Final Arrest and Life After Prison

Have you ever heard of the ship of Theseus It's an a old Greek thought experiment that goes like this Picture a wooden ship that sails of seas for decades Eventually a plank rots and gets replaced then another. thenen the mass. Over time, every piece of the original ship gets swapped out until nothing original remains. So question is, Is it still the same ship It's a question about identity, about whether we're defined by what we're made of or by what we choose to become Some people spend their lives trying to escape who they are, building new identities until they forget What's underneath But the better you get at wearing disguises, the harder it becomes to take them off. And at some point, you have to ask yourself, if you've replaced every piece of who you were Are you still you Or have you become something else entirely I'm Harvey Gen. And this is killer stories It's nineteen seventy six in Norfolk, Virginia, and Stephen Russell is exactly the person he's supposed to be. He's got the conservative haircut, the starch collar, and the job at his family's produce business. He volunteers as a deputy sheriff on weekends, helping with traffic stops and community events Sundays He plays the organ at church, and when he marries Debbie Davis, the police chief's secretary's daughter It feels like the final piece clicking into place Three years later They have a daughter N name's Stephanie From the outside, Steven's life looks like a Norman Rockwell painting He spent his whole life trying to fit into frames that don't quite match his shape He was adopted as an infant and raised by Georgia and David Russell, conservative people who loved him, but never quite understood him. And there's another secret. When he buries deeper than the adoption Stehvens, gay This is nineteen seventies, Virginia, where being gay can cost you your job Y family and your freedom So Stehven does what a lot of gay men did back then, and still today He builds a life that looks normal from the outside, hoping that if he plays the part well enough Long enough, maybe the feelings will go away Spoiler alert, they don't Instead, Stephven becomes an expert at being one person in public and another in the rare moments when nobody's watching. And maybe that's why he's so good at becoming other people later. He's been doing it his whole life In his spare time, he uses his access to law enforcement databases to search for his biological mother. He's exploiting his position to learn how to find people who don't want to be found. how to access information that's supposed to be private It takes years, but he finally finds her. Just before they meet, he's nervous but hopeful. Maybe she'll want to know him. Maybe she'll explain why she gave him up. Maybe meeting her will help him understand who he's supposed to be Stephven tells her who he is that he's been looking for her his whole life. and then She rejects him completely doesn't want him in her life doesn't want to know him doesn't want a reminder of a mistake she made decades ago Stehven leaves that meeting feeling hollowed out If his birth mother doesn't want him, his adopted family can't see who he really is, and he can't even be honest about who he loves, then who is Stephven exactly In the early nineteen eighties, Stehven moves to Houston. He gets an executive job with Cisco, a national food distributor They double his Virginia salary and he buys a house in one of Houston's upscale subdivisions. Months later, once he's settled in, Debbie and Stephanie come to join him By that time though, Stehven's already living a double life During the day, he's a respectable food industry exec At night, he drives into Houston's vibrant gay neighborhood where nobody knows his real name He meets men at bars, goes dancing, explores a whole world he's kept hitting for decades Nobody at work knows Neither just Dbbie And Stehven's getting really, really good at being two different people At once. And then In nineteen eighty five, Stehven's adoptive father dies It triggers a personal crisis in Stephen. The man who raised him and loved him. Gone And Stephen never told him the truth about his sexuality Stephven had spent more than thirty years building up his walls when his father dies Those walls start to crumble The night of april fifteenth, nineteen eighty six begins like many of Stehven's evenings. picks up a man he's been dating in his new Corvette. They drive into the city, eat dinner, go dancing at a bar Late that evening, they returned to the man's apartment You can fill in the blanks from here About an hour and a half later, Stephven gets in his car and drives home He's feeling good. He's had a few drinks and he's behind the wheel of a flashy sports car. Things couldn't be better They're about to get a lot worse. He's doing sixty an hour in a thirty five zone when he passes a police car Instead of slowing down, Stephven