“Over the objections of the victim’s daughters and prosecutors, a two-member panel of the Board of Parole Hearings granted parole to Susan Lee Russo, who masterminded the murder-for-hire of her husband in the 1990s…Russo, 62, was originally sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in the death of David Russo, a senior chief petty officer at Lemoore Naval Air Station…Last year, the sentence was commuted to 25 years to life in prison by Gov. Jerry Brown, making her eligible for parole…Russo was convicted on Jan. 30, 1996, of first-degree murder and conspiracy. The Lemoore Naval Air Station serviceman, 43, was shot in the back of the head on July 14, 1994, while asleep in his Riverdale home. Two of the Russo children were asleep in another room.”
Read more from the Fresno Bee here.
Related Links:
‘Black widow’ granted parole. She arranged the murder-for-hire of her Navy husband
Navy Spouse Susan Russo Hired Drug Addicted Hitmen for $100 to Kill Husband David Russo for Life Insurance; Sentenced to Life in Prison, Commuted (July 14, 1994)
Deadly Women Premiered ‘Cash In’ on Investigation Discovery: Susan Russo Conspired to Have Husband Murdered for Life Insurance (September 30, 2016)
Deadly Women: 30 Military and Veteran Homicide Cases Featured on Investigation Discovery