.
narrator: Previously on "The Thing About Pam"...
- Something happened, Minnie.
Something terrible.
- There's been a murder. A big one.
- Textbook spousal homicide.
- I can't see my dad,
and I'll never see my mom again.
- I didn't do this.
- What about that Pam lady?
She was the last one to see Betsy alive.
- Janet was practically begging me
to handle the money.
- I bet you'll get that facelift
you've been wanting.
[soft dramatic music]
♪
narrator: Who is Pam Hupp?
Mother, wife, philanthropist,
and now, star witness?
Of course, if you ask her,
she's all of these,
and so much more.
- We've been waiting for you.
[Enya's "Orinoco Flow [Sail Away]"]
♪
- ♪ Let me sail, let me sail
- All Pams rise. Court is now in session.
- ♪ Let me reach, let me beach on the shores of Tripoli ♪
♪ Let me sail, let me sail
♪ Sail away, sail away, sail away ♪
[CPAP whirring]
[muttering indistinctly]
- You're talking in your sleep. - Oh.
Yeah, it's the trial.
- You're gonna do great.
- I know I am, but what about everyone else?
Askey, Judge Mennemeyer,
all the Hoosiers on the jury.
I wish there was more of me to go around.
- Now, we'd all be better off with more Pams.
- Ha.
[sinister music]
Kiss-ass.
[CPAP whirring]
narrator: The pressure was on.
The trial loomed close.
But could Pam be everywhere at once?
♪
- So Pam and Betsy called Mark at 7:04 p.m.
from Betsy's driveway,
and then Pam says she called Betsy
21 minutes later to say that she was home.
- That's not possible.
- No, and now we can prove it. Look.
The cell map shows that Pam was
less than 3 miles from Betsy's house
when she made that second call.
So she not only lied about when she left the message...
- Pam could have been calling from inside the house.
- We got her.
[tense music]
Something's still not right.
I mean, Askey gives us a cell map
two days before the trial,
we still haven't seen any luminol photos--
- Yeah, we knew to ask for those.
♪
- So what's the other shoe?
- The murder slippers?
No, we have photos of the murder slippers.
They're in the--
when's the other shoe gonna drop?
- [laughs]
- I got it. - Yeah, you're no fun.
- Ooh. Ooh.
- Do you know they won't let me in the courtroom
until I take the stand?
Some kind of rule or something.
- You'll still be on TV, right?
- You know what kills me?
That lawyer can say whatever about Betsy,
and I can't do a thing about it.
- Well, you're still gonna be on TV, right?
- Yes, Min, probably. - Good.
- Mark and Travis have to work,
and I'd ask Sarah to go, but she's busy too.
I just wish I could know what's happening.
- I could stand up for you.
- Oh, I don't know.
Are you sure? - Oh, I've always wanted
to be a spy.
I could wear a wig! - [laughs]
No, just--just text me what's going on,
especially if Schwartz is talking
about me and Betsy, okay?
- You got it.
- Okay.
- You got it.
You know...
his associate, he called me.
He wanted to know if your car was in the driveway
the night Betsy was killed, and--
- Well, you know it was.
- I know. That's what I told him.
But, you know, I didn't see it exactly
because I was watching "The Biggest Loser."
- He's desperate, Min.
But that doesn't mean that he can go harassing you.
- Okay.
- I'll take care of it.
- [chuckles]
♪
[barking]
- Ugh.
Whoa.
♪
- Order whatever you want. It's on me.
- I work here.
- I'm so glad we could find a meeting place
that was so convenient for you.
[sighs heavily] How are you?
You holding up all right?
- I'm--I'm just broke.
Pam says we can't get our money until our mom's trial's over.
Can--can she even do that?
- I wouldn't worry about Pam.
She's just trying to do what she can
to help your family get justice.
- God, if--if my dad goes to prison, um--
- Look, I know you love your dad.
But I also know you love your mom,
and you want to do right by her.
- What do you mean?
- Well, I mean by testifying.
