She ultimately entered an Alford plea before charges of first-degree murder and armed criminal action could go to trial. [28] In January 2014, KTVI partnered with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch newspaper to review the case. [122] In September 2019, the murder of Louis Gumpenberger was the subject of a Dateline NBC true crime podcast. However, the police reported that Betsy had been stabbed 55 times and her wounds were not self-inflicted. [84], Hupp claimed that Gumpenberger, armed with a knife, had jumped out of a car (driven by another person) into her driveway, accosted her while she sat in her SUV in her garage, and demanded she drive to a bank to retrieve "Russ' money". [107] Hupp is serving her sentence at the Chillicothe Correctional Center. I do not take lightly the decision to pursue the death penalty, Wood said in a press conference. Youll watch the lengths to which one woman would go to try to implicate Betsys husband, Russ, in a murder. Heres how to watch Datelines The Real Thing About Pam live on NBC. [113] In June 2022, Burger's firm received an initial payment of $783 garnished from money Hupp had earned working as a tutor in the Chillicothe Correctional Center. Pam Hupp, the personality that Rene Zellweger plays, is an offender who has actually been punished to life behind bars without the opportunity of parole. St. Charles County. A mother is found dead, another woman targeted at home, two mysterious crimes tied together with a shocking common ground. And so all of that investigation, including the one in Lincoln County and the one in St. Charles, became pertinent information [] I was no longer willing to say it could be an accident." [87] Several pieces of evidence were identified: On August 23, 2016, Hupp was arrested and charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action. She is by far an unobvious choice but is absolutely excellent as the fascinatingly unlikeable- but seemingly mundane and harmless- Pam. After a short stint in Florida, she moved back to Missouri in 2001 and took a clerical job at State Farm while also flipping houses on the side with her husband. As a condition of her plea agreement, Hupp did not face the death penalty. Everything you need to know about NBC's new true-crime docuseries, The Thing About Pam, starring Renee Zellweger as Pam Hupp, what happened to Betsy Faria and who was wrongly convicted. [132] Filming was conducted in New Orleans; it was delayed by Hurricane Ida[133] but was underway by October 2021. After a successful appeal and second trial in 2015, Faria was exonerated after his defense attorney was permitted to introduce evidence that was withheld from the original trial jury, some of which implicated Hupp the beneficiary of a life insurance policy held by Betsy as the killer. Six years later, Hupp got divorced and shortly thereafter married Mark Hupp, a minor league baseball player turned carpenter. [19] A month later, he was sentenced to life plus thirty years' imprisonment without possibility of parole and sent to the Jefferson City Correctional Center. [122][126], In October 2019, the Riverfront Times dubbed Hupp St Louis' "best local girl gone bad" of that year, observing that "few stories are quite so made-for-TV" and "the tale of Pam Hupp screams for serialization". This page was last edited on 27 February 2023, at 12:56. Michael reiterated that he believed his mother's death was accidental. [19][20] A second knife was found under a pillow on the couch she was lying on. The series will be a joint venture between NBC and Blumhouse Television. [55] In February 2021, Wood stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed the investigation, but that he expected "significant announcements" in the summer or fall. [42] In 2017, Askey asked Lincoln County commissioners to conduct an independent investigation into her conduct; the investigation found no wrongdoing. [139] A book about the murder of Betsy Faria, by Joel Schwartz and Charles Bosworth Jr., Bone Deep: Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder Case, was published in 2022. By 2010, Hupp had stopped working and was claiming disability benefits for back, leg, and neck pain. [7], On December 22, 2011, days before her death and unbeknownst to her family, Betsy changed the sole beneficiary of her $150,000 (equivalent to $181,000 in 2021) State Farm life insurance policy from her husband to Hupp, who originally said that Betsy had asked her to give the money to her daughters when they were older. 1,107, This story has been shared 932 times. I mean, I guess, if I wanted a lot of money, I could kill him instead of her, she said, which struck the lawyer as an odd thing to sayespecially when no one had accused her of killing her friend. 