BIRMINGHAM, Ala. (WIAT) — A woman who made national headlines for lying about being kidnapped in Alabama has a plea date set later this month.
Carlee Russell will have appear before a Jefferson County judge on March 21 for a plea. It is not known whether she intends to plead guilty or not guilty.
On July 13, Russell disappeared last summer and claimed that she had been kidnapped after returning a couple of days later. However, during the course of an investigation by the Hoover Police Department, Russell later confessed to lying about her abduction. To this date, she has not given a reason why she did it.
On Oct. 11, a Hoover municipal judge found Russell guilty of filing a false police report and falsely reporting the incident. As part of her conviction, Russell was ordered to pay over $15,000 in restitution.
At the time, her attorney Emory Anthony said she would be appealing her case to a circuit court.
“We stipulated and appealed the case and the reason behind it was that they’re trying to ask for jail time, which we totally disagree with,” Anthony said. “So, in fairness, there’s no need of having a trial here, knowing their position. So we have stipulated and appealed the case and we’ll start anew in the Bessemer circuit court.”