Russell Faria Acquitted Of Wife’s Murder
Russell Faria, convicted in 2013 for the first degree murder of his wife, Betsy Faria (of Troy, Missouri) in 2011, was acquitted of the charges during November 2015 in St. Louis Circuit Court. Nearly two years after Faria was convicted and four years after the brutal stabbing of Betsy in their home, attorney Joel Schwartz of the RSRG Law Firm was able to present new evidence advocating for the acquittal of Mr. Faria, which ultimately resulted in the reversal of the case’s 2013 verdict.
Faria had served two years of his life sentence when an appeals court ordered the judge to revisit several issues in the case; specifically the additional investigation of other potential suspects and evidence that was hidden during the investigatory process in 2011. NBC discusses the decision for a retrial in a story published in November 2015, right around the time the acquittal was announced.
Additional complications in the case presented during the new trial afforded our attorney, Mr. Schwartz, the opportunity to present a theory pertaining to Betsy’s $150,000 life insurance policy that close friend Pamela Hupp became a beneficiary of mere days before Ms. Faria was murdered. Ongoing litigation in civil court between the Faria’s daughters and Ms. Hupp is still pending as Hupp was, indeed, awarded the large sum of money.
In an interview with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch, Mr. Schwartz said that it was "not possible for (Faria) to have committed the crime" and that he would like to hear a determination of "actual innocence," not just a not-guilty verdict. The final verdict of the appeal declared Russ Faria acquitted of murder charges.
The case was featured in numerous regional and national media outlets. Click the links above and below to read articles and watch videos with more details about the infamous case.
Judge Acquits Russ Faria in Retrial for Wife’s Murder
November 2015, Dateline NBC
The House on Sumac Drive
2014-2015, Dateline NBC Special
Judge: Russ Faria found not guilty of murder in retrial
November 2015, FOX2
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