The Betsy Faria murder case

[BlueGalexy]

I've been following the Faria case for a couple of years now and thought it might be interesting to see if some of my fellow posters had any input. Dateline did a great profile of this case entitled The House on Sumac Drive.

On December 27, 2011 Betsy Faria, a woman who was reportedly dying of cancer, was stabbed to death in the home she shared with her husband, Russ. During the subsequent investigation, Russ Faria became the prime suspect and was eventually charged with the murder of his wife. At the crime scene, LE found a pair of slippers belonging to Russ Faria that were reported to be stained by his wife's blood. LE also extensively interviewed the last person to see Betsy Faria alive, her long time friend, Pamela Hupp. During these interviews, Hupp made several disparaging statements about Russ Faria that apparently further convinced LE of his guilt.

On the night of the murder, Russ Faria was able to account for his whereabouts by producing four alibi witnesses (all of whom testified at trial), and cell phone records tracking his movements. Faria was also able to provide time stamped receipts from the gas station and fast food restaurant he visited that night. These receipts were also corroborated by surveillance footage. It was also discovered during the investigation that approximately three days prior to her murder, Betsy Faria made Pam Hupp a sole beneficiary to one of her life insurance policies, totalling $150,000. These documents were allegedly signed by the two women at a local library, and notarized by the librarian on shift. Though Faria's defense attorney wanted to present these facts to the jury at trial, he was prohibited from doing so by the judge. The judge also prohibited the defense from cross examining Hupp about these facts during the trial. Russ Faria was convicted of the murder (wrongly in my opinion) but has been granted a retrial on appeal.

Below is a link to a thoroughly written article about the case. I welcome any thoughts from my fellow posters about this intriguing case.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...fc10033c8.html

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by BlueGalexy

I've been following the Faria case for a couple of years now and thought it might be interesting to see if some of my fellow posters had any input. Dateline did a great profile of this case entitled The House on Sumac Drive.

On December 27, 2011 Betsy Faria, a woman who was reportedly dying of cancer, was stabbed to death in the home she shared with her husband, Russ. During the subsequent investigation, Russ Faria became the prime suspect and was eventually charged with the murder of his wife. At the crime scene, LE found a pair of slippers belonging to Russ Faria that were reported to be stained by his wife's blood. LE also extensively interviewed the last person to see Betsy Faria alive, her long time friend, Pamela Hupp. During these interviews, Hupp made several disparaging statements about Russ Faria that apparently further convinced LE of his guilt.

On the night of the murder, Russ Faria was able to account for his whereabouts by producing four alibi witnesses (all of whom testified at trial), and cell phone records tracking his movements. Faria was also able to provide time stamped receipts from the gas station and fast food restaurant he visited that night. These receipts were also corroborated by surveillance footage. It was also discovered during the investigation that approximately three days prior to her murder, Betsy Faria made Pam Hupp a sole beneficiary to one of her life insurance policies, totalling $150,000. These documents were allegedly signed by the two women at a local library, and notarized by the librarian on shift. Though Faria's defense attorney wanted to present these facts to the jury at trial, he was prohibited from doing so by the judge. The judge also prohibited the defense from cross examining Hupp about these facts during the trial. Russ Faria was convicted of the murder (wrongly in my opinion) but has been granted a retrial on appeal.

Below is a link to a thoroughly written article about the case. I welcome any thoughts from my fellow posters about this intriguing case.

http://www.stltoday.com/news/local/c...fc10033c8.html

"Why would she do this to me?" is the Freudian slip which refers not to any curiosity as to his wife's actions that evening but the fait accompli of being dispossessed of an insurance policy. The feigned emotion,the staging of the surveillance cameras and the subsequent protestations of love for the victim as the actor plays his part symptomatic of many killers because you see,once perpetrators have taken their rage out on the victim it subsequently becomes extinguished,and as with the Jeremy Bamber and David Bain cases the mind reverts to happier memories lest the mask of sanity slips and the shocking truth is unveiled.