hits the gas. He loses control, his car flips multiple times, throwing him in a ditch His pelvis is shattered. Doctors expect him to die someomehow He survives His marriage While Stephen recovers, Debbie takes over the finances. She discovers credit card bills from bars and restaurants she's never been to Hotels she doesn't recognize Double life Stehven's been living Start to unravel Debbie of course, assumes Stehven has been cheating on her. so She confronts him Stephven tells Debbie the truth He has been cheating. Not with a woman. Stephven tells Debbie that He's gay that the life they've built together isn't real. At least, not for him And look, I can't imagine how hard that conversation must have been for both of them. Debbie's world just implodes everything she thought she knew about her husband, her marriage, her future one In an instant T Dey's cred She doesn't get mad She's hurt and devastated, but she also seems to understand that Stehven's been drowning and decided to come up for air They divorce Remain friends Finally, Stehven stops hiding He moves into a small apartment and starts attending a church that gears its ministry to the queer community He meets a man named Jimmy Kemel all. Start handsome. For the first time in his life, Stephven gets to be himself He lives openly as a gay man Eventually, Stehven and Jimmy moved to Miami together and rent an apartment in Palm Beach They go to movies, concerts, at dinners. They hold hands walking down the street. A guy who spent thirty years pretreending to be someone else This must feel breathing for the first time. except There's a problem They don't just want to be themselves They want to live. Fabulously. Mercedes in the driveway, desesigner Clothose Michelin star restaurants and that kind of lifestyle It doesn't come easy when you're starting over in your thirties So When the money runs out When the bills pile up When reality threatens the life he's always dreamed of Stephven does what he's always done He lies. He invents and he becomes ver he needs to be to survive First, he exaggerates his credentials on job applications, and when that doesn't work, Stehven starts running insurance scamans. He fakes slip and fall accidents and sells counterfeit Rolex watches. Teams get bigger. as he gets more confident And It works for a while But in nineteen ninety, Stehven gets caught. Convicted of fraud and sentenced to six months in jail Six months. That's it If Stephven had just done his time and walked away clean, none of what comes next would have happened. Stehven spent his whole life hiding. Now that he's finally living openly, he can't stand the thought of going back into a cage And what he can stand even more than that Being away from Jimmy onlyly a month into his sentence, Stepven G some devastating news Jimmy's dying Aids This is the early nineties before the medications that would turn HIV from a death sentence into a manageable condition Stevens His first real love dying and Stehven's locked in a cell Hpless He refuses to accept that. So does what desperate men do into a corner takes a massive gamble It's may thirteenth, nineteen ninety two. A Friday And Stehven steals a set of civilian clothes from the intake area where new prisoners surrender their belongings before being processed red sweatpants and a tie dye t shirt. Not exactly subtle, but They'll do He also grabs a walkie talkie from the medical bay Stehven clips the walkie talkie to his belt, walks to the front gate, and taps The guard barely glances before opening the door Steve just waltzes out of jail. dressed like he's headed to a grateful Dead concert all because he had a walkie talkie. and a lot that it's Stephven finds a payphone and calls Jimmy Uh, I got out of jail early. Meet me at the Miami airport tomorrow morning sounds so romantic, right? Except when Jimmy Lands, Steven's like,m so Funny I lied. I actually escaped and we need to leave the country now Before Jimmy can process this information, they're at the counter. buuying tickets two Mexico city But here's the problem Jimmy's really close with his mom, which is normally a green flag, but not when you're fleeing the country Jimmy calls to tell her the plan, and Miss Kempo, being a good mom, doesn't think running off to Mexico with the fugitive is the best idea for her terminally ill son So she calls pololice Steven's arrested at the airport before he and Jimmy for the plane. Thanks a lot, Mom Even though he's clearly a flight risk, Stephven is allowed to bond out And instead of staying put He and Jimmy Run Mexico, Chicago, Florida, Stephven takes care of Jimmy as his health gets worse. just like you want it They can't last Because by traveling outside of Texas, Stephven is violating the terms of his bond He misses his first court hearing. thenen the next one They have eighteen months together before police track him down in june nineteen ninety four Stehven is sent