Casey White took a plea deal Thursday to avoid a charge of felony murder and plead guilty to one count of first-degree escape instead.

District Attorney Chris Connolly said White approached him with the idea of the deal at the status hearing.

For Robert Tuten, White’s attorney, the plea deal was unexpected.

“You’re probably just as surprised by today’s turn of events as we are,” Tuten said. “Things happened really fast today. The judge is having us come back for sentencing at a later date. Because this is still a pending matter we’re unable to say anything else about the details of that right now.”

White escaped from Lauderdale County Detention Center with the help of Vicky White, the assistant director of corrections, in April 2022 capturing the attention of Alabama and the entire country.

The two were on the run for 11 days before engaging in a car chase with law enforcement that ended in Evansville, Ind. Casey White was captured and Vicky White killed herself.

According to state law in Alabama, if someone dies during a felony, a felony murder charge is warranted.

White is also facing a capital murder charge related to the killing of Connie Ridgeway in 2015.

Austen Shipley is a staff writer for Yellowhammer News.