Son of missing Alabama inmate’s alleged murder victim fears for own safety

The son of a woman allegedly killed in 2015 by the Alabama inmate who vanished with a corrections officer said that he fears for his and the public’s safety as the “dangerous” prisoner remains on the loose.

Austin Williams — whose mother, Connie Ridgeway, 58, was stabbed to death — said he was “shocked” when informed that the suspect, Casey Cole White, 38, disappeared along with Vicki White, 56, the assistant director of corrections for Lauderdale County,

“It’s really hard to describe how I feel,” the Tennessee resident told the US Sun. “It’s hard to comprehend that something like this is even possible. It completely blows my mind.”

He said he fears for his own safety as well as that of the general public while Casey White remains at large.

“Oh, he’s a very dangerous person and anyone who gets into contact with them needs to call 911 right away,” Austin told the outlet.

Casey White has been accused of breaking into Ridgeway’s home and stabbing her to death.

Though he reportedly confessed to the killing, he entered a not guilty plea by reason of insanity.

“He’s so dangerous,” Williams said, adding, “That is a very dangerous guy and that means anyone who crosses his path is in a huge amount of danger.

“I no doubt fear for their safety. He’s a very violent person and there’s no limit to what he might do,” Austin said.

“You think you have the guy and he’s finally going to trial and then all of a sudden he gets out and someone who is meant to keep him inside actually helps him get out,” he continued.

The grieving son, who urged the pair to turn themselves in, added: “It blows my mind that someone who is familiar with Casey White and his record would risk anything with him because he is just such a dangerous person.”

Casey vanished with Vicki after she said she was taking him for a mental health evaluation at the county courthouse on Friday. A warrant was issued for her arrest Monday.

Lauderdale County Sheriff Rick Singleton said it appears the jail official acted of her own free will.

“I guess we’re trying to hold on to that last straw of hope that maybe for some reason she was threatened and did this under coercion … but absolutely you’d feel betrayed,” Singleton told CNN.

“All of her co-workers are devastated. We’ve never had any situation like this with Vicki White. She was a model employee,” the sheriff added.

He said surveillance footage where her patrol vehicle was found didn’t turn up any evidence showing what happened to the two.

“We’re still aggressively pursuing every lead that we get,” Singleton told the network. “The biggest obstacle we have right now is we still do not have a vehicle description for whatever vehicle they may have transferred into.”

He said Vicki, a widow with no children, also submitted her retirement papers last week — with Friday supposed to be her last day at work.

She recently sold her house but her retirement fund paperwork had not yet been processed, Singleton told CNN.

He added that there’s no clear evidence as to whether the two people had a personal relationship.

As assistant director of corrections, Vicki “was frequently throughout the cell blocks, has contact with all the inmates at one time or another,” he told CNN.

“But as far as a romantic relationship or something like that, we have no evidence or proof that that was the case, although it’s a possibility,” he said.

Vicki’s mother, Pat Davis, told WAAY that she was in a state of shock.

“As a mother, I didn’t know how to act because I thought at first it was a mistake,” Davis told the CNN affiliate. “And then when I found out for sure it was, it was just disbelief.”

She told the outlet that her daughter, who was living with her after selling her place, didn’t mention retirement and never spoke about Casey White.

“I didn’t know anything about him,” she said. “We don’t know if she was took by force or if she was voluntarily in this. But we just want her back. That’s all we want.”

In 2020, Casey tried to break out of the same lockup, the US Sun reported. He reportedly made two makeshift knives and planned to take a hostage as part of his escape plan, but was thwarted by correctional officers.

The attempt prompted a new policy requiring two deputies to accompany the capital murder suspect anywhere, including to court.

The US Marshals Service is offering a reward of up to $10,000 for information in the case.

“You shouldn’t try to approach either one of these individuals because we consider both of them dangerous, and in all probability, both individuals are armed,” US Marshal Marty Keely said Monday.