Texas Woman Arrested for Allegedly Mailing Meth to Imprisoned Capital Murderer

A Texas woman ended up in jail after she allegedly attempted to mail a package containing methamphetamine to an imprisoned capital murderer.

Police arrested 29-year-old Sara Elizabeth Russell, a resident of Katy, Texas, for her alleged role in helping a convicted killer smuggler methamphetamine into a North Texas prison, KFDX NBC3 reported from Wichita Falls. A judge ordered the woman held on a bond of $10,000.

A prison mailroom employee at the James V. Allred Unit observed a package with a suspicious bulge. When the employee opened the package she discovered a photo. Behind the photo was a package containing a white powdery substance which tested positive as being methamphetamine.

Officials said it appears Russell conspired with convicted killer Jason Burkett. A Texas jury sentenced Burkett to two life sentences for his role in the murder of two boys in Conroe, Texas, in 2001. His co-defendant, in that case, received the death penalty. The state of Texas executed that killer for the murder of the mother of one of the boys.

The conspiracy revolves around the package that appears to have been mailed from Burkett to Russell. The package contained instructions on how put the meth inside the package and have it returned to him.

The package was allegedly mailed from Burkett to Russel and contained instructions for her to reseal the envelope with tape and mark it “RTS” — Return to Sender. When the package returned to the prison, the mailroom worker found the drugs and notified authorities.

Investigators with the Texas Department of Public Safety Crime Lab found fingerprints on the package belonging to Russell.

During questioning, Burkett admitted to mailing the package to Russell with the pre-arranged directions to put the meth inside the package and have it returned to him in the prison, KFDX reported.