STEVEN JAY RUSSELL

Steven Jay Russell is considered one of the most genius, and tenacious con artists to ever be held captive. His biggest downfall (in regards to being recaptured) has been his romantic relationship with a past inmate named Phillip Morris. Russell’s life and relationship to Morris was brought to the big screen with the 2009 feature, “I Love You Phillip Morris” starring Jim Carey as Russell and Ewan McGregor as Morris.

Russell spent his early life as a Virgina Beach police officer. He learned during his time as an officer how to manipulate the different systems and personnel that were at his disposal. His original motives in doing this were to locate his birth parents (Russell was adopted). After a severe car crash that almost killed him, Steven decided to come out to his family that he was a gay man.

After this he left his family, and moved to Florida where he was arrested for the first time for theft and fraud. Early into his prison sentence Russell discovered the love of his life in Phillip Morris. Steven remained inactive in prison until his lover Phillip Morris was released. Unable to bear being separated from Morris, Russell planned to escape from prison.

After reading up heavily on HIV and AIDS, Russell began starving himself and taking laxatives to mimic the symptoms of AIDS. He then used a prison typewriter to forge a medical document stating that he suffered from the disease, and used it to convince doctors of his “condition” on February 24. He then fooled the prison doctor into believing that a ‘special needs parole’ to a Houston hospital had been authorized on March 13. Once free, Russell posed as a doctor and informed the prison staff via telephone that “Russell” had died from AIDS.

On March 20, 1998 Russell was caught posing as a Virginia Millionaire trying to get a 75,000 dollar bank loan. When confronted by police, Russell faked a heart attack and was sent to a local hospital under the watch of FBI agents. However, Russell managed to impersonate an FBI agent using his cell phone and convinced the 2 agents watching him to briefly leave, allowing Russell to casually leave the hospital.

On April 5, 1998 he was re-captured walking to his car in Ft. Lauderdale, FL on his way to see his lover Phillip Morris. Steven Jay Russell is currently serving a 144 year sentence in the Polunsky Unit of the Texas Department of Criminal Justice. Russell’s IQ score was a stunning 163.