back to jail facing years of prison at it to his sentence for the escape. Jimmy dies three weeks later He's only twenty eight years old Stephven learns about it from his cell He risked everything to be with Jimmy If you do the math, Stepehven's original sentence was six months If he just served his time back in nineteen ninety two would have been out in early nineteen ninety three free and clear could have been next to Jimmy on his deathbed Instead, Stehven chose to run He got eighteen precious months with Jimmy. Yes But He missed the ending Now you think that would teach Stehven something that sometimes doing things the right way pays off in the end, that sometimes waiting is better than running. instead. Stephven learns He just needs to get better running This episode is brought to you by Chime Chime is doing banking a bit differently It's fee free banking designed for you no monthly fees, no overdraft traps, and thousands of fee free ATMs Plus, there's a bunch of benefits like earning five percent cash back on your trime card in a chosen category. Chime is not just smarter banking It is the most rewarding way to bank Join the millions who are already banking fee free today. Head to chime d. com slash killers. It only takes a few minutes to sign up Chime is a Fint tech, not a bank Banking services for Chime Card provided by Chime's bank partners Optional products and services may have fees or charges, state annual percentage yield and cash back for Chime Prime only. No minimum balance required. For more information on APY rates, My pay, Spot mee and travel perks go to chime d. com slash disclosures On accorn TV, there's a killer on the loose. Brooke Shields leads an all star cast in the hit original mystery series, You're killing me. I solved mysteries for a living. I think I'm good to go. H' been one of your books, notot in real life. atch every killer at the say. You're someone from Vouchfreeter Whareaboutouse at the time of the incident. What are you the alibi police That's literally Exactly who I am You're killing me, All episodes now streaming on accorn TV Hey parents How do you make smarter choices for your kids' college today? That's where Sally can help With Sally, you can find scholarships, funding options, tools, and guidance all in one place And if you need a loan, Sally has options for different families and different situations College is only worth it if you do it right. So don't just help your kid go. Help them go smarter Sally d. com slash go parents In the spring of nineteen ninety five, Stephen Russell meets Philip Morris in the Jail liibrary I know what you're thinking and no. I'm not reading an ad for cigarettes. It's just the guy's name and he has no relation to big tobacco Phillipson for failing to return a rental car He's quiet. Soft spoken, the son of a Baptist preacher from Arkansas When he needs help reaching a book on a high shelf, Stehven Volunteers. Hold on I'll get that for you saidit. That's the me cute It's the Rom com nobody asked for but everybody needs. Call it You've got bail. anyone? I spent hours on that joke Okay, then, moving on. Philip and Stehven fall in love They start spending every possible moment together. wrriting letters back and forth between cell blocks, planning what they'll do When they get out Philip is gentle and reserved. He cries in his cell all day every day Stephven sees a fragile Phillip and wants nothing more than to become his rock His protector And H provider He'll do anything Philip Like when Philip starts complaining about an inmate who screams constantly, keeping him from sleeping Not long after, Philip finds a crowd gathered around his cell watching The screamers is getting beaten up When Philip asks, what's going on? someone tells him Stephven paid to have it done which is A choice? I mean We've all had a loud neighbor, right? Maybe you knocked on their door. or call the landlord. Stehven's approach is, u slightly more u And by slightly, I mean he literally pays someone Problem away So as you can probably tell, there are more than a few red flags in this relationship. But in Steve's mind, This is what love looks like By the end of the year, Steh it and Philip parooled and move in together in Houston They have a chance to go legit get jobs and live happily ever after But of course That's not what they do A stable living isn't enough for Stehven. He wants to give Philip the swanky life he never got to provide for Jimmy He wants a millionaire salary. but He doesn't exactly have a millionaire's resume So Stephven does what he does best He becomes someone else. He places fake job ads in the newspaper for a Fortune five hundred company that doesn't exist Then Waits for the real resumes to flood in When they do, he cherry picks the best qualifications and stitches them together into his own Frankenstein CV A law degree, CFO experience, employee of the Ye, twice. None of it is true All of