State Attorneys Seek Delay Based On Questionable Correspondence
In a shocking development, state attorney Kyle Pagano requested that Supreme Court Judge Howard Lowery delay convicted killer Janice Russell’s release until April 2024, based on correspondence detailing what Pagano labeled, “Proof of impending criminal activity.”
The exchange, which records unsealed at the hearing showed the defense sought to bar as inadmissable, took place over the past two years. Letters from Russell to a cousin, Shawn ‘Buggy’ Russell, son of murdered Orransburg drug dealer Daunte Russell, is said to contain messages concerning activities planned following Russell’s (pending) release in October. While Lowery put his decision on hold until at least Monday, and the letters themselves have not been released to the media, the Gazette has learned that one missive contained text regarding, “icing junior bad boy,’ a reference to Jeremy Cordell. Jeremy is the younger brother of murdered teen Pete Cordell, who went missing in November, 1982, the year before the ‘Far Hollow Massacre’, as many locals have dubbed it. Russell, in statements made to police, claimed that Cordell, then 15, committed the murders, slaying nine of his dead brother’s acquaintances. Though Russell gave a detailed account of the murder of Lisa Iannetti, who she told authorities was killed with a chainsaw in Cordell’s living room, Far Hollow CSI techs and state techs brought in by defense counsel prior to her trial could find no evidence of such an attack having taken place. Cordell was questioned at length by investigators before a Guardian ad Litem was appointed, leading to an out of court settlement in 1987.
Sean Russell has a lengthy arrest record and served multiple two and three-year sentences in the late 1990s and early-to-mid 2000s. He is reportedly the leader of the Orransburg 125, a gang with ties to drug trafficking and distribution. His father, Daunte Russell, was killed in a drug deal gone bad in 2017.
“Janice Russell was high the night of the murders. She had a known relationship with her uncle and other family members with multiple convictions. She accused a 15-year-old of not only committing the crimes, but of leaving no evidence, disposing of nine corpses without assistance, and being seen by no one, while phone records detail calls made during the period in question. Teen trick-or-treaters reported receiving candy from Jeremy Cordell, whose parents were out of town on the night of the murders, and multiple parents testified affirming the same. Miss Russell has been in the process of planning something, and this correspondence shows that. In good conscience, the court must delay Russell’s release until her sentence is served to its completion, and the state’s attorney’s office is looking into bringing additional charges.”
Jeremy Cordell was not available for comment. His attorney said a statement is possible following Lowery’s ruling Monday. His office wouldn’t answer questions about the contents of the correspondence, which attorneys for multiple survivors’ families have requested full access to. Rumors continue to circulate about Pete Cordell and a connection to Daunte Russell, and of a party that took place at the home of Donnie Zerlow on Black Friday weekend 1982. Photos showing an out-of-control sex party at the Zerlow residence, with the 1983 victims all appearing in compromising situations. Speculation is that those party attendees, named in the Pete Cordell murder investigation, participated in his murder and the disposal of his remains. The Gazette has learned that inquiries have been made of former students who attended Far Hollow High in the early 1980s, seeking to confirm the photograph’s authenticity. If so, the state attorney is on record saying he would pursue first-degree murder charges and try Russell for the crime. To date, though, nothing has come of those inquiries.
