O'Dell attended John C. Fremont High School but dropped out her senior year and developed a drug habit. She was eventually arrested for running drugs out of her home and served time in prison. There are conflicting reports on how long she was in prison. One reports says she was incarcerated just a "few years" in an Arkansas prison. Another source, quoting O'Dell herself, reports that she served 10 years of a 20-year prison sentence. She also claimed to have taken the responsibility for a crime she didn't commit. After she was released from an Arkansas prison in 1992, O'Dell said she remained drug-free for the rest of her life.