For your mom.
- But how can you even be sure it was him?
- I'm sorry.
Everything I've got points to Russ.
I have mountains of evidence.
And you're gonna hear it all during the trial.
- Okay, so why do you need me?
- Well, I have to prove
that someone committed a crime.
♪
And I would hate to force you to have to testify.
What are you gonna get?
- I don't--I don't know.
narrator: As the case grew ever warmer,
the story traveled, as stories will.
And a television producer in Chicago caught the scent.
Her name: Cathy Singer.
- Apologies for the messages, Ms. Askey,
but we'd really love the chance to speak with you.
Again, this is Cathy Singer with "Dateline."
You have my number. Thanks.
Whitney! You there?
Would you mind finding the number
of the defense attorney for me?
It's Schwartz something.
And see what you can dig up on Pamela Hupp.
The papers say she was the last person
to see the victim alive. - Will do.
The prosecutor hasn't returned my calls yet.
- Hasn't picked up mine either.
- Okay. No, no, yeah.
Now grab it. Grab it.
Grab it! Grab it!
- I want to play something else, Mom.
This one cheats.
- No, no, no, no, honey,
we already have tokens in this machine.
Come on, give it another go. Let's go.
- There's a-- there's a trick to it.
- Oh, Chris, good. - You want help?
- Yeah, we could use your help.
- [laughs] Okay. Let me at it.
Cold. Cold, cold. These are gonna be tighter.
Okay, got it.
- Well, he's scaring the neighbors.
Don't know what to tell 'em.
- He's just desperate. - I know.
- Yeah, he's picking on you to confuse the jury.
- Yeah.
I told the whole block that he'd say anything
to make his money.
- Well, I'd put his money on us.
See the lady at the claw machine?
- Oh, we got it. - That's our judge.
Our kids are on the same softball team.
- No way. - Way.
I know, I've known her since tenth grade.
We used to call her Cankles. They did.
They called her Cankles, not me.
She's a good woman.
God-fearing.
A mother like us.
- Thank God. - Oh, yeah.
She's gonna see right through Schwartz.
Don't worry.
Here. Join the party!
- [chuckles weakly]
♪
- Russell. - Hey.
- These should keep you occupied.
- Volume Two. You remembered.
- [chuckling] Yeah.
So...we got the prosecution's witness list.
They're calling Lily and Mariah.
You haven't been in touch with them at all, right?
- No.
- Well, calling them first tells us her strategy.
She's gonna be going after your character.
They're gonna try to make you out
to be the kind of guy
who would do something like this.
Every fight, every argument, every misunderstanding,
they're gonna bring it up.
And we're gonna have to rebut your daughters' testimonies.
So anything you got would help.
Any history of lying or shoplifting?
- I don't know.
I'm not gonna do that.
And they won't say anything bad about me.
I was good to them.
- You're facing life in prison.
- [scoffs]
They're not perfect, but I'm innocent.
We shouldn't need to throw my kids under the bus.
- I know. I know you love them.
And they know it.
But the stakes are simply too high.
- So Askey just filed six motions.
- What? Today? - Yeah.
It's the other shoe. The, uh, other, other one.
Not murder slipper one.
- Do I even want to ask?
- You don't, you didn't, but I'm gonna tell you.
The largest shoe is her motion to block
any implication that Pam Hupp was involved.
- [chuckles] That's a Hail Mary.
The judge dismissed it out of hand, right?
- She wants to hear all the motions
tomorrow, 7:00 a.m., in chambers.
- Guys, what's that mean?
- Well, it looks like we're facing
a homecourt advantage, Russ.
Leah and the judge go all the way back.
- And if Askey can prevent us from showing
whatever it is that we have on Pam...
- We're in trouble?
- No, no, no. We're fine.
[solemn music]
♪
[exhales]
.
- Mr. Schwartz, you're known for representing
murderers and drug dealers.
Does that mean that Russ Faria's guilty?
- Russ is an innocent man.
I just want to see justice prevail.
