A Missouri prosecutor dropped murder charges against Pamela Hupp and then refiled them in an attempt to bring the trial closer to where it took place.
Hupp was charged with first degree murder in July 2021 for the 2011 death of her friend, Betsy Faria, a cancer patient. Faria’s husband, Russ Faria, was sent to prison for the crime before his conviction was overturned in 2015.
Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood told the St. Louis Post Dispatch that he wanted the trial to take place closer to witnesses and Faria’s family. The defense filed for a change of venue, and prosecutors initially agreed to move the case to Springfield, about four hours away from Lincoln County. Wood, however, said he reconsidered.
“It was too much to ask of witnesses and Besty Faria’s loved ones,” he said.
The Faria case inspired an NBC miniseries last year, “The Thing About Pam” starring Renee Zellweger.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, Wood accused Hupp of convincing Faria to change a $150,000 life insurance policy into her name. Days later, Faria was found dead, stabbed more than 50 times.
Hupp is already serving a life sentence for fatally shooting 33-year-old Louis Gumpenberger, who had mental and physical disabilities from an accident, in August 2016. After Russ Faria was exonerated, attention again was focused on his wife’s murder. Prosecutors said that Hupp was attempting to frame Russ Faria by making it appear that Gumpenberger was hitman hired by the husband to get the life insurance money back.
Calling herself “Cathy from NBC,” Hupp offered Gumpenberger money to reenact a 911 call for “Dateline.” Instead, she fatally shot him in her home and claimed self-defense.
A probable cause statement alleged that Hupp planted a note on Gumpenberger’s body which “appeared to be instructions for Gumpenberger to kidnap Hupp, get Russ’s money from Hupp at her bank, and kill Hupp in order to collect the rest of the $10,000.”
After Gumpenberger’s murder, several witnesses came forward and told authorities that a woman matching Hupp’s description had also approached them with a similar proposition.
In 2021, Hupp agreed to an Alford plea in Gumpenberger’s murder to avoid the death penalty. Shortly thereafter, Lincoln County prosecutors announced they were reopening Betsy Faria’s murder investigation.
According to The Associated Press, the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department reached a $2 million settlement with Russ Faria over the wrongful conviction.
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[Featured image: Betsy Faria/handout and Pamela Hupp/St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office via AP]
