WHAT happened to Connie Ridgeway? – That’s a question that continues to haunt the minds of her two surviving sons almost a decade on from her mysterious unsolved murder.
Connie, 59, was butchered by a knife-wielding assailant inside her home in Rogersville, Alabama, in October 2015.
8
8
8
The mom-of-two – described by her sons as the “sweetest southern lady” – suffered multiple sharp-force and blunt-force injuries to her face, neck, and hands.
It was theorized at the time that Connie may have been killed during a home invasion robbery but a concrete motive for her death has never been established.
Convicted felon Casey White – who made headlines in April 2022 when he broke free from prison with the help of his jail guard lover, Vicky White – previously confessed to the killing in 2020 but investigators no longer believe his admissions of guilt to be legitimate.
He was due to go on trial for Connie’s murder at the time of his jailbreak attempt but is no longer being investigated in connection with the case.
Read More About Connie’s Case
Connie’s eldest son, Austin Williams, told The U.S. Sun he feels deflated and disheartened to be back at square one, with justice no nearer in sight than it had been on the afternoon she was discovered lifeless and bloodied in her living room nine years ago.
Austin said his mom had no known enemies and was renowned for her kindness, regularly opening her door to those in need.
The grieving son said he couldn’t think of anyone who would wish to harm his mother.
However, he has always been suspicious about the timing of her death, sharing that she’d been due to testify as a witness in a fraud trial three days after she was killed, in a case involving the daughter of a close friend.
“That’s always stood out to me as maybe more than a coincidence,” Austin said.
“Was my mother murdered to stop her testifying in that case? That’s something I’ve asked myself.
“It certainly seems a little sketchy, right?”
Details concerning the trial in question are being withheld until those involved can be reached for comment.
Austin alleged the woman on trial acted suspiciously in the wake of his mother’s murder, appearing to be “fake crying” when she was found.
He also claims the woman had an injury on her hand and was treated at the scene.
He further shared, “The very next day [the woman] knocked on our door while we were cleaning our mother’s – very bloody – apartment and asked if we had the subpoena.
“She didn’t have anything civil to say, like, ‘Sorry for your loss. I loved your mother.’ It was just, ‘Do you have the subpoena?’
“What kind of person knocks on the door of a murder victim […] and asks questions like that?”
‘FALSE CONFESSIONS’
Austin no longer believes that Casey White had anything to do with Connie’s death.
Casey White offered three confessions to police about Connie’s murder in 2020, claiming to have been paid to kill her.
At the time of his first confession, he said he wanted to set the record straight because he believed his life and his family’s lives were in danger.
White was then being held at the Donaldson Correctional Facility in Bessemer where he had recently gotten into a physical skirmish with one of the prison’s leading gang members and feared retribution.
I don’t have the words to describe the person who could do something like this, but we’re worried that they’re still out there.
Austin Williams
Each of White’s confessions offered a slightly different version of events, but he claimed to have been paid $2,500 by a woman to carry out the murder.
White admitted to cutting Connie’s throat with a knife but said he couldn’t remember striking her with anything else other than his fists.
However, Connie’s autopsy showed she’d suffered multiple stab wounds to the face, neck, and hands as well as hammer blows to her head and fingers.
A blood-stained knife and hammer were recovered from the scene.
White eventually recanted his confessions and police have since shifted the focus of their investigation away from him.
LINGERING SUSPICIONS
In his endless search for answers, Austin says he has identified two other potential suspects who may have had a motive to murder his mom.
According to Austin, his mom was also known in the local area for opening her doors to anyone in need, including a man who she’d kicked out of her apartment days before her murder.
The man, who is now dead, was interviewed by police and he told investigators he was interested in Ridgeway romantically but she did not share his affections.
That individual was not found to be a match for DNA recovered from the scene, Austin said.
His mom also had another close male friend – who has also since died – who had access to her apartment but didn’t enter the property when he went to check to see if she was okay, having not received any messages or calls from her for several days.
8
8
8
Austin said that always struck him as suspicious.
“He was in love with her,” said Austin of the close friend. “I think he was the last person she ever texted […] she usually left her back door open and he knew this, he’d come and help her out because she was diabetic.
“She was meant to give him a ride that day to go to a quarry, but he knocked on her door and she didn’t answer.
“He said she didn’t answer so he left. Which doesn’t make sense, because usually, he’d just let himself in, he’d go round the back.”
The man was later arrested for a DUI just hours after her remains were found.
“That was even more suspicious,” added Austin.
SEEKING CLOSURE
Austin and his younger brother Cameron are desperate for answers about their mother’s death and are growing increasingly pessimistic about the likelihood of investigators getting them.
“Nine years have passed and we’re still in the same boat, we are back to square one,” said Austin.
“And now we have to wonder if the state is even going to pay attention to the case.
“It’s just really concerning because the person who did this is still out there.”
Austin said he feared for many years that the culprit may have been targeting him too.
“After the murder happened I went through a service that scrubbed my name off the internet in case someone was trying to find me,” he shared.
“If somebody can murder my lovely mother in such a horrible and brutal way, what else are they capable of?
“We were left to wonder, were they after all of us?”
Austin added, “I don’t have the words to describe the person who could do something like this, but we’re worried that they’re still out there.
“And if they are, I’d ask them to please turn themselves in.”
8
8
Authorities are offering a $5,000 reward for any information that leads to the arrest of Connie’s murderer.
Casey White, meanwhile, is currently serving a 75-year sentence for kidnapping and attempted murder.
He was issued an additional life sentence for his escape attempt with Vicky White and will not be eligible for parole until 2081.
The forbidden lovers went on the lam for 11 days, sparking a nationwide manhunt.
Their run ended with a brief car chase and culminated with Vicky White claiming her own life with a self-inflicted gunshot wound.
In July 2023, two weeks before Casey White was due to go on trial for the Ridgeway murder, the Lauderdale County DA moved to suspend Casey White’s prosecution indefinitely.
At the time, the DA’s office said – with Ridgeways’ children’s blessing – they’d decided to suspend the trial, in part, because investigators were continuing to actively investigate the case, “including but not limited to the potential involvement of other people in the murder of Connie Ridgeway.”
Anyone with information about Connie Ridgeway’s murder has been urged to call the Alabama Law Enforcement Agency’s tip line at 1-800-392-8011.
Credit Gist New Today News in Newspaper Nigeria Headlines