Steven Jay Russell on:
[Wikipedia]
[Google]
[Amazon]
Steven Jay Russell (born December 31, 1957) is an American con artist, known for escaping from prison multiple times.
'' I Love You Phillip Morris'', a film about his life and crimes, was produced in 2009.
Russell was adopted in 1957 after his birth parents divorced by Georgia and David Russell, whose family owned a produce business. At the age of 18, he began working for the family business, and he also volunteered as a reserve sheriff's deputy and played organ for his church. In 1976, he married Debbie Davis, daughter of the police chief's secretary, and their daughter, Stephanie, was born two years later. Russell and his wife divorced after he revealed to her that he was gay.
Russell began to support himself through a variety of scams including faking slip and fall accidents and selling counterfeit
". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on November 30, 2019. TDCJ ID: 00760259, SID: 05138971 on a 23-hour lockup, only having one free hour a day to shower and exercise. He was previously held in the Mark W. Michael Unit and the W.J. Estelle Unit. His maximum sentence date was March 13, 2113, and he became eligible for parole on December 15, 2020. On February 7, 2023, Russell was granted parole. His release date was on July 11th, 2024.
Life and crimes
Russell was adopted in 1957 after his birth parents divorced by Georgia and David Russell, whose family owned a produce business. At the age of 18, he began working for the family business, and he also volunteered as a reserve sheriff's deputy and played organ for his church. In 1976, he married Debbie Davis, daughter of the police chief's secretary, and their daughter, Stephanie, was born two years later. Russell and his wife divorced after he revealed to her that he was gay.
Russell began to support himself through a variety of scams including faking slip and fall accidents and selling counterfeit Rolex
Rolex () is a Swiss watch brand and manufacturer based in Geneva, Switzerland. Founded in 1905 as ''Wilsdorf and Davis'' by German businessman Hans Wilsdorf and his eventual brother-in-law Alfred Davis in London, the company registered ''Rolex ...
watches, leading him to be arrested for fraud. In 1995 he began a relationship with fellow inmate Phillip Morris.
On March 20, 1998, Russell posed as a millionaire from Virginia
Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...
in an attempt to legitimize a $75,000 loan from NationsBank in Dallas
Dallas () is a city in the U.S. state of Texas and the most populous city in the Dallas–Fort Worth metroplex, the List of Texas metropolitan areas, most populous metropolitan area in Texas and the Metropolitan statistical area, fourth-most ...
; when bank officials became suspicious and alerted the police, Russell feigned a heart attack
A myocardial infarction (MI), commonly known as a heart attack, occurs when Ischemia, blood flow decreases or stops in one of the coronary arteries of the heart, causing infarction (tissue death) to the heart muscle. The most common symptom ...
and was transported to the hospital. Russell was placed on security watch, but he impersonated an FBI agent and called the hospital on his mobile telephone to tell them he could be released.
U.S. Marshals later tracked Russell to Florida, where they arrested him on April 5, 1998, when he went to retrieve a fax. Russell was sentenced to a total of 144 years in prison (99 years for the escapes and 45 years for subsequent scams).
As of 2010, Russell was in the Allan B. Polunsky UnitRUSSELL, STEVEN L". Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Retrieved on November 30, 2019. TDCJ ID: 00760259, SID: 05138971 on a 23-hour lockup, only having one free hour a day to shower and exercise. He was previously held in the Mark W. Michael Unit and the W.J. Estelle Unit. His maximum sentence date was March 13, 2113, and he became eligible for parole on December 15, 2020. On February 7, 2023, Russell was granted parole. His release date was on July 11th, 2024.
In media
A film about his life and crimes was produced in 2009, named '' I Love You Phillip Morris'', starring Jim Carrey as Russell and Ewan McGregor as his boyfriend Phillip Morris. Since the movie went into production and Russell's story became more popular, several articles appeared in print and online uncovering lesser known details of his exploits. ''Esquire
Esquire (, ; abbreviated Esq.) is usually a courtesy title. In the United Kingdom, ''esquire'' historically was a title of respect accorded to men of higher social rank, particularly members of the landed gentry above the rank of gentleman ...
'' magazine interviewed both Russell and Morris for its feature, "The Great Escapee", while ''The Guardian
''The Guardian'' is a British daily newspaper. It was founded in Manchester in 1821 as ''The Manchester Guardian'' and changed its name in 1959, followed by a move to London. Along with its sister paper, ''The Guardian Weekly'', ''The Guardi ...
'' published "I Love You, Phillip Morris: A Conman's Story".
In 2011, his crimes were featured on the television series '' I Almost Got Away with It'', in the episode "Got A Boyfriend to Support". He was also the subject of "On The Run", a 2005 episode of The Discovery Channel series ''King of Cons''.
See also
* List of people who escaped multiple times from prisonReferences
External links
* * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Russell, Steven Jay 1957 births 20th-century American criminals 20th-century American LGBTQ people 21st-century American LGBTQ people American adoptees American confidence tricksters American deputy sheriffs American escapees American police officers convicted of crimes Impostors American gay men Place of birth missing (living people) LGBTQ people from North Carolina Living people People from Elizabeth City, North Carolina People from Virginia Beach, Virginia Prisoners and detainees of Texas