True crime is, without a doubt, the most compelling genre, especially in terms of its potential to arouse natural curiosity due to the extremely heinous topics handled.
As a result, it’s no wonder that practically every platform has a plethora of productions that explore the dark side of human nature and how people can go to extremes for no apparent reason.
That’s exactly what NBC’s ‘The Thing About Pam,’ which is based on the horrible 2011 homicide of Betsy Faria, looks into as well, so let’s get to the bottom of it, shall we?
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What Happened to Betsy Faria? How Did She Die?
Elizabeth “Betsy” Kay Meyer Faria was living a reasonably normal existence at 130 Sumac Drive in Troy, Missouri, when her life was flipped completely upside down.
In 2010, the State Farm Insurance employee was diagnosed with breast cancer, which had spread to her liver and rendered her lifeless by 2011, prompting her loved ones to treasure every moment they had with her.
They could never have predicted that the 42-year-old would die not from her serious illness, but from a horrific crime that rocked the entire country.
Betsy’s husband of over a decade, Russ Faria, got home from a game night at a friend’s house on December 27, 2011, to discover her lying in a pool of blood on their living room floor.
Her wrists were sliced to the bone, and a kitchen knife was wedged in her neck, leading him to suspect she’d carried out her previous suicide intentions due to cancer.
Yet the truth is that she was stabbed to death, attacked in such a heinous manner that she sustained approximately 55 deep wounds throughout her body, the majority of which were post-mortem.
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Who Killed Betsy Faria And Why?
Russ became the major suspect right away because of his early statements that his wife had killed herself despite the strong evidence to the contrary, as well as their previous marital problems.
Officials questioned his emotional state when they arrived on the scene, and their doubts only deepened after he failed a polygraph test, leading to his conviction the day after Betsy’s funeral.
Russ had a concrete alibi, yet claims of him being abusive towards Betsy (made by her friend Pam) and their home giving off the impression of domestic violence didn’t help his case.
Russ was convicted and sentenced for first-degree murder and armed criminal action in November 2013, only to be retried two years later and acquitted for good.
That’s when it was revealed that a lot of information was concealed from him during his first trial and that Pamela “Pam” Hupp, the last person to see Betsy alive, may have played a key role.
Not only had she been declared the only beneficiary of her friend’s $150,000 life insurance policy four days before to the homicide, but she’d also repeatedly contradicted herself throughout police questioning.
As if it wasn’t enough to raise suspicions, Pam insisted on taking Betsy home from her mother’s house after chemotherapy that day, despite the fact that she had already made arrangements for transportation.
Furthermore, she texted her buddy “home” approximately a half-hour after she claimed to have left her off, despite the fact that cellphone records show she was in the vicinity of Betsy’s house the entire time.
Her recent suggestion that they were having a sexual relationship, as well as the fact that she was the star witness against Russ, incriminated her to some extent.
Pam was charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in connection with Betsy’s death in July 2021, although the latter allegation was later withdrawn in September.
Prosecutors now suspect she killed her victim while sleeping on the sofa in greed, then removed her socks and used them to spread the blood about to simulate domestic violence before re-putting them on her feet.
They have also stated that because of the “heinousness and depravity” of the conduct, they will seek the death penalty. Pam has pleaded not guilty and will face trial soon.