Update: The Hoover Police Department in Hoover, Alabama held a press conference on Monday (July 8) to announce an update in the Carlee Russell case.
Hoover police Chief Nick Derzis read a letter from Russell’s attorney, Emery Anthony, who said Russell admitted there was no abduction and no baby.
Anthony claims the 26-year-old former spa worker apologized to the police and the community for misleading them.
He said she acted alone and she did not have any help for 48 hours.
The full statement reads:
“My client has given me permission to make the following statement on her behalf: There was no kidnapping on July 13, 2023. My client did not see a baby on the side of the road. My client did not leave the Hoover area when she was identified as a missing person. My client did not have any help in this incident, but this was a single act done by herself.”
“My client was not with anyone or at any hotel during the time she was missing. My client apologizes for her actions to the community, the volunteers who were searching for her, to the Hoover Police Department and other agencies, as well as to her friends and family.”
On the advice of her attorney, Carlee Russell deactivated her Facebook page and Instagram comments section.
Her parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell deactivated their Facebook pages on Friday.
Derzis confirmed there is no scheduled meeting with Russell or her family.
The police plan to meet with Russell’s attorney tomorrow (July 25).
Derzis said the Hoover PD knew Russell’s abduction was a hoax from the beginning.
He said any charges against Russell will be announced tomorrow (July 25).
Watch video of the press conference below.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=MEfxtOu0n7M&t=64s
Originally published on: Jul 24, 2023 at 09:55 AM:
Carlee Russell celebrated her 26th birthday at home in Hoover, Alabama on Sunday (July 23). The former spa worker’s birthday was Saturday (July 22).
Russell made headlines when she allegedly faked her own abduction on July 13. She called 911 and reported seeing a toddler on the side of Highway 459. However, police later said there was no evidence of a child walking along the highway.
RELATED: Carlee Russell’s neighbors express outrage over fake abduction (Video)
She had planned to celebrate her birthday in Atlanta over the weekend. But police confiscated her cell phone and told her to remain in the area.
Law enforcement also seized the cell phones of her parents, Talitha and Carlos Russell.
Photographs obtained by the Daily Mail UK show a dozen cars parked in the driveway of her parents’ suburban home on Sunday as the family celebrated her birthday.
Three Hoover Police Department cars drove slowly past the home, as guests came and went from the party, according to The Mail.
While a birthday party is a joyous occasion, Russell’s party was overshadowed by her unemployment status and impending arrest.
Russell was fired from the Woodhouse spa in Birmingham after she reportedly stole money, a bathrobe and a roll of toilet paper from her workplace the night she went missing.
The owner told WBRC that he is considering filing theft charges against Russell.
According to credible sources, investigators with the Hoover Police Department are preparing to arrest Russell and charge her with filing a false police report.
There will likely be other Class A misdemeanors charges filed against Russell.
Former U.S. Attorney Jay Town said it is illegal to give false reports or false statements to law enforcement.
The charge is punishable by jail time and civil penalties that could cost her parents six figures. She could also be charged with theft from her workplace.
The FBI, Secret Service, and Homeland Security are reportedly involved in the investigation alongside the Hoover PD.
Russell has reportedly denied a request for a second interview with police. Her parents say she is too mentally traumatized to talk to investigators.
