A former Alabama attorney says that Carlee Russell, who claims she was abducted after spotting a toddler walking alone, should be arrested for false claims and resources taken away from law enforcement.
“She says she was kidnaped, and a kidnapping didn’t happen. (They say) our citizens are safe. There’s not a kidnapper out there. So, they use every other synonym for lie except saying she lied,” former criminal defense lawyer Eric Guster told NBC 13.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, 25-year-old Russell called 911 earlier this month at around 9:30 p.m. to report seeing a toddler walking along Interstate 459 in Hoover. Minutes later, she reported the same information while on a call with her sister-in-law, adding that she would stop to see if she could help.
Traffic camera footage showed Russell’s car, hazard lights blinking, slow to a stop near mile marker 11. The family member reported hearing Russell ask, “Are you OK,” but heard no response, and then Russell screamed.
Days later, at around 10:45 p.m., Russell arrived at her parents’ house in Hoover.
And as they have said since the disappearance, police still have no evidence of a toddler walking along the highway. No other calls to 911 reported a toddler, “despite numerous vehicles passing through that area as depicted by the traffic camera surveillance video.”
Police said Russell claimed she was kidnapped and forced into an 18-wheeler by a man with orange hair, and a woman. She claimed she fled on foot, only to be captured again, blindfolded, and put into a car.
“She said that they took her into a house and made her get undressed,” Hoover Police Chief Nicholas Derzis said during a press conference this week. “She believes they took pictures of her, but she does not remember them having any physical or sexual contact with her. She stated that the next day, she woke up and was fed cheese crackers by the female.”
Police said they have no evidence so far of the kidnapping actually happening.
Guster stated that the search for Russell consumed the time and money of both law enforcement and concerned community members. He also listed the crimes she allegedly committed, including lying to police, theft, and filing a false report.
“It’s going to be much more difficult for African American women to be believed, and it may actually decrease the number of actual reports of things because people are already afraid that they won’t be believed,” Guster said.
Carlee Russell: Investigators Find Searches for Bus Tickets, Movie ‘Taken’ on Alabama Woman’s Phone
“If I was Carlee’s attorney, I would speak for her,” Guster said. “I would not allow her to speak to the police because anything she says can and will be used against her. I would speak for her. I would go to the mayor; I would go to the police chief and figure out if there’s something we could do. That’s what I would do.”
So far, Russell only spoke to police briefly after she arrived back home on foot. She was taken to a local hospital but has not spoken to police since the initial questioning.
“I do think it’s highly unusual the day that someone gets kidnapped that seven hours before that, they were searching the internet, Googling the movie Taken about an abduction,’’ Deriz added. “I find that really strange.”
“We’re ready to talk as soon as she’s ready. If she called right now, we’re ready.”
Check back for updates.
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[Feature Photo: Handout]
