ST. LOUIS (AP) — A Missouri woman will spend the rest of her life in prison after admitting that prosecutors had evidence to convict her of killing a mentally disabled man in what authorities believe was part of a complicated plot to divert attention from another homicide case.
Pamela Hupp of O’Fallon entered an Alford plea Wednesday in a plea deal. Hupp could have faced the death penalty if convicted of first-degree murder in the 2016 death of 33-year-old Louis Gumpenberger.
Prosecutors say Hupp killed Gumpenberger to distract from the re-investigation of her friend Betsy Faria’s 2011 death. Russ Faria was convicted of killing his wife, but the conviction was overturned and he was acquitted at retrial.
Lincoln County prosecutor Michael Wood told The Associated Press that he plans to re-examine the Faria investigation.