LOUISVILLE, Ky. — The Kentucky woman who admitted to hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband is being accused of still trying to kill him after pleading guilty to murder for hire and stalking in April 2024.
According to a sentencing document filed by the prosecution, one day after Stephanie Russell took the plea deal, she was trying to find another person to kill her ex-husband.
The prosecution alleged Russell sent a letter to a fellow incarcerated woman's boyfriend with information about where her ex-husband lived and other personal information, and asked if he knew anyone who would be willing to kill her ex-husband.
At this time, the prosecution won't withdraw the plea agreement, but instead said she should be sentenced to 12 years in prison.
A memo from the defense argued the allegations shouldn't be taken into consideration for sentencing until the court reviews the evidence.
Russell was arrested in May 2022. According to court records, the former pediatrician believed she hired someone to kill her ex-husband for a total of $7,000.
She had accused him of abusing their children in 2019, but in an affidavit released in 2022, the detective assigned to the case did not find any evidence of child abuse.
In July 2021, Russell began soliciting her employees at Kidzlife Pediatrics in Norton Commons, asking them if they knew anyone who would kill him, according to court documents.
One of the employees approached the FBI in spring 2022 with information about what Russell called "Christmas Flowers", which is a code she used when referencing the attempted murder plot documents showed.
Documents also showed she tried to put a "death spell" on her ex-husband.
Her sentencing is scheduled for July 31.
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