LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. (KMOX/AP) - An eastern Missouri woman already serving a life sentence for murder pleaded not guilty Tuesday in the stabbing death of her friend a decade ago.
Pamela Hupp is charged with first-degree murder and armed criminal action in the death of Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, in 2011. Prosecutors contend Hupp killed Faria four days after persuading her to switch a $150,000 life insurance policy to Hupp. She then allegedly tried to stage the scene to make it appear that Faria’s husband killed her.
Hupp declined to respond to reporters’ questions as she was led out of the courthouse, the St. Louis Post-Dispatch reported.
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Prosecuting Attorney Mike Wood said he will seek the death penalty if Hupp is convicted of first-degree murder in Faria’s death.
She arrived in Lincoln County Monday and is being held at the county jail. Deputies picked her up from a prison in Chillicothe, where she's been serving a life sentence for the killing of Louis Gumpenberger since 2019.
Prosecutors say Hupp killed Gumpemberger to deflect attention from her role in Faria's killing.
Betsy's husband Russ Faria was wrongfully convicted in her killing. He was later exonerated and now the Lincoln County prosecutor's office is looking into whether criminal charges need to be filed in the investigation of Betsy Faria's murder.
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