[dramatic music]
♪
[snorts]
- Chocolate almond butter cookie cup?
They're gluten-free. - Ooh, no thanks.
- Yeah.
Hey, it's what they eat in California, huh?
[laughter]
- Have a California cookie, Joel.
- Yeah. [both laugh]
Yeah, thank you.
- Leah, you sure you don't want one?
Mmm. So good.
- [chuckles] - Super rich.
- Yeah. - Mmm.
Well, state, you can go ahead. - Thank you.
We filed several motions to, one, preclude the defendant
from bringing into evidence any claims
about the insurance policy,
and, two, to preclude any evidence
regarding a witness, Pamela Hupp.
- Your Honor, Pamela Hupp was the last person
to see Betsy alive. - You don't know that.
- And four days prior to Betsy's murder,
Pamela Hupp became the beneficiary
on Betsy's life insurance policy.
- Ah, yes, the insurance policies.
Is there any evidence that shows
that those insurance papers were done incorrectly
or signed under coercion or anything?
- Uh, no. - No.
- Uh, no. No.
And to be honest, we're not exactly sure why
Betsy decided to sign the life insurance policy
over to Mrs. Hupp, but we do have
cell phone records that prove that she lied
about where she was at the time of the crime.
- Pamela Hupp is not a suspect.
- Yeah, well, she should be.
- The point of the motion is to keep the defense
from saying that Mrs. Hupp is a murderer
with no direct evidence connecting her to a crime.
- Unreasonable.
There is no case law that prevents us
from establishing a third party's connection
to this crime, okay? - Ooh, maybe I will have one.
- On those grounds alone, this motion should be denied.
[tense music]
- So what do you think, Your Honor?
- Um... state's motion is granted.
Insurance policies will only cause confusion with the jury.
That also goes for Ms. Hupp.
There's no direct evidence here
that connects her to the crime.
- Your Honor, I strenuously object to this--
both: Strenuously?
- Ooh. - Okay, well, sorry,
but gonna do things fair and square here, okay?
Don't worry, you'll get your chance
to present your case.
- You know what? They can have Pam.
Saudi was just a bonus. We don't need her.
[vending machine clunks]
There she is. Don't look.
I cannot believe that Askey
was gonna let a murderer walk just to win a case.
- Aren't you pretty famous for doing exactly that?
- Okay, wait, here she comes. Here she comes. Here she comes.
[clears throat]
- Little something for you boys.
Good luck in there.
- Pay Day. That has to be intentional.
- You never know with her.
The evidence will show that this crime
was an absolute tragedy.
It was a tragedy for the Meyer-Faria family.
It was also a tragedy for Russell Faria,
hardworking father to two stepdaughters
who may not have been his daughters by blood,
but he raised them as if they were his own.
[phone chimes and buzzes]
- "I just got home from my friend's house,
and my wife killed herself."
That's what the defendant said
when he saw his wife lying dead
with 56 stab wounds in her.
[phone chimes and buzzes]
- [coughs]
- Can't believe they put us all in here together.
- In fact, you'll hear him wailing
to the 911 operator, trying to convince himself
that he didn't just kill his wife.
- Okay, Your Honor, objection.
She can't make arguments in her opening statement.
- I'll withdraw. [phone chimes and buzzes]
- [coughing]
- Drink this. Here.
You gotta keep a clear head up there.
[dramatic music]
- This is not your average game.
I'm not talking about poker.
Not talking about pool or bowling.
No, this is a game
where grown men
project their fantasies
by ripping the heads off of wizards
and gutting their opponents like fish,
all while drunk and smacked off pot.
- Your Honor.
- Are you gonna object to my entire opening statement?
- If you keep saying objectionable things, yeah.
- Counselors, let's just move on.
- You'll hear evidence that the defendant was well aware
that Betsy had three insurance policies
totaling-- - Objection.
I'm asking for a mistrial based on that statement.
May we approach? - [scoffs]
- The state cannot bring up insurance policies' existence,
yet keep us from arguing
about the policies being changed.
