The Murderer With Four Alibi Witnesses - The Murder of Betsy Faria

Just after Christmas 2011, Russ Faria came home from a game night with friends and found his wife, Betsy, dead inside their Missouri home.

Police quickly decided that Russ had killed her. But four people said he had been with them that evening. Receipts, phone records, and surveillance footage supported his alibi. Meanwhile, the last person known to have seen Betsy alive had recently become the beneficiary of her $150,000 life-insurance policy.

Russ was convicted anyway.

Years later, a second trial exposed evidence the first jury never heard, and attention returned to Betsy’s friend, Pam Hupp. Then another death made the failures in Betsy’s investigation much harder to dismiss.

In this episode of Tell Me the Crime, Febriana tells John the story of Betsy Faria’s murder. They discuss confirmation bias, why investigators trusted Pam, how strong evidence can become invisible once police commit to a suspect, and what happens when the justice system builds a case around its theory instead of the facts.

Listener discretion is advised. This episode discusses cancer, murder, wrongful conviction, and failures within the criminal justice system.