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Writer Savannah Lucas (story producer) Pamela Hupp Episode aired Feb 9, 2020 TV-14 43 m YOUR RATING Rate Documentary Crime A mother is found dead, another woman targeted at home, two mysterious crimes tied together with a shocking common ground. Pamela Hupp was once a star witness, taking center stage at the trial for her best friend's murder. Pam Hupp Documentary About. [16] After interviewing Hupp in connection with Neumann's death, KTVI reporter Chris Hayes received an anonymous letter stating, "Dear sirs: I think its [sic] getting a little silly that you keep accusing someone of killing their parent, when its [sic] not true. [5] In 2010, she was diagnosed with breast cancer. It stars Rene Zellweger, Josh Duhamel, Judy Greer, Gideon Adlon, Sean Bridgers, Suanne Spoke, Mac Brandt, Katy Mixon, and Glenn Fleshler. But thats not where it ends. Shortly after 12:00 noon on August 16, 2016, Louis Gumpenberger died after Hupp shot him five times in the hallway of her home at 1260 Little Brave Drive in O'Fallon. Who is Pam Hupp? ", Where to listen: Spotify, Apple Podcasts, or wherever you listen to podcasts. Hupp was the beneficiary of her moms life insurance. She lived in Troy, Missouri, with her husband, Russell Scott Faria ("Russ"), and two daughters from a previous relationship. [109] In July 2020, Burch was awarded a judgment of $3,000,000 (equivalent to $3,180,000 in 2021). In a bizarre turn, it was revealed during the retrial that Hupp had newly claimed to a detective that she and Betsy were lovers. Peterson was CLARIFICATION (March 15, 2022 at 10:20 p.m. In August 2019, Pam was sentenced to life in prison without parole. United States Attorney for the Eastern District of Missouri, Missouri University of Science and Technology, "The unimaginable, infamous case of Pam Hupp", "Pam Hupp could still be collecting government disability checks in jail", "Fox Files Special Report: The Faria Murder (Part 2)", "Lincoln County man sentenced to life plus 30 years for killing wife", "Husband of Lincoln County woman found dead in home is charged with her murder", "Leah Day, Mariah Day v. Pamela Hupp, Mark Hupp", "With $150,000 on the line, a murder witness changes her story", "Judge freezes accounts of O'Fallon, Mo., woman who collected life insurance after friend's murder", "Daughters of Betsy Faria lose life insurance battle in St. Charles County judge's ruling", "Judge rules Pam Hupp can keep Betsy Faria's life insurance proceeds", "Russ Faria sues State Farm for his murdered wife's $150,000 life insurance proceeds", "Key murder case witness admits she lied about life insurance money", "Op-Ed: Allegations of inappropriate affair in Russ Faria murder case", "The real truth about Pam Hupp: 3 deaths, 2 questionable investigations, 1 woman at the center", "Russell Scott Faria, plaintiff, vs. Ryan J. Mccarrick, et al, defendants", United States District Court for the Eastern District of Missouri, "Here's how Faria prosecutors got their wrongful conviction", "Jury finds Russell Faria guilty of murder in the first degree and armed criminal action", "Subject of 'Dateline' podcast 'The Thing About Pam' charged with murder", "Russell Scott Faria, plaintiff, v. sergeant Ryan J. Mccarrick, in his individual capacity only, detective Michael Merkel, in his individual capacity only, detective Patrick Harney, in his individual capacity only, prosecuting attorney Leah Askey, in her individual capacity only, defendants", "Judge acquits Russ Faria in retrial for wife's murder", "Russ Faria reacts to arrest of former accuser detective", "Fox Files Special Report: The Faria Murder (Part 3)", "Man sentenced to life for stabbing wife 55 times", "Betsy Faria's daughters speak for first time about their mom's murder, Pam Hupp", "Faria Murder: 911 operator speaks out for the first time", "The Russ Faria murder retrial should put prosecutor on the hot seat", "Man convicted of killing wife wins chance for retrial in Lincoln County", "Judge orders new trial in controversial Lincoln County murder case", "Pam Hupp blames Fox 2 reporter for Gumpenberger killing during police interview", "Police offer 'theory' to witness, who then changes her story", "Pam Hupp won't answer questions about the 2011 murder of a friend", "Wrongfully convicted Russ Faria sues prosecutor and investigators", "Appeals Court overturns 3 recent cases involving Faria judge", "U.S. Attorney, Lincoln Co. prosecuting attorney reviewing Betsy Faria murder case", "Missouri judge suspended over dispute with public defenders", "Lincoln County voters sweep out of office 2 key figures in Faria case", "FOX Files: Former employee talks about Lincoln County's treatment of Pam Hupp", "Judge dismisses prosecutor and Lincoln County, but not sheriff's officers, from Russell Faria's lawsuit over his prosecution for wife's murder", "U.S. Attorney discusses review of Faria murder", "Lawyers want Pam Hupp to answer 92 questions about 2011 Betsy Faria murder", "Russ Faria to get $2M in settlement of lawsuit against police who investigated wife's death", "Russ Faria settles Lincoln County lawsuit for $2 million; Wants wife's killer caught", "Pam Hupp avoids death penalty with plea, faces life in prison for 2016 murder of Louis Gumpenberger", "Lincoln County prosecutor says he's confident Betsy Faria murder can be solved", "Pam Hupp to be investigated for murder of Betsy Faria", "Future Lincoln County sheriff said he was motivated by Betsy Faria murder coverage", "Betsy Faria cold case investigation could be wrapped up this year", "Pam Hupp speaks to police about Betsy Faria's murder", "Lincoln County to announce new charges against Pam Hupp in Betsy Faria's murder", "Pam Hupp charged with murder in Betsy Faria case", "Pam Hupp charged with first degree murder in 2011 stabbing death of Betsy Faria", "An innocent man spent years in prison for his wife's murder. Five days later, she was dead. [6] Unable to make $250,000 bail (equivalent to $295,000 in 2021), he was held in the county jail until his trial began on November 18, 2013. [26], In September 2020, Hupp's husband Mark filed for divorce, describing their marriage as "irretrievably broken";[114] by March 2022, the couple were divorced. 