Tuesday morning about the capture of an inmate on the run with an Alabama corrections officer, who authorities believe died by suicide.
The inmate Casey White is speaking freely with investigators, the sheriff told CNN’s Miguel Marquez.
“He was pretty candid with the investigators last night. They had a fairly lengthy interview,” Wedding said. The sheriff did not share details of the interview.
The sheriff tells CNN that corrections officer Vicky White was on the phone with dispatchers during the chase and indicated she had a gun to her head.
When authorities arrived the gun had been discharged, the sheriff said
Wedding said per the “initial investigation,” authorities “believe that she may have taken her own life, but we will wait until the coroner’s office examines the body to make a confirmation.”
He described several law enforcement entities, including US Marshall task forces from various states, working feverishly taking tips and reviewing surveillance video leading up to the moment authorities spotted the Cadillac the pair were reportedly in.
“What helped us was the Cadillac that we’d been searching for was located in a hotel parking lot just south of the sheriff’s office,” he said.
“When our task force officers went to the hotel it was a very short period of time before they intercepted them in the vehicle and the pursuit began,” he told CNN’s Marquez.
He said the task force intercepted the vehicle fleeing northbound on a highway in what he described as a short pursuit.
“They went through a factory parking lot went through a grassy area our task force officers rammed the vehicle pushed them into a ditch,” he added.
At that point investigators approached the vehicle to investigate, he said.
“She was unconscious with a gunshot wound to her head and the male suspect gave up without incident,” Wedding said.
His office is consulting with the local prosecutor to review the events in Evansville, Vandenburg County, he said.
“If they elect not to file charges then we will contact Alabama immediately to see if we can get the subject returned to the home state,” he said.
Ultimately, the sheriff called it a “good day for law enforcement.”
“Often times you have these unusual cases, serious cases and they go for days without being solved,” he said.
“From the time we initiated our investigation until the time we had this wrapped up, it was rapid and no one was injured outside the suspect so it’s a good day for law enforcement,” he continued.
