A doctor, a hit man and a ‘death spell’: Bizarre murder-for-hire case unfolds in Louisville

The strange case of the licensed pediatrician charged with allegedly hiring a hit man to kill her ex-husband has grown even more bizarre with the disclosure by her own lawyers that Dr. Stephanie Russell also tried to engage a Brazilian “spiritual healer” to put a “death spell” on her former spouse.

According to text messages filed in U.S. District Court, Russell and the woman, who isn't identified, had detailed discussions about a “curse" Russell wanted placed on Rick Crabtree, a financial adviser for Morgan Stanley, after he won sole custody or their two children.

When Russell asked the purported healer how she could be sure the spell would work, the woman said she had an "85% death rate” and that the curse worked so fast he could be dead in five hours.

The defense says Russell believed the spiritual healer was real. And unlike a man who offered to kill Russell’s former spouse for $7,000 and turned out to be undercover FBI agent, the Brazilian woman was not working for the government.

The defense team, led by attorney Scott C. Cox, filed the texts to show Russell’s “state of mind” at the time of the crime − that she was delusional − according to a court filing.

Assistant U.S. Attorney Marisa Ford did not respond to questions about the messages, which were exchanged in March 2022, and an office spokesperson said they had no comment. But in court papers, Ford warned Judge David Hale to be on the lookout for efforts to try to generate sympathy for Russell.

In the first text message, Russell told the healer she had been given her name, which is not disclosed in the identified texts, by another Brazilian.

Beginning one exchange, Russell asked matter-of-factly, “Do you use sacrifice?” In another text, Russell asked her more specifically if she used “quimbanda,” defined as an Afro-Brazilian religious practice and known more generally as a synonym for evil practices.

Growing impatient, the woman asked Russell if she wanted to ask questions or get results.

“I can’t tell you inside details, but I will do your job,” the purported healer said.

Russell gave her Crabtree’s name and a photo of him.

When Russell still pressed for more information about the spell, the woman said, ”It’s a death spell my dear, not a love spell.”

When Russell asked if she could pay “on success,” the woman said she only worked on a cash basis, but she offered a “100% money back guarantee.”

Russell, who ran the popular Kidz Life Pediatrics in Louisville's Norton Commons, was arrested in May 2022 and charged with violating a federal murder-for-hire law that carries a 10-year prison term.

A federal magistrate judge, finding she posed a danger if released, ordered her jailed pending trial.

Her trial was scheduled to have begun in December, but the defense asked for and got a continuance after Hale foreclosed its defense – that Russell acted under an “extreme emotional disturbance.” Hale said that defense is not permitted in murder-for-hire prosecutions. But he did say Russell's lawyers could try to show she was delusional or acting under a compulsion.

The attorneys say she believed that her children were being abused by Crabtree – an allegation that a Jefferson family court judge found was groundless.

The trial is now set for April 22.

According to one of the several dozen text messages, the supposed spiritual healer warned Russell that if the spell worked and Crabtree died, both she and Russell could get in trouble and advised her it might be safer just to have her use her powers to "banish" Crabtree. But Russell said she wanted him dead.

This article originally appeared on Louisville Courier Journal: Kentucky doctor's bizarre murder-for-hire case involved death spell