Elizabeth "Betsy" Faria was found killed in her Troy, Missouri, home on December 27, 2011. She had returned from a chemotherapy appointment earlier that day. The investigation initially focused on her husband, Russ Faria.
Four days before the killing, Betsy had changed the beneficiary of a $150,000 life-insurance policy from Russ to her friend Pam Hupp. That event is relevant background to later prosecution theories, but it is not the onset of the killing and is not treated as proof of motive.
Russ Faria was charged in January 2012, convicted in 2013, and sentenced to life plus 30 years. His conviction was later set aside, and a judge acquitted him at a 2015 retrial after hearing evidence that had been excluded from the first trial. No conviction against him remains.
Hupp was separately convicted through an Alford plea in the 2016 killing of Louis Gumpenberger and is serving life without parole in that case. That separate conviction does not establish guilt in Betsy Faria's death.
In July 2021, Lincoln County prosecutors charged Hupp with first-degree murder in Betsy's death. The charge was dropped and refiled in October 2023 as part of a venue change. Hupp has not been convicted in this case. In April 2026, she waived a jury trial after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty, and reporting placed the bench trial on January 31, 2028.
The prosecution remains pending. Hupp is identified as charged and not guilty, Russ Faria is identified through the vacated conviction and acquittal, and the state's theory is attributed rather than stated as fact.
Betsy Faria was found killed in her Troy, Missouri, home.
2012-01-04
Russ Faria was charged with his wife's murder.
2013-11-21
Russ Faria was convicted and sentenced to life plus 30 years.
2015-02-24
An appellate remand led to a new trial.
2015-11
Russ Faria was acquitted at a bench retrial and released.
2021-07-12
Pam Hupp was charged with first-degree murder in Betsy Faria's death.
2023-10-27
Prosecutors dropped and refiled the murder charge as part of moving the case closer to Lincoln County.
2026-04-28
Hupp waived a jury trial after prosecutors agreed not to seek the death penalty.
2028-01-31
The bench trial was scheduled to begin on this date; the setting remains subject to change.
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Titles and descriptions are the creators’ own and may not reflect current legal status; see the dossier above for sourced case facts.
VIDEO
Danelle Hallan / 55 min
The murder of Betsy Faria and the WRONGFUL conviction of her husband
People
Betsy Faria
VICTIM
Killed in her Troy, Missouri, home on December 27, 2011.
Russ Faria
EXONERATED
Convicted in 2013, granted a new trial, and acquitted at a 2015 bench retrial; no conviction remains.
Pam Hupp
CHARGED
Charged with first-degree murder in Betsy Faria's death; the pending case was set for a 2028 bench trial, and no conviction has been entered in this case.
Roles reflect public records and court outcomes at the time of writing — supporting citations are on file under Sources.
Betsy Faria was killed in her Troy, Missouri, home on December 27, 2011; her husband was later acquitted, and Pam Hupp remains charged and not guilty in a pending murder prosecution.
