Harvey Guillén

Luckily for Stephen, he gets another chance.

On July 16, 2024, he's released from prison on parole.

He'd spent 26 years in solitary confinement

You think after waiting that long, there'd be a chance for Stephen and Philip to see each other again, to see each other face to face and see what's left of their love.

We don't know if that ever happened.

What we do know is this.

In September 2025, Philip Morris died of a suspected heart attack.

Stephen had been out for just over a year.

So, the ship of Theseus, after you've replaced every plank, every nail, every piece of the original, is it still the same ship?

Stephen Russell became a lot of people over the years.

A church organist, a cop, a husband, a father, a con artist, a CFO, a doctor, a judge, a man dying of AIDS.

He rebuilt himself so many times that maybe, maybe,

There's nothing left of the kid who got adopted in Virginia, the one whose birth mother didn't want him, the one who spent his whole life trying to become someone worth keeping.

He's 67 years old now, finally free.

The people he escaped for are gone.

And Stephen gets to decide who he is next.

Thanks for tuning in to Killer Stories, a Spotify podcast.

New episodes release on Mondays.

If you like today's story and want to learn more, we drop some of our favorite sources in the episode description.

Until next time, I'm Harvey Guillen.