You just ruled that that was inadmissible.
- No, that's mischaracterization
of my order. - No, that's what you said.
- No, no, no. - No, I'm saying
that the policies go to motive.
When Russ found out
that Betsy gave Pam the policy, he snapped.
- You have no proof to support that claim.
Your Honor, mistrial.
- Let's just dial down the melodrama, okay?
The court will not be granting a mistrial.
Ms. Askey, are you ready to call your first witness?
Thank you.
- What was that all about?
- Well, they're taking away all of our defenses.
Let's just hope you were right about your daughter.
[tense music]
♪
.
- How do you know the defendant?
- He's my dad.
Well, he--he raised me.
- So he's your stepfather.
Can you identify him?
- He's over there in the middle,
wearing a gray suit.
- Let the record reflect that the witness
has identified the defendant.
So your mother married your stepfather
when you were five.
How would you describe the family dynamic?
- Mom and Dad bickered a lot.
Sometimes it was funny, like a grumpy old couple.
But sometimes they'd fight.
- Can you describe what you mean
by "sometimes they'd fight"?
- They cussed at each other,
and they yelled across the house a lot.
- Was your stepdad's cursing directed at your mother?
[somber music]
- Yeah.
- Anyone else?
- He, uh--
he cussed at me and my sister too.
- Joel, that landed.
Should we be doing something?
- No, not yet.
- Were you ever fearful of Russ' temper?
- At times, yeah.
♪
- Nothing further.
- Hey, you hang in there, all right?
All right, that's gonna be the worst of it.
♪
[plastic bottle crackling]
- How'd it go?
Did you tell them about the yelling?
- [sniffling]
Dad-- - Let him go.
Let him go. - [sobs]
Dad.
- All you did was tell the truth.
God knows.
Hey. - [sobbing]
- Your mom would be so proud of you.
[phone chimes and buzzes]
[tense music]
♪
- [sighs] - What happened?
- Leah doesn't need me.
Schwartz is too scared to call me up.
- [groans] Oh, he's a son of a bitch.
- Yeah.
- You know, he's trying to act like my car
wasn't in my driveway when I called Janet and Betsy.
- [scoffs] That dummy should know.
We can track any phone.
- Yeah, you can. - Yeah.
You're gonna kill it up there.
Thanks for being so cool through all this.
- Yeah. It's been hard.
Kind of stuff that keeps you up at night, you know?
And I already got a bad back. [chuckles]
Ugh, this whole thing's been a mess.
Not that you didn't do a great job.
Really.
Really great.
But now I'm gonna--
I got it from here.
- Detective Merkel...
you stated there was blood
all over the living room, but none on the defendant.
Is that unusual?
- I wouldn't say that it's unusual,
but it's something that gave me pause.
- Could he have washed it off?
- It's very possible.
- Calls for speculation.
- I'll rephrase.
Did you look for blood
that could have been washed up
after Betsy was murdered?
- We did. - And what did you find?
- We found that blood had been cleaned up
at the scene, in the kitchen.
- How do you know this?
- Luminol photos were taken at the scene.
Those photos indicated the perpetrator cleaned up.
- Objection, Your Honor.
We've never seen these photos.
- Nothing further.
- When you reviewed the so-called photos
in question, uh, what did they show?
- Absolutely nothing.
And why is that?
- The camera malfunctioned.
- So there is no actual proof of a cleanup.
- The photos were damaged, but I saw the blood reaction
to the luminol solution,
and there was blood in the kitchen.
- So there is no proof.
- Mr. Schwartz-- - There's no proof.
- Mr. Schwartz, I suggest you just move on.
[intense music]
- And you sent officers to confirm the alibis
of Sean Walker...
- Objection. Hearsay.
- I'm asking what he sent the officers to do.
- But also what they learned,
so, actually, double hearsay.
- Are you--[gavel bangs] Kidding me?
- Enough, Mr. Schwartz. Enough.
I won't hesitate to hold you in contempt.
