She allegedly tried to recruit another incarcerated woman’s boyfriend to do the same… this after attempting to cast a “voodoo death spell” on her ex ahead of a murder-for-hire plot.
A Kentucky woman who previously pleaded guilty to murder-for-hire and stalking is in the hot seat again with prosecutors — after allegedly trying to hire someone else to kill her ex. after accepting your plea bargain.
Dr. Stephanie Russell was initially loaded with the use of interstate commerce services within the murder-for-hire rate again in 2022. Investigators mentioned that she contacted someone she believed to be a hitman – but was truly an undercover FBI agent — to kill his ex, Rick Crabtree.
On April 22, 2024 — the day her trial was set to begin — she accepted a plea deal in the case, with sentencing set for later this month. This week, however, the case took a different turn, as prosecutors allege Russell continued to hunt for someone to kill her ex after pleading guilty.
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In response to a sentencing document from prosecutors“The day after Russell pleaded guilty, the United States was notified that Russell, who is in pretrial detention, was soliciting other female prisoners in a renewed effort to find someone to murder her ex-husband.”
Because of this claim, the federal government objects to Russell “receiving any discount for acceptance of duty” in terms of sentencing.
As evidence, the sentencing document points to “a letter postmarked April 22, 2024, the date of Russell’s guilty plea, sent by another pretrial detainee to her boyfriend at Russell’s request.”
“Russell wanted to know if her boyfriend knew anyone who might be interested in killing her ex-husband,” prosecutors said. “The letter included Russell’s ex-husband’s identity and handle, personal information that, according to federal records, had not been made publicly available as part of either the federal court case or the family court litigation.”
Because the plea agreement calls for a sentence of between 97 and 144 months, U.S. prosecutors are currently requesting that “the Court impose a sentence at the high end of that range, or 144 months.” His sentencing is scheduled for July 31; Russell’s attorney did not comment on the newest replacement.
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In response to a 2022 legal complaint, the main murder-for-hire plot came to light amid an investigation into child abuse allegations Russell made against her ex-husband amid a bitter custody battle over their two children. The FBI agent assigned to the case wrote that Crabtree told local police in 2019 that his ex “was trying to hire a hit man to kill him for the purpose of taking full custody of their two children.”
At the time, Crabtree’s attorney provided a sworn statement from one of his children’s nannies to police stating that “she was approached by Russell at a series of events where Russell alluded to eliminating Crabtree” — and asked if she knew of “‘really dangerous people’ who could eliminate” Rick. However, at the time, another FBI agent investigating the case was unable to corroborate the allegations against Russell, and the investigation was discontinued.
In March 2022, however, local police provided new information to the FBI about another alleged contract killing plot. Someone who worked at Russell’s medical workplace, Kidz Life Pediatrics, alleged that Russell “allegedly approached several workers … about helping find someone to kill her ex-husband,” based on the review.
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When the FBI spoke to the same witness, they mentioned that Russell “approached two nurses at the company at separate events and asked each of them for help in killing Crabtree.” The two witnesses — who both worked at Kidz Life — provided text messages in which Russell mentioned hiring someone to send “Christmas flowers,” which they said was code for killing their ex. The texts allegedly showed Russell agreeing to pay a third person $4,000 for the job. While a date was not set, one of the witnesses did not mention the person they were he would be to have employee “killed herself and will not” complete the task at hand — telling the FBI that she was told to try to “end the conversations” with Russell.
When the second witness stopped working, Russell allegedly began asking a third employee for help.
By this point, the FBI had already been tipped off about the case by local police and were speaking to each witness. When one of them met with Russell again, they gave him the number of an undercover FBI agent “and recognized him as someone who would kill her ex-husband.”
Russell agreed to pay half the cost up front and told the agent she had left the money in a lab specimen field outside her workplace, according to the review. Although the feds did not see Russell make the delivery, the money was in the place she mentioned it might be and an arrest warrant was issued and Russell was taken into custody.
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Again in March, extra the paperwork was filed by protection in her case, along with photos of WhatsApp communications between Russell and spiritualists claiming to be proficient in “death spells”. Her defense released the messages in an attempt to show how their client’s “mental health” was severely disturbed at the time.
The first of the messages was between Russell and someone known only as “Mommy.”
“In search of a life-loss spell. Have you learned about Quimbanda? What is its success rate? Its value? Its guarantee?” Russell asked at first, referring to an Afro-Brazilian faith that supposedly makes use of animal sacrifice.
“The success rates of killing are 85%… the cost depends on the variety of people… 100% guarantee or a refund,” the girl replied. After being told that her providers would only be needed to eliminate a particular person, the spiritualist mentioned that it would cost $580.
“Do you employ sacrifice?” Russell asked, before the spiritualist replied that he did not. The pediatrician then wondered if she would pay “after success.”
“I work on a money-only basis. It is strictly a life-loss spell. I cannot tell you the inside details, but I will do your work,” the girl replied.
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Additional messages feature Russell reaching out to a different person whose contract was “religious healer,” once again seeking a death spell. This person mentioned that they would charge $430, needing half of it up front — promising “100% finish in 6 hours.”
“Can I pay later? I can’t pay without results. Please help me. I promise you can trust me,” said Russell, who claimed to have “tried everything” before asking if the spiritualist used Quimbanda or Voodoo. The person said he practiced the latter.
Finally, they agreed to take only a $50 deposit, saying Russell would have results by the end of the day and promising “a refund” if the spell didn’t work. Russell then sent the person a photo of Crabtree, along with his full name.
A third person contacted by Russell was also asked about the same death spells, their success rate, time frame and value.
The pediatrician was told, “What I can see is that he is involved in black magic and moreover, he has some kind of security. Killing him will hurt him additionally. If you want, we can banish him so that he stays away from you and your loved ones… I will advise you to use the banishing spell only.”
She responded by saying, “The only method we can have peace is if he dies. Is there anything you can do to trigger the loss of life?”
Per Regulation and Crimeciting the lawsuit, her attorneys “submitted the text messages to show that their client seriously believed her ex-husband was a danger to her children and that she did not have the psychological capacity to be convicted of murder for hire.”
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