Court documents show that a Louisville pediatrician was involved in a years-long custody battle with her ex-husband before she was arrested for trying to hire a hit man to kill him. According to the US Department of Justice, Stephanie Russell, 52, contacted someone she believed she was hiring to kill her former spouse on May 15. The “hitman” was actually an FBI Undercover Employee, the DOJ said.They said Russell agreed to pay $7,000 for the hit, and on May 18, Russell placed $3,500 outside of her medical office in a dropbox as half of the payment, agreeing to pay the other half once the murder took place. Court documents show Dr. Stephanie Russell made claims that her ex-husband was abusing her and her oldest child — claims that were found to be unsubstantiated.”I felt like I was swinging in a tennis match, swinging at all these balls and they just kept coming and a lot of work went in by Laurel in family court fending off the EPO’S and the frivolous motions and then we were really busy meeting with crimes against children,” her ex-husband’s lawyer John Harralson said. “I’m trying to subpoena phone records for this weird phone that was calling and I’m giving those records to police.”The documents show that after an 18 month investigation into the claims of abuse, Russell was found to be lying. Russell operates KidzLife Pediatrics in Norton Commons and lost custody of her children in 2020. She was only allowed supervised visits. The court-appointed doctor supported her ex-husband’s belief that Russell “emotionally abused the children by using them to fabricate false physical and sexual abuse claims against him.”The documents also explain her ex-husband’s concern about safety saying testified that Russell had ” made statements that she would kill him in his sleep.”The concern was also echoed by a court-appointed doctor who stated Russell could “escalate her behavior and presents a high risk for violence” with the doctor phrasing it as “uncomfortably high.” Harralson believes the evidence was mounting against Russell. “They finally did a warrant on her phone and found text messages or other evidence that corroborated the first attempt to hire a hitman, they found all these videos in the phone where she was having the kids practice making false allegations against them,” Harralson said . “If they didn’t say it right, she’d start over again so she turned these over to authorities but all the fail videos were still on her phone.”All of it culminated to Russell being arrested last week for trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband. Russell is in a federal prison in Oldham County. She made her first court appearance before a US Magistrate Judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on Friday.If convicted, she faces a maximum term of up to 10 years in federal prison. There is no parole in the federal system. A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors. The FBI and LMPD are investigating the case.

LOUISVILLE, Ky. —

Court documents show that a Louisville pediatrician was involved in a years-long custody battle with her ex-husband before she was arrested for trying to hire a hit man to kill him.

According to the US Department of Justice, Stephanie Russell, 52, contacted someone she believed she was hiring to kill her former spouse on May 15.

The “hitman” was actually an FBI Undercover Employee, the DOJ said.

They said Russell agreed to pay $7,000 for the hit, and on May 18, Russell placed $3,500 outside of her medical office in a dropbox as half of the payment, agreeing to pay the other half once the murder took place.

Court documents show Dr. Stephanie Russell made claims that her ex-husband was abusing her and her oldest child — claims that were found to be unsubstantiated.

“I felt like I was swinging in a tennis match, swinging at all these balls and they just kept coming and a lot of work went in by Laurel in family court fending off the EPO’S and the frivolous motions and then we were really busy meeting with crimes against children,” her ex-husband’s lawyer John Harralson said. “I’m trying to subpoena phone records for this weird phone that was calling and I’m giving those records to police.”

The documents show that after an 18 month investigation into the claims of abuse, Russell was found to be lying.

Russell operates KidzLife Pediatrics in Norton Commons and lost custody of her children in 2020. She was only allowed supervised visits.

The court-appointed doctor supported her ex-husband’s belief that Russell “emotionally abused the children by using them to fabricate false physical and sexual abuse claims against him.”

The documents also explain her ex-husband’s concern about safety saying testified that Russell had “made statements that she would kill him in his sleep.”

The concern was also echoed by a court-appointed doctor who stated Russell could “escalate her behavior and presents a high risk for violence” with the doctor phrasing it as “uncomfortably high.”

Harralson believes the evidence was mounting against Russell.

“They finally did a warrant on her phone and found text messages or other evidence that corroborated the first attempt to hire a hitman, they found all these videos in the phone where she was having the kids practice making false allegations against them,” Harralson said . “If they didn’t say it right, she’d start over again so she turned these over to authorities but all the fail videos were still on her phone.”

All of it culminated in Russell being arrested last week for trying to hire a hitman to kill her ex-husband.

Russell is in a federal prison in Oldham County. She made her first court appearance before a US Magistrate Judge in the US District Court for the Western District of Kentucky on Friday.

If convicted, she faces a maximum term of up to 10 years in federal prison. There is no slogan in the federal system.

A federal district court judge will determine any sentence after considering the US Sentencing Guidelines and other statutory factors.

The FBI and LMPD are investigating the case.