Missouri woman facing death penalty for best friend’s 2011 murder

A Missouri woman already serving a life sentence for murdering a man with disabilities in 2016 is also facing the death penalty for the 2011 killing of her best friend.

Lincoln County Prosecutor Mike Wood revealed during a press conference on Monday that Pam Hupp has been charged with first degree murder and armed criminal action for the slaying of Betsy Faria, who was found stabbed to death in her Troy home just after Christmas, 2011.

Faria’s husband, Russell Faria, was convicted in November 2013 in her death. He spent three years behind bars, but his conviction was overturned on appeal in 2015.

According to court documents obtained by Dateline, Hupp meticulously planned her friend’s murder and then fixed the crime scene to frame Russell. The suspect waited until Dec. 27, 2011, knowing her victim would be lethargic after a chemotherapy session.

After she violently stabbed Faria, Hupp allegedly dipped Betsy’s socks in her own blood and spread it around the house to make it look like her husband killed her in a domestic assault.

“I came to the conclusion that, beyond a reasonable doubt, Pamela Hupp killed Betsy Faria,” Wood said. “And I believe her motivation was simple: for greed.”

Just days before the violent murder, prosecutors said Hupp became the sole beneficiary of Faria’s $150,000 life insurance policy. Wood noted that “one of the aggravating factors we’re obviously able to rely on with the death penalty was that she murdered for the insurance money.”

Hupp is already serving a life sentence for the killing of Louis Gumpenberger, a 33-year-old man who was left physically and mentally impaired from a 2005 car wreck.

Investigators said Hupp lured Gumpenberger from outside his home by telling him she worked for “Dateline” and suggesting she would pay for his help.