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Murder suspect moves to New York

David White posted $150,000 bail and took off to the Northeast. He is being charged with second degree murder in the death of his wife last year.

By THOMAS LAKE
Published July 15, 2006

A man facing a second-degree murder charge has posted $150,000 bail, left the county jail and moved to an upstate New York town barely 20 miles from the Canadian border.

Moreover, David White told the Times on Friday that he has his old job back. He would not elaborate during the brief telephone interview from his sister's house in Wilson, N.Y., but authorities said that before his arrest he'd been working as a school groundskeeper.

"I'd love to talk to you; I really would," White said, explaining his lawyer had advised against it. "I can't even tell you what I had for dinner last night without his okay."

White, a 38-year-old former New Port Richey resident, is accused of killing his wife Andrea in April 2005. According to a sworn affidavit from the sheriff's office, her body was discovered three months later in woods near a house in Trinity where White had worked as a handyman.

White left for New York the same day his wife's body was found, the affidavit said. But he was arrested last month after a long investigation and brought back to Pasco County June 4 to face the murder charge.

Jail records show he posted the $150,000 bail July 6. He won't have to come back until a pre-trial conference about two months from now, said Mike Halkitis, division director for the State Attorney's Office in New Port Richey.

"I don't think he's gonna take off to Canada," said Halkitis, adding that in 25 years here he has never seen anyone leave after posting bond on a murder charge.

Even if he tried, Canadian officials might stop him. Jean D'Amelio-Sawyer, a spokeswoman for the Canada Border Services Agency, said checkpoint workers can query American warrant databases and stop those whose names appear.

And the company that put up the cash for his bond provides further assurance, said Bruce Winick, who teaches criminal procedure at the University of Miami.

"They're going to protect their investment," he said. "So if he flees, they're going to hunt him down."

But it was unclear Friday exactly which person persuaded the bond company to put up bail for White, who qualifies for a public defender.

The seal on the bond document comes from American Surety Company of Indianapolis. An operator at the company's headquarters transferred a reporter to a man identified only as "P.J.," who refused to disclose his name.

When asked about White's transaction, he refused to answer questions. When asked to discuss the general criteria for posting bond, he said this:

"No, I don't think that's relevant to you. Thank you very much for your time."

And he hung up.

[Last modified July 14, 2006, 22:08:50]