How Pam Hupp Killed Her Best Friend

On the evening of December 27, 2011, when Russ Faria entered his Troy, Missouri, home to check on his wife Betsy, everything appeared normal. In keeping with his customary Tuesday ritual he had gone out with his friends to play games, Betsy's friend, Pam Hupp had transported her home after her chemotherapy.

Then, Betsy was discovered bloodied and collapsed against the front of their sofa. A kitchen knife was also stuck in her neck. Russ was shocked and frightened, and he assumed his wife had committed suicide. Pam Hupp had indeed savagely stabbed her 55 times.

Pam Hupp's murder of Betsy Faria and the events that followed were methodically planned. She had even faked evidence that led investigators directly to Russ — and then murdered again to prove his guilt.

Inside The Complicated Murder Case of Betsy Faria

Elizabeth "Betsy" Faria, born on March 24, 1969, led a modest life. She met and married Russell after having two daughters. Betsy worked in a State Farm office in Troy, Missouri, which was about an hour's drive northeast of St. Louis.

According to St. Louis magazine, Betsy met Pamela Marie Hupp for the first time there about 2001. Hupp, who everyone called Pam, was ten years older than Faria, and the two women were very different – Betsy was friendly, Hupp was more solemn — but they became friends. Even though they had lost touch, Hupp began spending time with Betsy again when she was diagnosed with breast cancer in 2010.

Faria's cancer prognosis appeared bleak. The disease quickly progressed to her liver, and one specialist estimated that she only had three to five years to live. Betsy and Russ went on a "Celebration of Life" trip in November 2011, hoping to make her remaining years count. They swam with dolphins, which was one of Betsy's dreams come true.

Meanwhile, Betsy had begun to rely on her friend more and more. Hupp accompanied Betsy to treatment and listened as she worried about her daughters' financial security after she died. Betsy's father expressed concern that they would be unable to manage money. She was also afraid Russ might manage it.

Betsy appeared to have found a solution four days before she died. Pam Hupp became the only beneficiary of her $150,000 life insurance policy on December 23, 2011.

Betsy Faria then contacted her husband four days later, on the evening of her murder, to let him know she was going back home after chemotherapy as Pam had offered to drive her home.

The Horrific Murder of Betsy Faria

December 27, 2011, was a typical day for Russ Faria. He worked, went out with pals in the evening, and texted Betsy about her treatment and dog food. He contacted Betsy on his way home at 9 p.m., but she didn't answer. But he wasn't concerned because she'd informed him before that she was exhausted after the treatment.

He walked in without suspecting anything was wrong. Russ went into the living room after leaving the dog food in the garage and calling out for Betsy. Then he met the horrific scene of his wife's murder.

In shock, he quickly called 911 reporting the case as suicide as he thought the wife had killed herself.

When police came, it was evident that Betsy Faria had not committed suicide. She'd been stabbed 55 times, once in her eye, and the wounds on her arms were bone-deep.

And while detectives spoke with her companion, Pam Hupp, she pointed them to who they later believed was responsible for the crime; Betsy's husband.

Hupp informed the cops that Russ had a bad temper. She suggested they look through Betsy's computer, where they discovered a note indicating Betsy was terrified of her husband.

Hupp proposed a plausible motive for Russ' action. She told them, Betsy had planned to tell Russ that she was leaving him that night.

The cops thought the case was straightforward. Russ Faria must have murdered his wife out of rage. They didn't care that four of Russ's buddies claimed he'd spent the night with them. They also ignored some inconsistencies in Pam's story.

Hupp, for example, first told them that she had not entered the house. She then stated that she had just entered to turn on the light. Finally, she admitted that she had gone all the way into Betsy's bedroom.

Despite these inconsistencies in her story, the cops were convinced they'd found the man behind the crime. Blood was even discovered on Russ Faria's footwear.

Trial and Conviction

The day after Betsy Faria's burial, prosecutors charged Russ with her murder. During his trial, his lawyer was forbidden from implying that Pam Hupp murdered Betsy in order to obtain her life insurance money. In December 2013, a jury found Russ guilty and sentenced him to life in prison plus 30 years.

Russ, on the other hand, maintained his innocence. 

Russ is Acquitted

As Russ Faria maintained his innocence, a court ordered a fresh trial in 2015. This time, his attorneys were permitted to place the responsibility firmly on Pam Hupp.

During the trial, they claimed that the killer created the document on Betsy's computer to accuse Russ and brought a witness who claimed that Russ's slippers were purposefully "dipped" in blood to make him appear to be the murderer.

Pam Hupp had another story to tell. She told investigators that she had a romantic relationship with Betsy and that Russ had discovered it. But the scales had begun to tip, and Russ Faria was acquitted in November 2015.

The presiding judge called the investigation into Betsy's death disturbing.

Russ later sued Lincoln County for breaching his civil rights, and the case was settled for $2 million.

Pam Hupp Committed Another Crime That Backfired

Pam Hupp appeared to sense the walls closing in on her. In August 2016, she took a severe step, shooting and killing Louis Gumpenberger, 33.

Gumpenberger, she alleged, broke into her house, threatened her with a knife, and demanded she drive him to the bank to obtain "Russ's money." Investigators then discovered $900 and a note on his body that said, “take Hupp back to house. get rid of her. make look like Russ wife. make sure knife is sticking out of her neck.”

Gumpenberger escaped a car accident in 2005, but it left him with severe physical problems and decreased mental ability. He also stayed with his mother, who said he never left the house alone.

However, Pam Hupp's story did not hold up under scrutiny.

Police quickly determined that Hupp had enticed Gumpenberger to come to her house by asking him to replicate a 911 call for Dateline. They even located a witness who claimed Pam asked her to do the same. They also connected the money found on Gumpenberger's body back to Hupp.

She killed an innocent man to convict another innocent man.

Pam Hupp was arrested on August 23, 2016. She attempted suicide with a pen two days later in prison.

Pam Hupp is serving a life sentence in prison for Gumpenberger's murder. She also faces first-degree murder charges in the death of Betsy Faria.

Investigators believe Hupp also murdered her mother. Hupp's mother died in 2013 after experiencing a fatal "fall" from her balcony. Hupp and her siblings received hefty insurance settlements.

Russ Faria reportedly said;

"I'm not sure what this woman has in store for me," he stated. "I've barely met her a half dozen times, if that, yet she keeps throwing me under the bus for stuff I didn't do."

References;

Who Was Betsy Faria, The Missouri Mom Killed In 'The Thing About Pam'?

Untangling Betsy Faria’s murder: True story of ‘The thing about Pam’

Who Was Betsy Faria From The Thing About Pam?