TROY, Mo. 鈥 When a judge in Lincoln County a man Friday in his wife鈥檚 murder, it answered one question 鈥 whether Russell Faria would spend the rest of his life in prison.
But many more questions are left unanswered.
Among them: Will police and prosecutors revisit the death investigation, or look into Pamela Hupp 鈥 the woman that Faria鈥檚 attorneys blamed for the death of Elizabeth 鈥淏etsy鈥 Faria?
And what of investigators, who were accused by defense attorneys of hiding evidence, lying on the witness stand, threatening one of Faria鈥檚 alibi witnesses and suggesting that Hupp change her story to bolster their case?
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Joel Schwartz, one of Faria鈥檚 attorneys, called for more investigation. He also said that he needed 鈥渢o let the dust settle and think about what I鈥檓 going to do,鈥 but mentioned a civil suit against police as an option. He declined to comment on the prospect of a lawsuit against prosecutors on behalf of Faria, who spent 3陆 years behind bars after being convicted in an earlier trial.
Prosecuting Attorney Leah Askey issued a brief statement Friday evening that expressed condolences for Betsy Faria鈥檚 family and said that Askey disagreed with the retrial verdict.
She did not return messages seeking comment Saturday. A Lincoln County sheriff鈥檚 spokesman could not be reached.
The fatal stabbing of Betsy Faria, 42, on Dec. 27, 2011, was the subject of a in 2014 between the Post-Dispatch/STLtoday and Fox 2. It also has been featured on NBC鈥檚 鈥淒ateline.鈥
Russell Faria, now 45, was convicted in 2013 and was serving a sentence of life without parole when, in February, an appeals court made the rare move of ordering a judge to quickly revisit several issues in the case.
A new judge eventually was picked for the case: 51黑料 Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer. He ordered a new trial and ruled that Faria鈥檚 attorneys should have been allowed by Lincoln County Judge Chris Kunza Mennemeyer in the first trial to point a finger at Hupp, a friend of the victim鈥檚, as an alternative suspect.
Hupp had dropped Betsy Faria off at the Farias鈥 home outside of Troy the night of the killing and was the last person known to have seen her alive.
She also had become the beneficiary of one of Betsy Faria鈥檚 life insurance policies, worth $150,000, days before the murder. Hupp shifted her story about where Betsy Faria wanted the money to go, what Hupp saw and did on the night of the murder and details of Russell Faria鈥檚 personality and potential motives.
She has repeatedly denied any role in the crime. She could not be reached for comment Saturday.
Askey said Russell Faria was motivated by passion and rage, and perhaps by fear of losing the insurance proceeds when his wife, who had terminal cancer, died naturally.
Askey pointed to his slippers 鈥 stained with Betsy Faria鈥檚 blood 鈥 found in a closet, the testimony of witnesses who spoke of the couple鈥檚 rocky marriage and written on Betsy Faria鈥檚 computer five days before her death, expressing fear of him.
The prosecutor also implied faults with his alibi and with his actions and statements after he discovered his wife鈥檚 body.
But Russell Faria鈥檚 cellphone records, four alibi witnesses and a series of errands put him miles away, at a game night with friends in O鈥橣allon, Mo., when the crime appears to have taken place. No time of death was ever established, but a paramedic testified that Betsy Faria鈥檚 body was stiff and cold when they responded to her husband鈥檚 911 call.
After the verdict Friday, Russell Faria said he had a possible job offer with a friend at a startup company in Arizona.
Betsy Faria鈥檚 family declined to comment.
CALLS FOR MORE INVESTIGATION
What local investigators will do now is unclear.
In last week鈥檚 retrial, Detective Sgt. Ryan McCarrick said he believed Hupp during the investigation. She was not then and is still not a suspect, he said. McCarrick, who was formerly with the Lincoln County Sheriff鈥檚 Office and is now with Florissant police, was a supervisor of the Major Case Squad investigation into the murder.
Betsy Faria鈥檚 mother, Janet Meyer, also said in testimony that she did not think Hupp was a 鈥渕urderess.鈥 Meyer could not be reached Saturday.
As recently as the week before the trial, investigators were still trying to crack Russell Faria鈥檚 alibi by offering one of his witnesses immunity.
Schwartz called Friday on the U.S. attorney鈥檚 office and the Missouri attorney general鈥檚 office to investigate.
