When this Missouri woman called the police, she told them that she was in the midst of a terrifying ordeal. But when investigators took a closer look at the case, they began to get suspicious.

In a city in eastern Missouri, a terrified woman dials 911. Over the phone, the operator hears her begging for help – before the unmistakable sounds of gunshots ring through the air. Pam Hupp has killed an intruder and survived her horrific ordeal. But is there more to this story than meets the eye?

The story began some 25 miles away in Dellwood, MO, where Pamela Neumann was raised by her Catholic parents. One of four children, she seemed to have a normal, happy youth, indulging her love of cheerleading and fun. She also loved spending time with boys, and by the time she reached her senior year she was dating a member of the soccer team.

Pam soon fell pregnant and married her high school sweetheart. The romance didn’t last, however. After six years they divorced, and Pam then wed a baseball player named Mark Hupp. The couple had a son and spent some time in Naples, Florida, before settling in O’Fallon, MO.

Always interested in money matters, Pam took a clerical job with the insurance company State Farm. On top of that, she and Mark began a sideline flipping houses. Although her boss considered her underemployed at State Farm, Pam made a good impression with her punctuality and insightful nature.

It was also at State Farm that Pam met Betsy Faria, a popular young woman who worked part time as a DJ. And although the women would eventually lose touch, they reunited in 2010 when Betsy was diagnosed with breast cancer. They became so close, in fact, that on December 23, 2012, Betsy changed her life insurance policy, leaving all the money to Pam.

Betsy had apparently confided to her father that she feared that her daughters and husband would spend the money irresponsibly in the event of her death. So it seemed logical that she might trust her friend to oversee her estate on their behalf. But then, just two days after Christmas, Betsy was found dead at her home in Troy, MO.

It wasn’t the cancer that had killed Betsy, however. She had in fact been stabbed a total of 55 times, with some of the wounds so deep that they’d reached the bone. So when her husband Russ told 911 that Betsy had killed herself, suspicions began to set in. And on January 4, 2013, Russ was charged with the murder of his wife.

During the investigation, Pam made some incriminating claims about Russ. According to her, Betsy had lived in fear of her husband, who was violent and a drinker. Furthermore, she claimed that Russ had made several references to the money that he would get once Betsy died.

Image: Kevin A Roberts via St. Louis Post-Dispatch

To the prosecution, it was an open and shut case. However, Joel Schwartz, Russ’ attorney, thought otherwise. He noted that Pam, who had been with Betsy on the day of her death, had frequently changed her story. And given the recent alteration in the victim’s will, he was also shocked that Pam herself wasn’t under investigation. Pam, however, countered that she had a medical condition that affected her memory, which was why her story had changed.

On November 18, 2013, Russ’ trial began. According to the prosecutor, Betsy’s husband had conspired with his friends to murder his sick wife. And despite Schwartz’ best efforts to point out the weaknesses in the case, the jury found the defendant guilty as charged.

Meanwhile, another apparent tragedy had befallen Pam. As the trial reached its conclusion, Pam’s mother, Shirley, had fallen to her death from the balcony of her assisted-living apartment. On closer examination, she was found to have a large amount of Ambien in her system – as much as eight times the normal dose.

Had Shirley, who was suffering from dementia, forgetfully taken too much medication and fallen as a result? Although they investigated initially, police did not then treat the death as suspicious. Schwartz, meanwhile, had other ideas. In fact, he recalled Pam once joking that dispatching of her mother would be an easy way to make some cash.

Then, in July 2014 Betsy’s daughters took Pam to civil court. During the trial, she claimed that Betsy had never mentioned wanting her money to be spent on her daughters. Back in 2012, however, she had told investigators that she was simply looking after the money on the daughters’ behalf.

On advice from Detective Sergeant Ryan McCarrick, Pam had in fact opened a trust for the girls back in November 2013. However, she had emptied it shortly after Russ’ trial. Suspicious of Pam’s motives, attorney David Butsch contacted Schwartz, who successfully launched an appeal against Russ’ conviction.

Image: Kevin A Roberts via St. Louis Post-Dispatch

This time, the case was less clear cut. First, it was revealed that Leah Askey, the prosecutor in Russ’ case, had been involved in an affair with Mike Lang, the captain of investigations at Lincoln County Sheriff’s department. Then, a crime scene investigator came forward to dispute the evidence that had led to Russ’ conviction.

On November 2, 2015, Russ was finally acquitted of his wife’s murder. That was not enough for Schwartz, however, who believed that Pam herself was guilty of the crime. Determined, he began petitioning the U.S. Attorney’s Office to review the case. Then, on August 16, 2016, there came another extraordinary twist in the tale.

That day, Pam shot dead 33-year-old Louis Gumpenberger in her O’Fallon home. According to Pam, he had arrived and begun threatening her with a knife, demanding “Russ’ money.” Somehow, she had managed to break free and find her gun, emptying it at him in self-defense.

By this time, however, the police were already beginning to get suspicious. Several episodes of Dateline had recently aired that focused on Betsy’s murder. The U.S. Attorney’s office, meanwhile, had been preparing to review the case. They immediately suspected that Pam had murdered Gumpenberger in an attempt to cast blame on Russ once again.

Image: Christian Gooden/St. Louis Post-Dispatch

Soon, damning evidence had emerged against Pam. First, the bills found in Gumpenberger’s pocket were shown to match sequentially with those discovered in her possession. Then, Russ became suspicious that a note – allegedly from him – mentioned leaving money in a woodpile outside his home. Suspecting that Pam might have cased out the area before writing the message herself, he asked a neighbor to check security footage – and spotted Pam’s car.

On August 23, 2016, Pam was arrested on suspicion of Gumpenberger’s murder. Desperate, she used a ballpoint pen to stab herself in the wrist and neck while in police custody. She survived, however, and is due to stand trial in April 2018. Given all the twists and turns that have already occurred in these intertwined cases, who knows what might happen next?