The "special relationship" shared by an escaped prisoner and a guard who helped him flee could seal his fate in the guard's murder trial, according to a forensic expert.
Almost a year ago, Casey White, an inmate from the Lauderdale County Jail in Florence, Alabama, escaped with the help of corrections officer Vicky White.
The daring escape triggered an 11-day manhunt for the pair after Vicky helped Casey escape the jail, which is around 73 miles west of Huntsville.
Casey was 38 when he escaped the prison with the help of 56-year-old Vicky, who was serving as assistant director of corrections.
The pair, who just happen to share the same last name but with no known relation, had what investigators described as a "special relationship."
Joseph Scott Morgan, a scholar of Applied Forensics at Jacksonville State University, believes this relationship could be key to Casey's murder trial over the death of Vicky.
It was the morning of April 29, 2022, when Casey was spotted on surveillance video being led to a patrol car by Vicky.
She had told colleagues Casey was being taken to court for a mental health evaluation.
However, authorities weren't aware that there was no such evaluation or hearing that day, and in fact, it was the first step in an escape plan to free Casey - who was serving a 75-year sentence.
After leaving the prison, the pair ditched the patrol car, fleeing the state in another vehicle. They were found a week and a half later in Evansville, Indiana.
The car the pair were driving was rammed into a ditch during a police chase on May 9, 2022, putting an end to their 11-day escape.
Following the crash, Vicky died from a self-inflicted gunshot wound to the head.
Despite not being the one to fire the gun, Casey was charged with felony murder for allegedly causing Vicky White's death during his escape.
Morgan told the US Sun that he expects prosecutors to bring in a forensics psychologist during the upcoming trial to "talk about people that are manipulators."
He said the psychologist may then build a "framework" to prove Casey to be a "master manipulator."
Morgan, who hosts a true-crime podcast called 'Body Bag's, explained this isn't just a case of someone "manipulating somebody just off the street."
Vicky had been employed by the Lauderdale County Sheriff's Office for 25 years, and "should have seen a lot of the tricks that [convicts] play", said Morgan.
"She was drawn into this," Morgan explained, while adding that Vicky was also responsible for the prison escape.
He also believes written and digital evidence of their relationship could help prosecutors, with it being crucial to show the video footage of Casey and Vicky in order to seal Casey's fate.
Morgan said prosecutors should show the video surveillance of Casey and Vicky "from within the jail and then you toss in everything that happened during the escape... and then those days they were on the run."
Casey White, who is already serving a 75-year prison sentence following a 2015 crime spree in Limestone County, will face a felony murder trial in June.
He has been charged with felony murder as Vicky died during the commission of a felony when he escaped from jail and will face a jury trial, according to court records.
His defence team has argued in the past that Casey White was not responsible for Vicky's death, as Indiana authorities ruled her death a suicide.
