A federal judge in Kentucky sentenced Freddy Gonzalez, 40, to 40 years in prison for orchestrating the murder of Brian Russell, his girlfriend’s ex-husband, after she decided to reconcile with her former spouse.
Gonzalez, who managed a café at the Kentucky Downs casino, hired one of his employees, Xavior Posey, to carry out the murder.
Posey shot Russell at his Franklin home on December 30, 2020, as part of a murder-for-hire scheme Gonzalez initiated after becoming increasingly obsessed and angry when his girlfriend decided to return to Russell.
Court records show that Russell and his ex-wife had been married for 16 years and shared two children. After their 2018 separation, the two maintained contact to co-parent, and she began dating Gonzalez in 2020.
However, Gonzalez continued to stalk and harass her after their relationship ended, sending obsessive messages, secretly placing a tracking device on her car, and staging encounters to try and win her back.
When she ultimately chose to return to Russell, Gonzalez threatened to kill him and devised a plan to make it happen. Prosecutors say Gonzalez offered Posey $2,000, a truck, and a raise to kill Russell. He allegedly provided Posey with a gun, a hand-drawn map of Russell’s home, and the address.
Gonzalez and Posey used coded language in text exchanges, referring to the murder as “cleaning the kitchen.” The messages included Gonzalez saying, “The kitchen area really needs it tho” and Posey responding, “I got u.”
On the morning of the murder, Posey went to Russell’s home around 5:30 a.m. with a friend who drove him there. Posing as someone needing help with car trouble, Posey knocked on Russell’s door and shot him once in the head and twice in the chest when he answered.
Russell was found by responding officers, barely clinging to life and begging for help, but he was pronounced dead shortly afterward.
Later, Posey texted Gonzalez, asking, “Did I not clean it good enough?” and Gonzalez replied with more coded language about the crime. The two then disposed of the weapon in the Barren River.
Gonzalez, who denied involvement after his arrest, was implicated further when police found the tracking device he had planted. Posey was arrested on January 9, 2021, when authorities discovered the hand-drawn map of Russell’s home and the incriminating texts.
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At sentencing, U.S. District Court Chief Judge Greg Stivers called the murder “the most outrageous, unimaginable crime.”
Gonzalez apologized, saying he was ashamed of his jealousy and desperation, and Russell’s son, who gave an emotional victim impact statement, described his father as his best friend and baseball coach.
In addition to Gonzalez’s sentence, Posey, who also pleaded guilty, was sentenced to 35 years.
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