BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) -- Saturday marks one year since the Carlee Russell kidnapping hoax saga and Alabama Attorney General Steve Marshall joined CBS 42 Morning News to discuss the case.
Russell, a nursing student who garnered national attention when she disappeared for two days in Hoover last summer, pleaded guilty to filing a false police report and falsely reporting an incident to law enforcement this past March at the Jefferson County Courthouse in Bessemer. Russell did not face jail time for the hoax, but instead received a six-month suspended jail sentence and placed on probation for a year.
Additionally, Russell was ordered to pay nearly $18,000 in restitution to the city of Hoover and serve 100 hours of community service.
“Carlee apologized to the community, to Hoover, to the volunteers for her action and I hope that we will accept that and move on and allow her to live her life,” Russell’s attorney Emory Anthony said after Russell pleaded guilty in the case.
“It’s a little disappointing because it was such an elaborate hoax. The sentencing was similar to the guy who goes to Home Depot and steals a chainsaw,” Hoover Police Chief Nick Derzis said regarding the lack of jail time for Russell.
To this day, Russell has never explained why she lied about the circumstances surrounding her disappearance.
Following Russell’s faked kidnapping, legislation was approved to make false reporting of a crime a felony if the report alleges imminent danger to a person or the public. State lawmakers supporting the bill said Russell’s misdemeanor charges didn’t go far enough considering the massive search efforts she prompted.
The convicted person would also have to pay restitution for resources spent by law enforcement.