Dramatic police footage depicts the moment capital murder suspect Casey Cole White was apprehended. His prison guard girlfriend Vicky White's body was removed from their vehicle while still holding a gun.
The Evansville Police Department released the video Tuesday night as the coroner declared the Alabama prison officer's death a suicide, and stunning audio revealed she was speaking with a 911 operator at the moment of the crash.
Ms. White, a 56-year-old correctional officer, and White, a 38-year-old inmate serving a 75-year sentence and awaiting a murder trial for killing a 58-year-old woman, were ultimately apprehended in Evansville, Indiana, on Monday, after ten days on the run.
White surrendered to authorities after a brief automobile chase and was taken into prison.
Ms. White was brought to the hospital with a headshot wound, but she succumbed to her injuries hours later.
Dashcam video shows a patrol car racing to the grassy embankment where the couple's Cadillac was forced off the road by law enforcement authorities after a brief pursuit.
Already on the scene, a group of officers can be seen dragging the six-foot-nine-inch fugitive away from the vehicle and pinning him to the ground.
White is placed in handcuffs and held there for a few moments before being led away by the officers.
The 38-year-old is seen wearing black pants, a white t-shirt with an open blue shirt over the top, and dark sunglasses as he looks in the direction of the automobile where his sweetheart is still confined. The Cadillac is observed in a ditch by the side of the road, surrounded by officers, with no sign of Ms. White.
Two cops place White atop the patrol car's hood before lowering him.
In the second video, captured by the body camera of an incoming first responder, Ms. White is shown being extricated from the vehicle and administered first aid.
The first responder initially arrives in a vehicle and then rushes along the road to the overturned Cadillac.
In the tape, someone can say, "She shot herself."
Officers report that Ms. White still has the gun in her hand that she reportedly used to shoot herself.
"She still has it in her hand," says one officer.
"Why is there a gun to her head?" another response
The first officer says, "Yes, the trigger is depressed."
Officers report that Ms. White is still breathing as they struggle to get her from the mangled vehicle.
After approximately five minutes, one of the officers removes the firearm from her hand and then drags her limp corpse from the truck. Other cops assist in carrying her outside and onto the ground.
First responders initiate lifesaving procedures.
Tuesday evening, the Vanderburgh County coroner pronounced Ms. White's death a suicide.
The autopsy revealed that she committed suicide by shooting herself in the head.
This occurred as officials examined if her jailhouse lover could have been the shooter.
US Marshals report that White assured officers that he was not responsible for Ms. White's injuries immediately after his arrest.
He allegedly said, "Y'all help my wife, she shot herself in the head and I didn't do it."
The Whites were not married, according to official confirmation.
No law enforcement personnel fired their weapons during the encounter with the fleeing suspects.
Also leaked was chilling 911 audio capturing Ms. White's final comments before the couple's car was smashed, and she allegedly committed suicide by shooting herself.
On the recording, the 56-year-old woman is heard advising her jailhouse lover to "get out and run."
"Airbags are deploying!" A female voice says, "Let's get out and run!"
The Evansville Police Department also released a third video captured by the body camera of an officer who was dispatched to examine the vehicle the fugitive pair abandoned at a nearby car wash last week.
Last Monday, James Stinson, the proprietor of Weinbach Car Wash, reported a 2006 Ford F-15 pickup vehicle with Tennessee license plates abandoned at his company.
However, he told NewsNationNow that police did not take him seriously. An officer who inspected the vehicle told him they could do nothing because the car had not been reported stolen.
Last Wednesday, the business owner had the vehicle taken away by himself.
On Sunday, he was notified by the US Marshals Service regarding the truck, and Mr. Stinson reviewed his CCTV footage, where he discovered White on Tuesday.
Officials released the photographs on Monday and confirmed that the truck belonged to the fugitives.
The delay in responding to the tip has been criticized, and on Tuesday, officials defended their actions at a press conference.
In the clip captured by the officer's body camera on May 4, he arrives at the car wash and approaches the suspicious vehicle.
The four-minute video depicts an officer checking inside a car that appears unlocked and with the passenger window rolled down.
The officer discovers a Glock magazine loader but no pistol inside.
On his police radio, he is heard stating, "That's strange," before walking away.
At the time, officials stated that there was no evidence linking the Ford F-15 to the Alabama fugitives.
Evansville is about 175 miles north of Williamson County, Tennessee, where the couple abandoned their rust-colored 2007 Ford Edge.
Friday, the US Marshals Service said that a Ford Edge had been discovered along a remote Tennessee road approximately two hours north of the Lauderdale County jail.
Officials reported that the pair fled the jail in Ms. White's patrol car before ditching it in the parking lot of a nearby shopping center and switching to the getaway vehicle.
However, officials believe they were obliged to transfer vehicles once more following the breakdown of the Ford Edge.
The Ford Edge was discovered hours after the pair vanished and towed to a Williamson County impound lot, but its connection to the case was not recognized until Friday.
US Marshals said the second getaway vehicle was reported missing in Nashville, Tennessee, sometime after the Ford Edge was discovered abandoned.