it lookooks impressive on paper Next, he sets up various answering machines. potential employer's call to verify his references They think they're reaching prudential insurance They're actually reaching Steven who calls back the next day doing his best corporate voice give himself Gowing reviews. And somehow, This scheme works. Four months after he's parooled, Stehven lands a gig at North American Medical Management but not some menial office job He becomes the company's chief financial officer Steven's never managed finances in his life. He doesn't have a business degree. He's never worked in healthcare. but He does have confidence and A really good suit Stephen himself will later admit Most of the time, I makeix stuff up It's just BS Which is not exactly the energy you want from the person managing millions of dollars It works The company's founder will later say that Stehven was the best CFO they ever had. For five months, Stehven works by day and embezzles by night He steals around eight hundred thousand dollars from company accounts he set up without his bosses knowing they existed He and Philip by matching Mercedes, jet skis and Rolex watches, the real ones this time the counterfeit Steven used to sell They buy a house with a pool They live like people. who've made it? Tw bank notices that eight hundred thousand dollars is missing pretty quickly It's Trace to Stehven Stephven and Philip are both arrested. Philip, the accomplice, Stephven, the mastermind, Stehven's bail is set at nine hundred thousand dollars Which is a pretty clear message from the court system. You're not going anywhere, buddy The judge knows Stehven's already escaped once. they're not taking any chances. Steve is sitting in his cell and Pase stop panicking He's thinking And what he's thinking is Hmm What if just asked them to lower my baail So, he picks up the jail phone and calls the county records office. And when the clerk answers, Stehven says he's a judge presiding over the Stehven Russell case. And there's been a mistake with his bail It should be forty five thousand dollars, not nine hundred thousand dollars. Can she fix that in the system? And you know what clerk does. She changes it No questions asked. No verification Just okay, sure. forty five K Done Stephven posts bail with the check that later bounces. When he gets home that night, Phillip's already there. Hed paid his bail too. But he did it legally with help from friends. Steven's like, Oh, yeah I totally did it legally too. so he doesn't explain how he got the money and Philip doesn't ask Stephven knows the clock is ticking. someone at the clerk's office is going to figure out what he did So he does what any rational person would do in this situation He asked his boyfriend to go on a fun vacation together in Florida They've only had a few sunset walks in Palm Beach before Stephven reveals He didn't actually bail out legally On top top of that, an unknown accomplice has been wiring him money. There's a chance authorities are already tracking them. He hasn't exactly been Careful Philip is livid. Rightfully so. Philip made bail the right way. He had a shot at fighting his case legally. He was supposed to stay in Texas and show up for court Instead, he's in Florida with an escape bee Phillips already violated the terms of his bail by just leaving the state and when authorities find them, to likely face new charges Steve is not just lying to judges and prison guards, he's sabotaging the person he claims to love most turning him into a fugitive Worse. Stehven is right The police have already figured out where they're hiding Not only have they traced the money through Stehven's accomplice, but they've tapped his phone too Just days after Stephven reveals the truth to Philip They're both arrested. Philip is allowed to be free while he awaits trial for the embezzling scheme. Stehven, meanwhile, is sentenced to forty five years in a maximum security prison in Texas Steven' right back to where he was with Jimmy. locked in a cell personers he loves on the outside couldouldn't live with it then You canan't live with it now That's when Stehven starts to get really Creative He begins planning his third escape buying a handful of green magic markers from a fellow inmate. Then, he gets his hands on a spare prison uniform and uses his cell sink as a dime vat. He dunks the white fabric in the water mixed with the green marker ink and if you squint passasses for the prison's medical scrubs On Friday, december thirteenth, nineteen ninety six, Stephven puts on his homemade scrubs Grabs a clipboard and walks up to the front door Again The guard glances at Stehven buzzes him out Stephven walks out of a maximum security prison like he's clcking out from a shift As he crosses the courtyard, an officer in the guard tower calls out, Man, your clothes look like prison whitees douck Well Don't shoot, Steven calls back The guard laughs