LOUISVILLE, Ky. (WDRB) -- The attorneys for a former Norton Commons doctor accused of hiring a hitman to kill her ex-husband are trying to prove that she was "delusional" and acting under "extreme emotional disturbance" in fear of her children's safety at the time of the crime.

As proof, the defense recently included text messages Stephanie Russell sent a Brazilian "spiritual healer" saying she was "looking for a death spell" for her ex-husband, asking how much it would cost and whether a sacrifice would be used.

The unnamed woman responded the price rate would depend on the number of people involved but that she had an 85% death rate and it could be done within hours using Voodoo. The woman also promised a 100% guarantee or Russell's money would be returned, according to the messages sent on April 22, 2022.

When asked by Russell what kind of spell would be used, the healer replied, "it's a death spell my dear not a love spell," according to the records filed in U.S. District Court last month. "I can't tell you inside details, but I will do your job."

The alleged healer asked if Russell wanted the death to be "accident, death in bed, heart attack or ??"

Russell said she did not care and gave the women her ex-husband's name and a photo of him. The texts were first reported by The Courier-Journal.

In addition, Russell's attorneys have included expert medical testimony that Russell's "mental condition left her unable to attain the culpable state of mind required by the criminal charges in this case" and that she became increasingly delusional when she believed her two children had been neglected or abused by her estranged husband.

Russell is scheduled to stand trial April 22 on federal charges of murder-for-hire and stalking. She is accused of contacting an undercover FBI agent, who was posing as a hitman, and agreeing to pay $7,000 to the agent in exchange for murdering her ex-husband.

She allegedly left a partial payment of $3,500 outside her medical office in a drop box and agreed to pay the other half after her ex-husband was killed.

Records show that on Nov. 25, 2019, a detective with the Louisville Metro Police Department's Crimes Against Children Unit met with a special agent from the FBI. The LMPD detective believed she had uncovered a murder-for-hire plot during her investigation into child abuse allegations reported by Russell against her ex-husband.

Court records indicate Russell's ex-husband filed for divorce in 2018, and it was finalized in 2020. And the probable cause affidavit includes several disturbing text messages between Russell and witnesses. Russell and her ex-husband have two children together. 

On March 28, 2022, the FBI was referred to a private investigator by an LMPD detective. The private investigator had information regarding an alleged murder-for-hire plot by Russell.

Investigators say between July 2021 and March 2022, Russell approached two nurses at the business on separate occasions and asked each of them for assistance in killing her ex-husband. The affidavit also includes several screenshots from conversations between Russell and others.

Russell could face 10 years in federal prison if she is convicted.

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