- Okay, Your Honor-- - Okay, that's it.
That's lunch.
[indistinct chatter]
- My God, that was brutal.
Askey really put a dent in the Saudi defense.
- Swanson. - Mike Warren.
- Hey. - Hey.
You're working in Troy?
- DA's office. Nothing major.
DUI jockey, parking tickets.
- I'm here on the Faria case.
Uh, Mike, this is Joel Schwartz.
- I know.
I actually watched it all go down.
- Yeah, down's the word.
- I'll let you guys tend to your wounds.
Good luck. - Hey.
Nice to meet you, Mike. - Good to see you.
- Mike went to law school
with one of my fraternity brothers.
He's a good guy. - Oh, small world.
- Small town.
[rock music playing]
Are you okay?
- Yeah.
That reporter was right, though.
I have represented some very bad people.
- Okay, but you're not now.
Don't they say every defense attorney's
gotta do one good thing? - [chuckles]
My one good thing.
We should get back to strategy.
How to get through Pam Hupp.
All right, we sink her... - We sink Askey.
- All right, we know she's gonna lie, right?
So we have to hold her to one story.
- Yeah, it's not easy.
I mean, she's created this entire web of lies.
Everyone is caught in it.
- Yeah, well, not us.
No sir.
narrator: Funny thing about spider webs,
they're deceptive.
People think a web is there to catch the prey
when the web is really there to protect the spider.
- The prosecution calls Pamela Hupp to the stand.
[sinister music]
♪
.
- So Bets came over one day
complaining about gaining weight.
[dramatic music]
Her stomach was real bloated.
[monitor beeping]
I didn't think it was fat.
I told her...
that's a sign of cancer.
- So you were the one that told her
to go to the doctor.
- Mm. - What?
- Shh.
[solemn music]
♪
- Thank you.
Yeah. Correct.
And that's when she found out
that the cancer came back in her liver.
[sniffs] She didn't take it well.
And I knew she was gonna need me,
so I made sure to be by her side,
keeping her busy, even when I could barely drive.
- You could barely drive? Why is that?
- [clicks tongue]
I'm disabled.
Um, I--
I lost some disks.
Got a plate in my neck
and a TENS unit
to stimulate the nerves down my left leg.
But I'm fine.
Doing great.
Had to, for Bets.
- And while you were getting to know Betsy,
did you spend any time with her husband?
- Um, I'd go over to her house a lot,
and he'd be there sometimes,
you know, hanging out, smoking.
- The defendant would smoke in front of his wife
who was dying of cancer?
- I've never smoked around Pam.
She--she couldn't name the brand I use.
She hardly knows me. - Okay, okay.
Don't worry, I'll get her on cross.
- It's one of the reasons me and my husband, Mark,
never socialized with him.
And Betsy...
she was afraid.
Oh, boy.
He could be scary at times.
But I stuck around, for Betsy.
- You testified that Russ was degrading,
but you told officers that you didn't know him well,
and that you'd only met him three times.
- Mm.
I don't know.
Probably.
- So you didn't tell officers that?
- Oh, I'm not saying that, I just--
I just don't remember.
Don't forget, you know, brain injury over here.
- Well, would it refresh your recollection
if I showed you the statement you gave police?
- No, it wouldn't.
- What if I played you the recording
with you on it?
- Well, if you said I said it, that's fine.
Alls I'm saying is that Betsy talked about it
all the time.
Everyone knew.
- Let's jump ahead to the night of Betsy's murder.
You took her home, even though she told you
she didn't need a ride?
- I'm sorry, what is the question?
- I'll rephrase.
Hours before Betsy's death,
you volunteered to drive her to her home in Troy.
- No. She asked me.
- She didn't tell you she already had a ride?
- She asked me, could I take her,
and then she would tell Russ.
- I'm sorry, I'm just trying to make this make sense.
So you drove to Betsy's mother's house,
found out she didn't need a ride,
but you took her home anyway.
What, were you trying to track her down?