and Stehven keeps walking. right out of the front gate. He makes it to a motel where Phillip's waiting for him Philip thinks Stehven was parooled that he found some legitimate way out, just like he promised But the next morning, Stephven bursts into the motel room and shakes Philip awake. We have to go. Now Stephven explains he just came from a convenience store down the street, his face plastered on the front page of every Newspaper all the copies and dump them in the trash, but it doesn't matter Everyone is looking for him They need to leave Texas immediately That's when Philip realizes What actually happened Stephven didn't get parooled He escaped Again. Phillip is furious, but he's now an accomplice whether he wants to be or not So Safely They spend ten days on the run before the police catch them in Mississippi. This time, Stehven and Philip are both sent to the prison back in Texas. only now the guards know who Stehven is. what he's capable of. and that he's made them look like fools Three times now They watch him likeike a hawk. They're ready for everything. Stolen uniforms, walkie talkies, magic markers. They've seen all of Steve's tricks Almost all of them . Are you looking for support in your weight management journey? Zbound's terzepotide may be able to help. 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Another escape Harvey, really? Hven't we done this already? Yes Yes, we have three times. In fact, the pattern is tiring. Stehven E escape, spends a few glorious days with Philip, gets caught, then goes back to prison, rinse and repeat. It's exhausting for him and for Philip, right? But not for me? Nope, not for me becausecause I love a good will they won't they escape from jail story It's so romantic But stick with me, okay? Because this time, the math has changed Stehven's forty three years old with a forty five year sentence. If he serves his time He'll be eighty eight when he gets out if. He lives that long and Philip The only person who's ever seen all of Steven's mess and stayate anyway is out there all alone Stephven can't accept that Not because he's stubborn, well, okay Partly because he's stubborn, but also because Stehven spent three decades hiding who he was Being the good son Good husband. Father straight guy and the only times he's ever gotten to breathe been with Chimmy and Philip. So For Stephven, losing Philip isn't just losing a boyfriend 's losing the only version of himself that feels Real which is why this escappe has to be different Permanent Stehven can't just break out again He needs to make the prison system let him Stehven is in the prison library one day, figuring out his next escape when he comes across The special needs pearl It's a Texas program that allows for the release of terminally ill inmates. Stepehven gets an idea. He uses a typewriter to forge medical documents, fake lab results showing he's HIV positive Then He uses the prison's internal mail system to slip them into his official medical file He has to look the part Over the course of ten months between nineteen ninety seven and nineteen ninety eight, Stephven performs the role Dying man. He starts losing weight a lot of weight He uses laxatives almost daily, barely eating, making himself look skeletal He shuffles when he walks and winces like everything hurts He develops a cough He's method acting his own death and it's Oscar worthy Prison doctors watch him waste away They read the diagnosis in his file and they attribute it all to Eight Nobody thinks to run their own test or double check They just see a dying man and Try to make him comfortable Eventually They grant him a special needs parole Stehven' transferred to a hospice facility in San Antonio to die Stehven' never felt more alive places a phone call to the hospice facility from the hospice facility impersonates a doctor and says he's recruiting patients for a new experimental AIDS treatment. Stephen Russell just happens to qualify for the trial The hospice staff wanting to believe there's something that might help released even into the care of this non existent doctor On Friday, march thirteenth nineteen ninety eight, Stehven s out of hospice Okay, so I need to bring up a really weird detail in all of this. Stehven's story is already bizarre enough, but there's this pattern that keeps showing up And once you notice it canan't unsee it. Friday the thirteenth For most people, Friday the thirteenth means bad luck For Stephven, it's become his personal lottery day Because every time he escapes It's Friday the thirteenth He walked out of the jail with a walkie talkie and a tie die shirt on Friday, may thirteenth, nineteen ninety two He strolled out of prison in Magic Marker Scrubs on Friday, december thirteenth nineteen ninety six And now This. escapes Three Friday thirteteenens. At some point, you have to wonder if he's just really good at planning, or if the universe has a twisted