WARNING: this article contains themes of assault, domestic abuse, and murder
Netflix’s true-crime documentary,Jailbreak: Love on the Run, has divided opinion, particularly concerningthe love affair between long-time violent felon Casey White and Vicky White(surnames entirely co-incidental), the Assistant Director of the Fort Lauderdale County Jail from which the pair fled in April 2022.Jailbreak: Love on the Run’strue storyexamines the origins of White’s relationship, and traces its development through the eyes of Vicky White’s former colleagues, friends, and the felons who were under her supervision.
Casey White was serving a 75-year sentencein Bessemer, Alabama for a crime spree including home invasion, car-jackings and multiple shootings, when he confessed to the 2015 murder of Connie Ridgeway in Rogersville, and was subsequently transferred to Fort Lauderdale in 2020 to await trial. There he came under the supervision of 17-year veteran corrections officer Vicky White. At some point soon after they began a secret relationship, which culminated in the pair engineering his escape andprompting an 11-day manhunt to bring them both to justice. That pursuit ended tragically for Vicky White.
Tyler Purser Was Casey White’s Cellmate In Lauderdale County Jail
Purser Knew And Liked Both Casey and Vicky White
Investigators piecing together the history of their affairrelied on recorded telephone conversations discovered after the eventand on the witness testimony of Casey White’s fellow inmates. One such inmate was Tyler Pursey, a Florence native who had been incarcerated at Fort Lauderdale for assault and domestic violence. Pursey had been Casey White’s cellmate, and inJailbreak: Love on the Run,he was able to reflect on the illicit activities of Casey and Vicky White.
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Tyler paints a picture of Casey White as adecent, sociable individual when sober, but a violent, unpredictable manunder the influence of alcohol or drugs. He could even be charming, “Old Casey White is a, uh, romancer. I don’t want to call him a stud muffin.” Meanwhile, he spoke affectionately of Assistant Director White and her rapport with prisoners: “That woman was good to us…she treated everybody like they were somebody.”
What Tyler Purser Has Said About Casey White & Vicky White’s Affair & Escape
Tyler Pursey Insists The Relationship Was Real
Despite his proximity to the situation, Purser insists he had no idea that Casey and Vicky White were conducting an affair. However, he acknowledges that, given hindsight, there were clear indicators that something was going on.Casey White would “light up like a Christmas tree” when Vicky White was around, and on occasion he and others would be moved out of their shared cell, leaving the corrections officer and prisoner alone together, which was contrary to the usual regulations.
Purser is adamant, however, that the love affair was genuine, flying in the face of the official view, which was thatCasey White was, and remains, a master manipulatorwhoinveigled a lonely 56-year-old woman to jettison her career, reputation, and ultimately her lifein service of his selfish obsession for freedom.
Purser is adamant, however, that the love affair was genuine, flying in the face of the official view, which was thatCasey White was, and remains, a master manipulatorwhoinveigled a lonely 56-year-old woman to jettison her career, reputation, and ultimately her lifein service of his selfish obsession for freedom. “Don’t paint it out like he’s a monster. Don’t paint it out like she was a fool,” declares Purser, “They were just two people from different walks of life that fell in love.”
Where Tyler Purser Is Today
Tyler Purser Is Out Of Jail and Getting On With His Life
Since then, Tyler Purser has been released from prison and all indications are that he’s one of the few for whom prison has been the transformative experience it should be; religion played its part too.He currently resides in Florence, Alabama, was baptized in 2022,and even though he’s officially listed as “separated” from wife Payten, and his two children Graesyn and Brenna, it’s clear that he’s making a significant effort to turn his life around with a steady job as a wireman [viaCinemaholic.] A former police officer himself, Purser’s brush with the law appears to have paid off.
InJailbreak: Love on the Run,Tyler Purser and Casey White would appear to be unlikely friends - White’s violent history contrasting with Purser’s previous life as a police officer, but Purser’s regard for White seems entirely genuine.They undoubtedly forged a co-dependent friendship behind bars,which was reflected in the affection both held for Vicky White, who was their jailer but also their advocate. While the White-White love affair was a tragic one, Purser’s relationship with Vicky White was rooted in his past: “She was like a mother figure,” he says, “that everybody in there never had growing up.”
Source:Cinemaholic
Jailbreak: Love on the Run
Vicky White, a well-respected corrections officer, becomes embroiled in a high-stakes escape plan with convicted felon Casey White, nearly twenty years her junior. Their forbidden romance sets off a national manhunt, culminating in a tragic end after 11 days on the run, spotlighting the intense media frenzy that followed their actions.