932, This story has been shared 919 times. Excessive pride proves to be the downfall of one sinful perpetrator trying to preserve their reputation. Hupp and her siblings each received approximately $120,000 (equivalent to $140,000 in 2021) of investments held by Neumann, as well as sharing a $10,000 (equivalent to $12,000 in 2021) life insurance payout. For the latest twists and turns, watch our full episode, The Real Thing About Pam, now. [138], The book Countdown to Murder: Pam Hupp, by Rebecca F. Pittman, was published in 2021. However, neither side called Hupp to testify during the retrial. [2] At Hupp's behest, police searched Betsy's laptop and found a document in which she purportedly expressed fears that her husband would kill her. Hupp (ne Neumann) was born in Dellwood, Missouri, in 1958 to a strict Catholic family. Pam Hupp demonstrated for police detectives how she held the gun in both hands as she shot Louis Gumpenberger, after having claimed she had shot an intruder in her home. She had also contradicted herself during police interviews, such as initially claiming she had not entered the Faria house after driving Betsy home but later revising this account twice. [125], In July 2019, filmmaker Daniel Blake Smith announced that he was writing and producing Proof, a feature film based on the stories of Russ and his defense attorney Joel Schwartz. The following year, Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood said that his office was investigating possible police and prosecutor misconduct in the original Betsy Faria murder investigation. [72][76][77], Louis Royse Gumpenberger was a resident of Union, Missouri. In July 2021, Hupp was charged with the first-degree murder of Betsy Faria. Make sure knife sticking out of neck" in return for a reward of $10,000 (equivalent to $11,291 in 2021). Nope. Zellweger, however, said she felt that in the case of telling this story, it was really important to as closely resemble Pam Hupp as we possibly could, because she seems so familiar. Earlier that year, prior to her mother's death, Hupp had been videotaped saying, "My mom's worth half a million that I get when she dies [] if I really wanted money, there was an easier way than trying to combat somebody that's physically stronger than me". Law enforcement have theorized that Hupp tricked Gumpenberger into entering her home and then murdered him in a failed attempt to frame Faria. Faria, who was 11 years Hupps junior, was known for being sweet and bubbly, with a reputation for being scatterbrained and often short on cash. A tip-off to police accused Hupp of killing Neumann for financial gain. Testimony from Hupp had played a key role in the 2013 conviction of Russ Faria for the murder of his wife, Betsy Faria, who was stabbed to death in her home in Troy, Missouri, in 2011. It was important to Zellweger, who is also an executive producer on the series, that they stuck as close to the bizarre, and often infuriating, details of the case as possible. Rene Zellweger, who had become interested in the case after becoming "obsessed" with the Dateline NBC podcast, served as executive producer for the series and also portrayed Hupp using facial prosthetics and a fatsuit. Zellweger had previously put on weight to play her role in "Bridget Jones's Diary" but found that this had affected her health, so she agreed to the use of prosthetics and a "fat suit" to play Pam. The thing about Pam is that shes not who you think she is and too many people learned that the hard way. [116], St. Louis station KTVI broke the Betsy Faria story, reporting continuously on the case from December 28, 2011, through 2022, generating more than fifty reports and investigations. [45], The decision not to investigate Hupp had been widely criticized; a former employee of the prosecutor's office said, "There were several of us that kept thinking, why are we not pursuing Pam Hupp? In an interview weve been pursuing for years, Keith Morrison talks to Leah Askey, the former Lincoln County prosecutor behind the wrongful conviction of Betsys husband Russ Faria. [100] She appeared in court on January 31, 2017, pleading not guilty. Sign up for More to the Story, TIMEs weekly entertainment newsletter, to get the context you need for the pop culture you love. Hupp became the prosecutions star witness in the 2013 murder trial despite pleas from Russ attorney Joel Schwartz that police take a closer look at her as a possible suspect. 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