- "Track her down"?
I knew she was at her mom's.
I didn't have to track her down.
- So when you got to Betsy's house,
you knew what time it was because you made a call
to your husband at 7:04 p.m., correct?
- Mm-hmm. Betsy wanted to chat.
They hadn't talked in a while.
- Mm-hmm, and you stayed for, what, 20 minutes?
- Not sure.
- Well, initially, you told police that--
that you never went in the house.
- Not what I said.
- Did you go in the house? Yes or no?
- No, I did go in the house.
- Well, then you changed your story.
- No.
No, I didn't change my story.
I just didn't remember at the time.
I mean...
my friend was just murdered.
So I told them the real story later.
- The--the real story.
[laughs]
Mrs. Hupp, what do you remember?
[tense music]
- I don't know.
I feel like you're trying to get me to say something
that I don't remember.
- Your Honor, this feels personal.
- Look, I'm simply questioning Mrs. Hupp's inconsistencies,
something nobody else has done even though she was
the last person to see Betsy alive.
- This is improper impeachment.
- This is not impeachment.
These are her words. It's what she said.
- He's trying to blame her.
- Yeah, Mr. Schwartz, I'm gonna ask you
to please refrain from bullying the witness.
Ms. Hupp is not on trial.
- Okay, fine.
Mrs. Hupp, a few more questions.
On December 23rd,
four days before Betsy's murder,
she made you the beneficiary of a life insurance policy
that had been in Russ' name for eight years.
- Objection, it's been decided
counsel cannot question Mrs. Hupp
regarding insurance policies.
- Where's--where's the line of questioning going here?
- It's an offer of proof.
It is no different than Askey suggesting
Russ' connection to the policy,
if I could just get a little bit of latitude here.
- Okay, fine.
In the interest of balance, I'll consider it.
- Okay. - Okay.
Oh, uh, but I just--
I want to hear it first before deciding
if the jury's gonna hear it, okay?
I just want to hear it first.
Uh, ladies and gentlemen of the jury,
the court will now excuse you for just a brief moment
while the defendant here provides me
with an offer of proof.
Thank you.
Thank you, ladies and gentlemen.
What you got?
- I submit defendant's exhibit C.
- Mm-hmm. - That is a copy
of the adjusted policy.
Mrs. Hupp, why did Betsy make you the beneficiary
on the policy instead of somebody
in her own family?
- Betsy wanted to make sure
her daughters got the money,
and she couldn't trust Russ to do that.
- Why did you tell the insurance company
to give Betsy's daughters no money because
"Lily was on drugs
and Mariah had blown money away before"?
- Say that again?
- You said that Lily was on drugs
and Mariah had blown money away before.
- No. No. No, no, no, no.
Not how I worded it.
- I have a business record proving
that these are your words.
- I'm going through menopause.
And it's been a long time.
I cannot tell you every detail
of everything that I said.
- Your Honor-- - But I didn't say that.
- It is paramount that the jury hears these answers.
It will show that the wrong person
is on trial here. - Mr. Schwartz,
I just don't see the connection to Ms. Hupp.
The state has questioned her.
They found no motive. No evidence.
I think it's unnecessary, and honestly, I think
it's just a little unfair to keep pointing the finger
at somebody who's not even a suspect.
- All right.
Let the record show that I'd asked for a mistrial.
♪
- Did she have that limp before?
- No.
No, she did not.
[door creaks]
- What you heard in there... - You lied to us.
- Wasn't true. I didn't lie to you.
I didn't. It's just--
I didn't tell you the truth to save your feelings.
- Just give us our money, Pam.
- Or we'll sue you. - Listen, okay?
I promised your mom that I would
look after you girls, and that's what I'm doing.
Hand to God.
- We'll believe you once we get our money.
- Excuse me.
- What am I supposed to do?
I set up that trust, and-- and now they want to sue me.
- [sighs] - That won't look good.
Not for anyone.
- I'll take care of it.
♪
.
- What happened to all the peanuts?