[wiseguy182]

My opinion is that the judge is corrupt and should be thrown in prison along with Pamela Hupp because Russ Faria is obviously innocent. The biggest thing that sticks out to me is if Russ really wanted his wife dead, all he would have to do is just wait the little while until her cancer does her in as it would be totally unnecessary to stab her 55 times. It's apparent Pamela Hupp killed Betsy before she realized she made a mistake about the life insurance policy and changed it back. I find it quite sad she has profited off of Betsy's death while an innocent man is in prison. Maddening case.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

My opinion is that the judge is corrupt and should be thrown in prison along with Pamela Hupp because Russ Faria is obviously innocent. The biggest thing that sticks out to me is if Russ really wanted his wife dead, all he would have to do is just wait the little while until her cancer does her in as it would be totally unnecessary to stab her 55 times. It's apparent Pamela Hupp killed Betsy before she realized she made a mistake about the life insurance policy and changed it back. I find it quite sad she has profited off of Betsy's death while an innocent man is in prison. Maddening case.

But by then his wife might have divested him of the second insurance policy worth $100000. Pamela's car was searched forensically and nothing suspicious was found.

[wiseguy182]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

But by then his wife might have divested him of the second insurance policy worth $100000. Pamela's car was searched forensically and nothing suspicious was found.

You don't find the timing of that suspicious though? Betsy changes the one life insurance policy and a couple days later, she's dead?

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by wiseguy182

You don't find the timing of that suspicious though? Betsy changes the one life insurance policy and a couple days later, she's dead?

Yes and she did complain to friends that she felt smothered by Pamela,but she was still in control of her faculties to sign a document in a public place. She must have known what she was doing.

[LooksLikeCRicci]

Wow. Interesting read. I don't want to go as far as to say the husband is innocent, but I can certainly see reasonable doubt. I have to wonder WHY the judge didn't allow the defense to bring up the insurance information. I would argue it is certainly relevant.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by LooksLikeCRicci

Wow. Interesting read. I don't want to go as far as to say the husband is innocent, but I can certainly see reasonable doubt. I have to wonder WHY the judge didn't allow the defense to bring up the insurance information. I would argue it is certainly relevant.

Because Pamela Rudd was not on trial. But the defendant has been granted a retrial so I read. http://fox2now.com/2015/06/05/retria...-killing-wife/

[RobinW]

I remember watching this case on Dateline and the whole thing felt like a Twilight Zone scenario for Russ Faria since it seemed like everyone in the entire town except his defense attorney and alibi witnesses just lost all common sense. How anyone could legitimately think Russ committed this murder is beyond me.

Out of all the outrageous aspects of this case, I think the most egregious is how Russ had a time-stamped receipt placing him at an Arby's drive-thru which would have made it impossible for him to drive home to kill his wife in the short timeframe before he made the 911 call. However, the prosecutor tried to write that off by claiming that Russ' friends were the ones actually purchased the food at Arby's in order to fabricate an alibi for him while he was at home killing his wife. Um... so if Russ' alibi witnesses were conspiring to help him commit murder, they how come the police never made any attempt to charge them with a crime?! It's just ridiculous that the prosecutor would be allowed to introduce this "fabricated alibi" scenario at trial when Russ' friends were never looked at suspects at any point in the investigation. I've actually read that the prosecutor and the original trial judge are good friends and the judge is notorious giving her friend a lot of leeway in the courtroom.

EDIT: Wow, it looks like Pam Hupp herself has joined the comments section of the linked article to proclaim her innocence and start arguments. Sadly, Betsy Faria's mother also commented and it looks like she still believes Russ is guilty.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by RobinW

I remember watching this case on Dateline and the whole thing felt like a Twilight Zone scenario for Russ Faria since it seemed like everyone in the entire town except his defense attorney and alibi witnesses just lost all common sense. How anyone could legitimately think Russ committed this murder is beyond me.

Out of all the outrageous aspects of this case, I think the most egregious is how Russ had a time-stamped receipt placing him at an Arby's drive-thru which would have made it impossible for him to drive home to kill his wife in the short timeframe before he made the 911 call. However, the prosecutor tried to write that off by claiming that Russ' friends were the ones actually purchased the food at Arby's in order to fabricate an alibi for him while he was at home killing his wife. Um... so if Russ' alibi witnesses were conspiring to help him commit murder, they how come the police never made any attempt to charge them with a crime?! It's just ridiculous that the prosecutor would be allowed to introduce this "fabricated alibi" scenario at trial when Russ' friends were never looked at suspects at any point in the investigation. I've actually read that the prosecutor and the original trial judge are good friends and the judge is notorious giving her friend a lot of leeway in the courtroom.

