Carlee Russell is “doing better” as she awaits the decision from Alabama authorities on whether she’ll face criminal charges for faking her own kidnapping earlier this month.
“She’s doing better, but she’s still dealing with some things,” her attorney Emory Anthony told reporters Wednesday.
The 25-year-old nursing student admitted Monday that she lied about her purported kidnapping, which sparked national headlines as local, state, and federal investigators launched a two-day, statewide search.
Russell disappeared after calling 911 on her way home from work on July 13, telling a dispatcher she stopped her car on the side of the highway after she claimed she saw a toddler walking alone alongside I-495.
Russell reappeared two nights later at her parents’ doorstep and only briefly spoke with detectives, telling them when she got out of her car to check on the child, a man “came out of the trees” and grabbed her, taking her to a remote home for two days before she was able to escape.
Her family soon doubled down in public statements and a televised interview. Her mother told TODAY that her daughter was “traumatized” from the incident and that she “absolutely, absolutely” believed her daughter’s “abductor” was still at large, while Russell’s then-boyfriend claimed in an Instagram post that she was “fighting for her life for 48 hours” while she was missing.
But investigators soon discovered Russell prepared for her disappearance, taking toilet paper and a bathrobe from her job at a local spa, buying snacks at Target before making her 911 call, and repeatedly searching online for information about local bus tickets, Amber Alerts and the movie Taken.
What’s Next for Carlee Russell? Experts Break Down Charges Ala. Woman Might Face After Hoax
Carlee Russell.
HOOVER (AL) POLICE DEPARTMENT
Police held a press conference last week laying out Russell’s timeline, noting they were “unable to verify” Russell’s story and telling the public there was no kidnapper on the loose.
“There was no kidnapping on July 13,” Russell then admitted this week in a statement read by her attorney. “My client did not see a baby and did not leave the Hoover area, she did not have an accomplice, she was not in a hotel or was with anyone while she was missing.”
Thomar Latrell Simmons, who now says he’s Russell’s ex-boyfriend, made a new statement this week identifying himself as Russell’s ex and saying he was “disgusted” by the fabricated incident. A number of Russell’s family members, including her mother and father, have now deleted or restricted their social media pages.
Carlee Russell ‘Disrespected’ Parents of Lost Children by Faking Abduction, Says Mom of Murder Victim
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Thomar Latrell Simmons and Carlee Russell.
Thomar Latrell Simmons/Instagram
A representative from the Hoover Police Department did not respond to PEOPLE’s request for comment about the case Thursday and did not give an update on potential charges.
“She is likely going to be charged for filing a false police report and there is plenty of evidence against her,” former federal prosecutor Neama Rahmani told PEOPLE this week. “It is a pretty strong case.”Emory, Russell’s attorney, said he met with police for a “short meeting” on Wednesday and that he’s hopeful the two sides can reach a resolution soon.
“Hopefully we can get to the end game, as they say, of this particular thing,” the attorney said.
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Source: HIS Education