They keep eating all the peanuts.
- You know, you keep feeding them like that,
they'll never go away.
- [laughs]
Why would I ever want them to go away?
- Right.
- Oh, you were so great on the stand.
You're such a tough girl.
And, oh, I just can't believe I'm seeing it.
It's all live. It's just like a movie.
And it's all anybody's talking about.
And "Dateline" is here.
- Oh, yeah? - Yeah.
This lady came up to me, Cathy something.
She gave me her card.
- Was she wearing a suit? - Yes.
She is a big-time producer.
They're making a whole show about Betsy.
She's very sweet,
and she asked me about you too.
- What'd you tell her? - Just that you were
Betsy's best friend, and--
and I'm sure she's gonna reach out to you.
- Wow. [both laugh]
- All these people asking questions
that are none of their business.
And you keep talking to 'em.
[tense music]
- Well--so, you excited about closing arguments?
- No. I did my part.
- Oh, okay.
Well... [chuckles]
Can't let my squirrels go hungry
because, you know, Bushy Tail is always stealing
Skinny Tail's share, so I'll--I'll see you later.
narrator: It's hard to know when you've stepped
on a land mine with Pam Hupp.
The explosion may take its time.
- How do you know Russell Faria?
- We met playing games about 15 years ago.
Every Tuesday at my place.
- Playing games? What do you mean?
- Card games, board games,
Warhammer, Dungeons & Dragons, Witch Warriors.
- Can you explain those a little?
- Role-playing games.
I'm an elf king.
Russ was a archer monk.
He could fly.
- Tell me about December 27th.
- Well, we finally attacked the Lord of Entropy.
- We had some beers,
smoked a little you-know-what.
- We spoke to the police three times,
together and separately.
- And your story has never changed?
- Not once.
I can guarantee you
between the hours of 6:00 and 9:00 p.m.,
Russ was at my place,
sitting next to the five of us.
- Greg Chatton.
I am a computer forensic specialist,
qualified as an expert in cellular mapping.
We were able to track the defendant's phone
because a cell phone will connect
to the tower with the strongest signal.
From those towers,
we can approximate his location.
And at 9:09 p.m., Russell Faria's phone
was at least ten miles from his home.
- And you were able to put him at or near the Arby's
at the time of the time-stamped receipt?
- Yes.
- The way I see it,
he can't be two places at one time,
so...
- Okay, let's just take a brief recess
before hearing closing arguments.
[gavel bangs]
- [grunts] Just a little further.
- Let it hurt - You can do it.
- [grunting] [indistinct chatter]
- You're so close!
[all cheering]
- I can't believe Joel's gonna rest
his entire case on four man-babies.
Look at them.
- Save me those pretzels, baby.
Save me those pretzels.
- Man versus machine, battle of the ages.
- She's realizing she blew it.
- I don't really think she has that
in her character. - Oh, come on.
She made Russ look like a killer,
she kept us away from Pam,
but she never told us how he could have done it.
She never touched the alibi witnesses,
never explained the Arby's receipt,
game night, any of it.
She never told a cohesive story.
That is reasonable doubt 100%, and she knows it.
- For the last three days,
we have heard all about Betsy Faria's death.
But for just a minute,
I want to talk to you about her life.
Who was Betsy?
She was a mom.
She had two daughters.
She loved music,
and she loved to DJ.
- Let's talk about proof.
She talked about reasonable doubt.
Let's not go to reasonable doubt, not yet.
Proof.
- Who else was Betsy Faria?
I think she was a victim of domestic violence.
We heard from her daughters,
we heard from her close friend, Pam Hupp,
that there were a lot of arguments,
profanity, disrespect.
That's just the shred of what we got to see
into her life.
- There were no wounds on Russ.
There wasn't even a scratch.
He had no blood on his hands,
no blood underneath his fingernails, nothing.
- He's cunning.
He made all these stops to establish an alibi.
But I am here to tell you that nothing is what it seems.
- We know that Russ went to the pet store.
