There’s no disputing that murders are the most perplexing crimes that occur all too frequently, but the case of Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, which is still unfolding, has surpassed all expectations.
After all, as seen on ‘The Thing About Pam,’ Pamela “Pam” Hupp’s husband was arrested, tried, convicted, and then exonerated in the case, exposing an alleged greedy plan involving Pamela “Pam” Hupp.
So, if you’re interested in learning more about the latter, including her background, misdeeds, alleged lies, and present status, we’ve got you covered.
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Pam Hupp, Who is She?
Pamela Neumann Hupp was born on October 10, 1958, in Dellwood, Missouri, as the third of four children of Victor (a union leader) and Shirley Neumann (a schoolteacher).
She primarily performed what was required of her while still having fun, only to marry her high school sweetheart shortly after graduation and have a daughter shortly after.
Pam went on to Mark Hupp, with whom she not only lived in Florida before settling down in O’Fallon, Missouri, in 2001, but also has a kid.
Pam flipped houses on the side while working as an administrator for State Farm Insurance in her native state, when she met Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria for the first time.
Over time, the two became acquainted, but it wasn’t until the latter’s breast cancer diagnosis in 2010 that they got close, with Pam transporting her to and from treatment appointments.
On December 27, 2011, she did something similar, but this time she carried Betsy home from her mother’s house (without being asked) and became the last person to see her alive.
The most shocking aspect of this storey is that Betsy had replaced her husband, Russ, as the only beneficiary of her $150,000 life insurance policy just four days before.
She claimed it was signed over to her so she could set up a trust for Betsy’s two girls, but she later modified her tale to say her friend wanted her to keep the money for herself.
As if that wasn’t enough, Russ was arrested for the shooting death of a mentally and physically disabled man inside her house less than a year after she was acquitted.
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Where is Pam Hupp Today? Is She In Jail?
Pamela Hupp shot Louis Gumpenberger five times about noon on August 16, 2016, claiming self-defense after he chased her inside her house with a knife to her throat.
Russ allegedly told him to kidnap her, drive her to the bank to get his money back, and then kill her – a storey that investigators found hard to believe.
Pam was arrested and charged with murder and armed criminal action a week later, believing she planned the incident to escape the doubts that were already gathering around her.
Pam was booked the same day and requested to use the restroom, where she stabbed her neck and wrists with a ballpoint pen in an apparent suicide attempt.
Officials found her acts to be clear evidence of guilt, and her bond was set at $2 million, with prosecutors subsequently clarifying that they would seek the death penalty.
Pam kept her innocence by entering an Alford guilty plea before her trial could begin, and she was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole in August 2019.
#BREAKING – Pamela Hupp charging documents with all the details @ksdknews pic.twitter.com/tWmpxl84iR
— Jeanie Smith (@jeaniesmithstl) August 23, 2016
With this case, the 2013 death of Shirley Neumann was revisited, with the focus on the potential that Pam was to blame for her mother’s death when she fell from a third-story balcony.
Shirley, who suffers from dementia and arthritis, had eight times the average sedative dose in her system, but the studies were inconclusive.
Pam was then charged with armed criminal action and first-degree murder in connection with Betsy’s homicide in July 2021, after additional investigations, the latter of which was dismissed in September.
Pam is currently detained at the mixed-security, women-only Chillicothe Correctional Center in Livingston County, Missouri, awaiting trial at the age of 63.