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Man Wrongly Convicted Of Wife's Murder Hopes Pamela Hupp Is Convicted For The Killing
Russell Faria, who was wrongfully convicted of his wife Elizabeth Faria's death, hopes that murderer Pamela Hupp is found guilty of Elizabeth's killing.
A man who spent three years behind bars after being wrongfully convicted of his wife’s murder hopes that the notorious murderer Pamela Hupp is convicted of her death.
Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria was stabbed at least 55 times in 2011 and her husband Russell Faria was an immediate suspect. He was convicted in 2013 for her killing and spent three years behind bars.
However, that conviction was overturned in 2015. He was then acquitted at his retrial when evidence showed that detectives concealed evidence that pointed to Hupp as the killer. The Lincoln County Sheriff’s Department reached a $2 million settlement with Russell Faria in 2020 for the wrongful conviction.
In July, the 60-year-old Hupp was charged with first-degree murder for Betsy’s death. Prosecutors say she stabbed Betsy, her supposed best friend, to death before staging the scene to frame Russell. Betsy was killed just four days after Hupp persuaded her to switch a $150,000 life insurance policy to make her the benefactor.
"They're finally getting the person that did this," Russell told People this week, calling Hupp “evil incarnate.”
Hupp has pleaded not guilty. She is currently behind bars for another murder.
She was sentenced to life in prison without parole last year for the 2016 killing of Louis Gumpenberger, a man with mental disabilities from a prior accident, who she fatally shot in an attempt to frame him as a hitman to allegedly cover up Betsy's murder. Prosecutors said that Hupp lured Gumpenberger to her home, claiming she was a producer for NBC’s “Dateline” and was in need of help reenacting a 911 call.
Interestingly, the twisted tale later became the subject of a “Dateline” podcast entitled “The Thing About Pam,” hosted by Keith Morrison. Earlier this year, it was announced that actor Renee Zellweger will star as Hupp in an upcoming limited series that dramatizes the case. The project is a collaboration between NBC News Studios, Blumhouse Television and Zellweger’s Big Picture Co. The case was also featured in an Oxygen episode of “Snapped.”
The 2013 death of Hupp's 77-year-old mother has also received renewed attention. While Shirley Neumann's deadly fall from a balcony was originally considered an accident it was changed to "undetermined" in 2017 by a medical examiner, NBC News reported in 2017. Hupp was the last person to see her alive. That case remains open.
As he awaits to see what happens in his wife's murder case, Russell continues to mourn his slain partner.
"Betsy had an award-winning smile and one of the biggest hearts of anybody you ever met," Russell reflected to People this week about his slain wife. "I know she loved me, and I loved her. You just never forget the people you love."