EDIT: Wow, it looks like Pam Hupp herself has joined the comments section of the linked article to proclaim her innocence and start arguments. Sadly, Betsy Faria's mother also commented and it looks like she still believes Russ is guilty.

Wasn't the body reported cold and stiff as if Rigor mortis had already set in? I think she was killed much earlier.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

Wasn't the body reported cold and stiff as if Rigor mortis had already set in? I think she was killed much earlier.

From what I’ve read, Betsy was visiting her mother before Pam drove her home that night, and Russ pretty much went straight from work to his friends’ house for the movie night. Theoretically, Russ could have killed Betsy right after Pam dropped her off at home which would have been a few hours before the 911 call and explained the rigor mortis. But that’s only if you believe that four other people were willing to lie about Russ’ whereabouts and conspire with him to commit murder and the prosecution certainly did not prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.

[Steve_uk]

Originally Posted by RobinW

From what I’ve read, Betsy was visiting her mother before Pam drove her home that night, and Russ pretty much went straight from work to his friends’ house for the movie night. Theoretically, Russ could have killed Betsy right after Pam dropped her off at home which would have been a few hours before the 911 call and explained the rigor mortis. But that’s only if you believe that four other people were willing to lie about Russ’ whereabouts and conspire with him to commit murder and the prosecution certainly did not prove that beyond a reasonable doubt.

I don't think his friends covered for him. I was thinking that the murder occurred before he arrived at this gaming night.

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by Steve_uk

I don't think his friends covered for him. I was thinking that the murder occurred before he arrived at this gaming night.

According to the timeline, Russ arrived at the gaming night at 5:45 PM. Admittedly, I don't know the exact timeline of Betsy's movements that day, but she definitely visited her mother before Pam drove her home. If it was verified that Betsy was at her mother's place at 5:45 or later, then Russ couldn't have killed her before meeting his friends.

[BlueGalexy]

Originally Posted by RobinW

I remember watching this case on Dateline and the whole thing felt like a Twilight Zone scenario for Russ Faria since it seemed like everyone in the entire town except his defense attorney and alibi witnesses just lost all common sense. How anyone could legitimately think Russ committed this murder is beyond me.

You took the words out of my mouth Robin! That is exactly what I thought while watching the Dateline coverage. Probably the one thing about this case that frustrated me the most was the jury. After the trial, there were reportedly a couple of jurors who stated that they weren't completely convinced of Faria's guilt but consoled themselves with the notion that Faria would appeal. Seriously?? I thought the whole point of “reasonable doubt" was that a juror must vote to aquit if the case was not proven beyond that standard. I can't speak for anyone else, but it seems to me that if a juror can only convict by consoling themselves with the idea of an appeal, that juror has reasonable doubts as to the defendant's guilt.

I was also frustrated by the blatent disregard of the alibi evidence. If four eyewitnesses, cell phone records, time-stamped receipts, and video surveillance footage don't prove a person's alibi, I'm not sure what would. IMO, Pam Hupp isn't the only one in this case who has some serious explaining to do. LE, the prosecutor who was in bed with them (figuratively and literally if the allegations are true), and a couple of jurors also need to account for themselves. And speaking of Hupp... I thought you might appreciate this recent article. I particularly enjoyed the last bit, lol.

http://kplr11.com/2014/11/03/with-15...ges-her-story/

[RobinW]

Originally Posted by BlueGalexy

I was also frustrated by the blatent disregard of the alibi evidence. If four eyewitnesses, cell phone records, time-stamped receipts, and video surveillance footage don't prove a person's alibi, I'm not sure what would. IMO, Pam Hupp isn't the only one in this case who has some serious explaining to do. LE, the prosecutor who was in bed with them (figuratively and literally if the allegations are true), and a couple of jurors also need to account for themselves. And speaking of Hupp... I thought you might appreciate this recent article. I particularly enjoyed the last bit, lol.

http://kplr11.com/2014/11/03/with-15...ges-her-story/

That police interview where they advise Pam Hupp to set up a trust fund for Betsy’s kids with the insurance money is surreal. They’re essentially telling a murder suspect to do something which makes them look less suspicious in order to cover up the fact that they charged the wrong person.