LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. – FOX 2 captured the first video of convicted killer Pam Hupp since 2016. Yet, the change in her appearance was not as dramatic as the change in court records with her name.
Lincoln County Sheriff’s deputies brought Hupp to the Lincoln County Jail on Monday in preparation for her first court appearance, scheduled for Tuesday. They picked her up from her Chillicothe prison where she’s been locked up on a life sentence since June 2019.
It’s the first time we’ve seen Hupp in person since FOX 2 captured her arrest five years ago for the murder of a man with disabilities. In 2016, the St. Charles County Prosecutor charged her with Louis Gumpenberger’s murder. She was later convicted in Gumpenberger’s killing, which prosecutors claimed Hupp plotted to deflect attention from her connection to Betsy Faria’s murder.
Now, Hupp now stands charged with Faria’s 2011 murder. She will appear in person, which is why she had to be transported from her prison 200 miles away. Her appearance is not the only thing that’s changed.
If you compare court records in Betsy Faria’s murder, you’ll see Pam Hupp has gone from star witness to an alleged premeditated killer.
The Jan. 2012 probable cause statement, written then by Lincoln County Sgt. Ryan McCarrick repeatedly relied on Hupp’s claims. We found nine examples where the report reads, “Hupp said…” Examples include this quote: “Hupp said Russell is not very nice to (Betsy), and (Betsy) said she was thinking of leaving Russell.” This quote is also from the 2012 PC statement: “Hupp said (Betsy) was growing increasingly uncomfortable with Russell.”
That led to a wrongful conviction of Betsy’s husband, Russ, in 2013. The conviction was later overturned, Russ was exonerated, and the current Lincoln County prosecutor and sheriff are investigating alleged corruption that resulted in that wrongful conviction.
Hupp first appearance is scheduled for 8:30 a.m. on Tuesday, July 27, where she will walk the same path Russ Faria walked ten years ago.
In advance of tomorrow’s hearing, the judge denied a motion from Hupp’s lawyers to allow her to appear in her own clothing and without visible restraints. Her attorneys requested that accommodation for all future hearings. The judge said no.