And thanks to a time-stamped receipt,
confirmed by cell phone data,
we know that he simply didn't have enough time
to get his food, to drive home,
to murder his wife, to take a shower,
call the police--
it is impossible.
- I think he got a steak knife from his own kitchen,
I think he stood over his wife,
and he stabbed her.
This was personal.
But then get got careless.
He took a shower,
getting rid of any evidence.
He thought of everything.
It was perfectly staged,
except the slippers.
He forgot about the slippers when he stepped in her blood.
- Don't be fooled by these slippers.
There was no blood on the bottom
of the slippers, only on the top,
as if they were dipped in blood.
And there was a lot of blood at the residence,
but not one iota on the defendant.
- And why wasn't there any blood on his clothes?
I don't think he was wearing clothes.
And folks, I am gonna tell you that I don't think
this stabbing was suicide or even looked like one.
- Today, you saw four people testify
that they were with Russ at the time of the murder.
Now that--that's proof.
- Sure.
Russ went home to Troy.
But then I submit to you
that Sean Walker went to the Arby's, not Russ.
Walker got the receipts.
He drove to Russell's in Troy.
They exchanged phones.
They all text.
They coordinate,
making sure the defendant's alibi
is sealed. - Your Honor,
she just accused four people of being complicit to a murder
without a sliver of evidence.
- This goes to planning, accomplices.
- Yeah, I'm gonna allow it.
- I think he had help.
They all helped him kill Betsy.
They were all in on it.
♪
- What do you think it feels like to be
one of these four right now, huh?
At home just hanging out, playing board games,
and then some desperate person accuses you
of being an accomplice to a murder.
That is insane. That is absolutely insane.
We have video. We have receipts.
We have eyewitnesses.
Shame on anybody who's judging Russ.
Shame on anyone who's judging Russ' grief.
Shame, shame, shame.
Leah Askey has no proof
that connects Russ to Betsy's murder.
Russ could not be in two places at one time.
Find him not guilty, please,
because he's an innocent man.
Thank you.
Well, it's in the jury's hands now.
- Would the defendant please rise
to receive the verdict?
[suspenseful music]
♪
[clears throat]
"As to count one, we the jury find
Russell Faria guilty of murder in the first degree."
- No! [crowd muttering]
[both crying]
- "We declare the punishment
for murder in the first degree"...
- Yes!
- "Is imprisonment for life
"without the eligibility for parole.
"As to count two, we the jury find
Russell Faria guilty of armed criminal action."
[solemn music]
♪
- We love you, Russ.
[applause]
- Come on, let's get out of here.
♪
- Mr. Schwartz.
Cathy Singer. We spoke on the phone?
- Oh, I'm sorry we couldn't give you much of a story.
- Well, I actually think there's something here.
I'm gonna stick around a bit.
- Well, that's good.
'Cause we're not done.
- We're not? - No.
I can't imagine Russ is gonna get
a fair trial in this town,
but I am not gonna quit until he's free.
All right? Have a good day.
- We'll start from the top down.
Your brow position is reasonably good.
- Good to know.
- And then we'll clean up your upper and lower eyelids.
And some structural fat grafting in your cheeks
and T-zone area.
And last, it's your neck.
This will take the most work,
but we want it to be consistent.
- I like consistence.
I want all of me to look as good
as the rest of me.
When do I pay?
- There's a $2,500 deposit.
The front desk will explain everything.
- Hey, it's Pamela Hupp.
- Can you give me your name one more time?
- H-U-P-P. Yeah.
I set up a trust for the daughters
of Betsy Faria...
narrator: Pam wasn't one to leave a stone
left unturned.
[sinister music]
Or an itch left unscratched.
♪
- [gasps]
[screaming]
- I'd like to transfer the balance
to my personal checking.
- All of it? - Yeah, the whole thing.
- Okay, I'll have to put you on hold for a second.
- Sure, I can hold.
narrator: Sure, she could hold.
- [sniffs]
narrator: For how long?