LINCOLN COUNTY 鈥 Shortly before last month鈥檚 retrial of a man accused of murdering his wife in their home, a potentially key prosecution witness regained a shocking memory: She suddenly recalled seeing him lurking that night, almost four years before, outside the house near Troy, Mo.
Investigators long struggled to crack the alibi of Russell Faria, which was backed by security video from a series of businesses, a fast-food receipt, cellphone location records and four friends who put him miles from the crime scene.
The last-minute revelation by the victim鈥檚 friend, Pamela Hupp, seemed to be just what the prosecution needed.
But it was part of evolving recollections in a series of interviews with police and prosecutors this summer and fall. , Hupp, a state鈥檚 witness in the first case, was never called to testify.
People are also reading…
There were snippets and hints in open court about some of what she had said. But documents with details were sealed by Judge Steven Ohmer until several days ago.
In them, and claimed that Russell Faria found out and threatened both. She also said she had a feeling someone was in the house that night when she dropped off the victim.
Hupp testified in Faria鈥檚 first trial, in 2013, about his deteriorating relationship with his wife. Faria was found guilty by a jury of first-degree murder and sent to prison for life without parole until his conviction was reversed in June.
A judge ruled that the defense had been unfairly prevented from offering evidence pointing instead to Hupp, who became beneficiary of $150,000 of Betsy Faria鈥檚 life insurance just days before the stabbing.
On Nov. 6, Ohmer, on loan from 51黑料, acquitted Faria and offered a parting opinion that the investigation had been 鈥渄isturbing.鈥
Defense lawyer Joel Schwartz said Hupp had been interviewed by police at least eight to 10 times, with significant changes in her story that were not true and left his client 鈥渇labbergasted.鈥
鈥淲hat鈥檚 the most baffling in everything is why the police just accepted everything she said,鈥 Schwartz said.
But a Lincoln County sheriff鈥檚 detective, Sgt. Patrick Harney, said Monday he feels that investigators were portrayed unfairly. 鈥淲e鈥檝e done everything we can to know every fact and detail of this case,鈥 he insisted.
鈥淚 think what might be good to know is we can鈥檛 control what any person says, whether that person is a victim, a witness or a suspect,鈥 he said. 鈥淲e can only report on what they said. So that鈥檚 what we鈥檝e done.鈥
He noted, 鈥淚 think that鈥檚 an experience that we鈥檝e all had in life 鈥 we鈥檝e walked away from something鈥 and later 鈥渟omething refreshes your memory.鈥
In a series of text messages, Hupp said that she suffers from medical conditions that cause memory problems. She declined to explain why she hadn鈥檛 been called as a witness by prosecutors.
Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney Leah Askey did not respond to messages seeking comment.
A HIDDEN LOVE
The week before the second trial, Hupp told police about the affair with Betsy Faria, and the husband鈥檚 threats.
Hupp said she and Betsy Faria were not ordinarily attracted to women, but the relationship blossomed after her friend was diagnosed with cancer. 鈥淪he was in love, and at that point ... I just let that go because it was a small, small thing to give her,鈥 she said. She claimed Russell Faria knew, and threatened both more than once.
In a rage one day, she said, he pinned her against a wall, used a gay slur and said, 鈥淚f I ever catch you guys again, I鈥檓 going to bury you both in the backyard.鈥
Russell Faria and Hupp both have repeatedly denied killing Betsy Faria.
Hupp also revealed 鈥 for the first time 鈥 that after dropping off Betsy Faria that night, she had waited up to 15 minutes at a nearby fork in the road for Betsy Faria to call her back. Schwartz has hammered at discrepancies between Hupp鈥檚 story about her movements and her cellphone鈥檚 whereabouts.
Harney said that Hupp鈥檚 statement about the affair simply confirmed something he suspected but had never been able to confirm.
INVESTIGATORS鈥 THEORY
While questioning Hupp about what she saw the night of the murder, investigators offered their own theory: that Faria slipped into the house while the two women were there, and Hupp somehow sensed it.
鈥淭hat is what we have discussed amongst ourselves. So now I鈥檓 going to hand that to you and ask is, is any part of that correct ... did you see Russ that night?鈥 Harney asked.
Hupp interrupted with a simple, 鈥淣o.鈥 She said she did not see or hear anyone.
A detective later told Hupp, 鈥淵ou may take it from here and want to call us at midnight tonight saying, I, I remember something now. OK. So don鈥檛 hesitate to do that.鈥
In the next recorded interview, in September, Hupp said that subconsciously, she did feel someone was there. The next week, Hupp returned, unannounced, to the sheriff鈥檚 office, saying the previous interview had 鈥渟tarted to open up a bunch of stuff memory wise.鈥
She said she had retraced her steps that night and believed she did spot Faria, in a car with someone else parked near the house. They ducked when she drove in, she said, and the passenger was gone when she left.
Hupp blamed three head injuries from accidents, and use of the sleep aid Ambien, for 鈥渉uge lapses of memory.鈥
鈥淎nd I know everybody is going to say I鈥檓 nuts and stuff like that,鈥 she told police.
Schwartz said he was surprised that Hupp, the last person to see Betsy Faria alive 鈥 and who gained financially from the death 鈥 was not called to testify at the retrial.
And he was dismayed that the records showed no effort by the prosecutor or investigators to grill Hupp about the evolving story. Schwartz said it was 鈥渙ne of the worst examples of police work that I鈥檝e seen in 30 years. And it鈥檚 intentionally ignoring obvious facts. To what end, I don鈥檛 know.鈥
In Tuesday鈥檚 interview, Harney said police never suggested facts to Hupp. 鈥淚 don鈥檛 know why she said the things she said other than what she told us was the justification for it,鈥 he said.
In court, Harney had acknowledged that police never asked Hupp why she didn鈥檛 mention the death threat sooner. Schwartz prompted the detective to recall that Hupp previously said Russell Faria had been nice to her. Asked if both versions could be true, Harvey replied, 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 think so.鈥
Faria鈥檚 conviction had been the subject of questions raised in a joint Post-Dispatch/STLtoday and Fox 2 News investigation last year.