sense of humor Anyway Sthven wants to make it look like the experimental treatment didn't work that he died in hospice So he sends a forged death certificate back to the prison. As far as the state of Texas is concerned Stephven Russell is dead Chase. exxcept Stehven's very much alive And he's got one More job to do We know by now that separation is unbearable for Stehven. With Jimmy and Philip both, he refuses to accept being behind bars while his lover waits for him outside This time it's different The rolls are reversed Philip is the one locked up while Stehven roams free The problem is, being free is nothing if Philip's not with him So, Stephven does what he always does when he's desperate He becomes Someone else He forges a law license under the name Gene Lewis, a real Texas attorney who has no idea his identity is being stolen Then, Stepehven finds out Phillip's being transferred Dallas County jail He flies to Dallas and walks into the county jail as Gean Lewis, attorney at law Let me say that again Stephven, who is legally dead, according to the state of Texas, walks into a county jail to visit his boyfriend while impersonating A lawyer. Think about it How wild that is Ive spent this whole episode telling you all of the creative ways Stephven tries to get out of prison, but now he willingly walks into the place he hates most just to be able to see Philip. for a short time I know the internet's favorite catchphrase is if he wanted to, he would. This Garl It's another level. Steven's plan works He sits across from Philip in the visitation booth Philip jokes that he expected to see Stephven dressed as a guard on his prison bus Stehven says, He wishes he thought of that for a few Stolen minutes They're together again Someone, we don't know who tips off the authorities And they start Tracking Steven In april nineteen ninety eight, they catch him in Florida Copy shop After everything Steven pulled off, after faking his own death And walking out of a maximone security prison and fooling doctors and judges and guards, he gets caught. running A simple errand Stehven is arrested for the fourth and final time Texas is done done playing games. They want to punish him for the escapes for humiliating them time and time again Stephven is sentenceced a hundred and forty four years He's sent to a prison Death row inmates are housed. Texas wants to make absolutely sure He never embarrasses them again. So put him in the kind of isolation reserved for the most dangerous criminals in the state Pes placed in solitary confinement twenty three hour lockdown One hour a day to shower and exercise. the rest of the time, he's alone in a six by nine foot concrete cell No cell mate No television, no contact with other inmates. Just Four walls and a lot of time thinkink about the choices brought him In two thousand nine A movie about Steven's life is released It's called I love you, Philip Morris And it stars Jim Carey as Stehven and Ewan McGregor as Philip. The movie opens with a disclaimer This really happened It's totally true. couldn't make this up. whichich is almost funny because Stehven's entire life has been about making things up. about becoming whoever he needed to be in order to survive to be loved to keep Phillip Philip is released in two thousand six just in time to appear in the movie has an extra plain Stehven's lawyer courtroom scen. He's on Stehven's visitation list never visits which Stephven understands because Why would Philip want to step foot in another prison They do write letters for a while But according to Stehven's twenty eighteen book The relationship just falls out of love thing that drove three escapes that cost him everything just dissolves Stephven admits that Though he loved Philip. He regrets his decisions All of those escapes weren't worth the extra time in prison away from his daughter. Luckily for Stephven, he gets another chance On july sixteenth, twenty twenty four He's released from prison on parole spnd twenty six years in solitary confinement You think after waiting that long be a chance for Stephven and Philip to see each other again, to see each other face to face. and seeee what's left of their love We don't know if that ever happened Do know. is this In seeptember twenty twenty five Philip Morris side of a suspected heart attack Stepven had been out for just over a year So the ship of Theseus After you've replaced every plank, every nail, every piece of the original Is it still the same ship? Stephen Russell became a lot of people over the years. a church organist, a cop, a husband, a father, a con artist, a CFO, a doctor, a judge, a man dying of AIDS He rebuilt himself so many times that maybe Maybe There's nothing left of the kid ad in Virginia The one whoses birth mother. I didn't want him So one spent his whole life tryrying to become Someone keeping He's sixty seven years old now Finally free The people he escaped for Gone.