TROY, Mo. (AP) – A Lincoln County man formerly convicted of murder in his wife’s 2011 stabbing death will be back in court for a retrial Monday.
The St. Louis Post Dispatch reports (http://bit.ly/1l2YlZk ) that Russell Faria will appear in a bench trial in which St. Louis Circuit Judge Steven Ohmer alone will decide his case.
Ohmer ordered the new trial after ruling that newly discovered evidence could produce a different outcome. Russell Faria’s defense lawyers have said they should be able to introduce evidence about Betsy Faria’s friend, Pamela Hupp. Hupp was with Betsy Faria the night of the slaying and became a beneficiary of one of her life insurance policies shortly beforehand. Hupp has been subpoenaed to testify.
The case has been sealed from public view at the request of lawyers on both sides.