A prison love story that went from romance to a manhunt.
Netflix's new documentary Jailbreak: Love on the Run tells the true story of Casey White and Vicky White, an inmate and an officer at Lauderdale County Detention Center in Florence, Alabama, who fell in love and planned an escape that made headlines everywhere in 2022.
"It's a disgusting romance novel, is what it is," someone says in the trailer.
Watch the Jailbreak: Love on the Run trailer. Article continues after video.
Vicky White had been working at Lauderdale County Detention Centre as the assistant director of operations when Casey White was transferred there in August 2020 to await trial. Casey had been serving out an existing 75-year sentence when he confessed to a separate murder. Despite being considered to be very dangerous, inmates and workers at the detention centre remembered him quite differently.
"Casey White was described as a 'romancer' by one of his former cellmates, and those who worked at the jail said he was a polite, even charming, prisoner," Rachel Stockman, the shows executive producer said. "Vicky, who was used to doing things for others, fell for Casey's manipulation, especially when he claimed he was being framed for a murder he didn't commit. He made her believe in him."
At the time, Vicky was not only a valued employee at the detention centre, but ironically, she also had a hand in breaking up many inappropriate officer and inmate relations.
"She was really good at it," said admin assistant Chantelle Brown. "I would go out on a limb to say that she took pride in it. It made her feel some sense of satisfaction to be able to uncover the truth."
Things changed when Vicky met Casey. In 2021 Vicky had confided in her coworkers that she was seeing two men at once, one of whom was a younger man. Little did they know, she was talking about Casey, who was 38 at the time, and she was 55.
While news of their relationship never really broke out in the detention centre, there were whispers among the inmates, who would frequently see Casey handing Vicky letters to mail, despite there being no mailing address on the envelope.
Things became abundantly clear on April 29, 2022, Vicky's last day at her job before retirement. At her retirement party, Vicky used the excuse that she was taking Casey to the courthouse for a mental health evaluation as a way to sneak him out.
She had cleared out the money in her checking account prior and had actually been communicating with Casey using a secret phone over a period of two years. They left the prison for the courthouse, and did not return.
What followed was an 11-day pursuit as the police followed them across the country, with the couple changing cars multiple times and Vicky dyeing her hair from blonde to black.
Eventually, the police located them at a motel as they were getting into their car. A chase ensued and the couple were forced into a ditch. While Casey was re-arrested, Vicky suffered a self-inflicted gunshot wound, and later died in hospital.
"She gave [Casey] 11 days of freedom," said former corrections nurse Kylie O'Bryant. "And it cost her her life."
In June 2023, Casey was sentenced to life in prison for first-degree prison escape.
Jailbreak: Love on the Run is streaming now on Netflix.
Feature image: Netflix.