Police finally tracked down a prison guard and the murderer she ran away with after a car wash manager noticed the inmate's distinctive tattoos.
Vicky, 56, and Casey White, 38, who are not related, had been on the run ever since she sprung him from an Alabama jail the day before she was due to retire on April 29.
They were finally stopped after a witness spotted their abandoned vehicle and recognised Casey's tattoos in CCTV footage.
Police found the wanted pair leaving a nearby hotel and crashed into their getaway vehicle during a dramatic chase earlier today.
Officers pulled Casey out of the wreck alive, although Vicky died in hospital after suffering a 'self-inflicted' gunshot wound.
The relationship
Vicky’s affair with Casey, who is almost 20 years younger than her, is thought to have started when he moved to the jail she worked at in 2020.
The lag, who stands 6ft 9in tall, was serving a 75-year sentence at William E. Donaldson Correctional Facility before being transferred to Lauderdale County Jail, in Alabama.
He was brought to the facility to be questioned after writing a letter confessing to the murder of 59-year-old Ms Ridgeway.
Lauderdale County Sheriff’s office say a “special relationship” developed between the pair, however the authorities have no evidence it was a “physical or sexual relationship”.
Sheriff Rick Singleton said their relationship went on "outside her normal work hours".
By November 2020, Casey had been sent back to the Donaldson jail after he was found in possession of a shank, although he kept in touch with Vicky via phone.
She even visited him after he moved back to the facility.
He finally returned to Lauderdale County Jail in February this year in preparation for his murder trial.
Inmates said Vicky ensured Casey received ‘extra food’ in the prison – a claim supported by Sheriff Singleton.
In the month before Casey's prison break, Vicky sold her home, submitted retirement paperwork and withdrew more than £73,000 in cash, according to Lauderdale County District Attorney Chris Connolly.
On April 29, the day before Vicky was due to retire, she escorted Casey out of the jail for a ‘mental health evaluation’.
The escape
CCTV footage showed Vicky opening a door for Casey, whose hands and feet were shackled, as she led him outside the jail.
The pair then made a dash for freedom, with Vicky driving to a nearby mall before dumping her patrol car for an orange 2007 Ford Edge getaway vehicle.
Alarm bells started to ring when Vicky’s patrol car was spotted at the mall and prison officials were unable to reach her via phone.
US marshals issued a bounty for Casey and a warrant for Vicky’s arrest at the beginning of May.
Police said last week that they had ‘no idea where they might be’.
However, over the weekend investigators said Casey might be disguised as an elderly woman, with Vicky pushing him around in a wheelchair.
How the pair were caught
The breakthrough moment in the manhunt came when a car wash manager recognised Casey on his CCTV camera.
James Stinson became suspicious about a pick-up truck after it was dumped at his car wash in Evansville, Indiana.
He then checked his CCTV footage and noticed that the man who climbed out of the vehicle had the same tattoos as Casey.
James said: “I noticed a truck sitting in the car wash bay. Every time I left and came by the truck was still there.
“I thought I need to investigate. I walked up to the truck and noticed the windows were down. My first thought was it could be this guy from Alabama.
“I was kind of nervous about it. I looked in the truck, no one was in it, I opened the door and the keys were in the ignition, which I thought was unusual.”
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James said police came to his car wash and noticed there was a gun lock inside the vehicle, however the officer told him the pick-up was not stolen.
The manager later received a call from the US Marshals Service about the pick-up truck, which inspired him to check his CCTV footage.
James added: “That’s when I went back and looked at my cameras and saw his tattoo on his arm. I pulled a video up on my cell phone of him down in Alabama and the tattoos matched.”
Casey has tattoos all over his body, including the Confederate flag on his back and Nazi symbols.
The car chase
Officers finally spotted Vicky, who was wearing a wig, leaving a hotel with Casey in Indiana on May 10.
The authorities followed their vehicle, although the runaways soon noticed they were being tailed, sparking a police chase.
In a dramatic climax to the pursuit and the story that has gripped the world for weeks, a US marshal drove into the pair’s Cadillac, causing it to flip over.
Officers managed to remove Casey from the wrecked vehicle, although Vicky was found trapped inside with a ‘self-inflicted’ gunshot wound to her head.
Casey reportedly told police to help ‘his wife’ and said he did not shoot her, with Vicky later dying in hospital.
Murder victim Ms Ridgeway's son, Austin Williams, today said he was 'sad' over the death of Vicky.
He posted on Facebook: "So glad that Connie has a chance at justice again. It’s not over with until it’s over.
"Sad for the loss of Vicky White. We hoped and prayed for the best outcome and this isn’t it. Our hearts go out to her family and friends."
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