In a brief telephone interview Friday night, U.S. Attorney Richard Callahan said, 鈥淎 determination that the government has failed to prove beyond a reasonable doubt that a defendant is guilty wouldn鈥檛 in and of itself trigger an independent investigation.鈥 He continued, 鈥淗owever ... I think the case is something that is at least worth our office visiting with the judge and the attorney general鈥檚 office, as well as the local prosecutor.鈥
Told of Callahan鈥檚 statement, Schwartz said, 鈥淚 would welcome them talking to me as well as my client,鈥 adding, 鈥淚 would be more than happy to share the results of my investigation with them.鈥
Schwartz said that it was 鈥渘ot possible for (Faria) to have committed the crime鈥 and that he would like to hear a determination of 鈥渁ctual innocence,鈥 not just a not-guilty verdict.
A spokeswoman for Missouri Attorney General Chris Koster could not be reached. Askey was assisted in the first trial by a lawyer for Koster鈥檚 office.
Hupp was present in the courthouse and in court for part of the trial, although she left before Ohmer reached his verdict. Faria opted to leave his fate to Ohmer, rather than a jury, in this trial.
Hupp had been subpoenaed by both sides as a potential witness, but neither side called her.
Schwartz suggested that Askey lacked confidence in Hupp鈥檚 testimony and said that if it were so, Askey should have dismissed the case or at least investigated Hupp.
He said it was 鈥渁wfully suspicious and would show the trier of fact (the judge) that the state, who possesses the burden of proof, is unwilling or unable to or frankly, frightened to, allow the trier of fact to evaluate this person鈥檚 testimony because they themselves don鈥檛 believe it.鈥
He also said that, generally, ethics rules prohibit lawyers from calling a witness that they believe would lie.
It won鈥檛 be Hupp鈥檚 last time in court.
Betsy Faria鈥檚 daughters have sued Hupp, claiming that their mother had wanted them to receive the $150,000 in insurance proceeds. They said Hupp had changed her story 鈥 initially telling the family and police that Betsy Faria wanted her daughters to have the money, then saying that it was hers.
That trial is scheduled for January.
A lawyer involved in a case involving the death of Hupp鈥檚 mother watched part of the trial.
Not quite two years after Betsy Faria鈥檚 murder, in October 2013, Hupp鈥檚 mother, Shirley Neumann, 77, in a fall through the balcony of her third-floor apartment, police have said. There were no known witnesses. A lawsuit was filed in February against the retirement home, a general contractor and others.
The lawyer declined to comment. But during a break and in open court, there was discussion between Faria鈥檚 attorneys and prosecutors about the death.
Schwartz said Saturday, 鈥淲e requested a break to investigate the information we had received from that attorney,鈥 but he said the request had been denied.
INVESTIGATING THE INVESTIGATORS
Also unclear was what might happen amid allegations of prosecutorial and police misconduct.
In closing arguments, Schwartz called the prosecution鈥檚 case 鈥渕ere, unadulterated speculation.鈥 He said Saturday that Faria should never have been charged based on the evidence investigators had.
Defense attorneys accused police in court of lying on the stand and suggesting to Hupp that she bolster their case by changing her story.
Though a defense attorney鈥檚 attacking the reputation of witnesses, especially police officers, is a common tactic, the judge also faulted the investigation before he announced his verdict.
Ohmer called it 鈥渞ather disturbing鈥 and said that it 鈥渞aised more questions than answers.鈥
A detective told the court Thursday that only in June 2015 did Hupp claim that she and Betsy Faria had been lovers since 2006 and that Russell Faria had threatened Hupp if she returned to the Farias鈥 home. Hupp also offered new versions of her actions after dropping off her friend that night, saying she was stopped at a fork in the road for 10-15 minutes.
Four months after that interview, during which a detective offered the investigators鈥 theory of the murder, Hupp said for the first time that she had seen Russell Faria and someone else at or near the house that night, according to court testimony.
During the trial, Schwartz and colleague Nathan Swanson repeatedly complained that the prosecutor had failed to turn over evidence.
During one exchange, Ohmer raised his voice and said to Askey, 鈥淭here鈥檚 an obligation for you to turn over everything to them.鈥
Later, he said, 鈥淟et鈥檚 talk about this at another time.鈥
