01x04 - She's a Loving Daughter

[bunniefuu]

Narrator: Previously on...

- "Dateline" is here?
- Wow.

Will you dig up
something on Pam Hupp?

There's no direct evidence here

that connects her to the crime.

Well, it looks like we're facing

a home court
advantage here, Russ.

Did you guys ever
find that letter

about Russ putting a
pillow over her face?

- Luminol photos were taken.
- We found blood in the kitchen.

We the jury find Russell Faria

guilty of m*rder in
the first degree.

I'm not gonna quit
until he's free.

I set up a trust

for the daughters
of Betsy Faria.

I'd like to transfer the balance

to my personal checking.

Narrator: No one knows a mother

like her daughter.

Go ahead, Grandma, make a wish.

Narrator: A very, shall we say,

special relationship.

- Yay.
- Yay!

Gotta get you back
to Autumndale.

Already late meeting
the plumber at our flip.

Oh, I can take Grandma back.

I don't want to go with you.

It's fine. I'll take her.

Your mom's just protecting
her spot in my will.

Narrator: When does money
become an obsession?

By 1977, Pam had grown up poor,

but she was popular.

She was on the pom-pom squad.

So, Pam,

you gonna give it
up to Randy tonight?

I'm saving myself.

Randy's gotta wait till
after I go to Mizzou,

get my teaching degree.

Man, if he doesn't
look good in that suit.

Aren't you supposed
to stay inside,

with the other teachers?

That Gunderson boy

better have you
home by 11:00, Pam,

and no fooling around.

Don't worry, Mrs. Neumann.

Pam was just saying she's
waiting till marriage.

- After Mizzou.

Pam doesn't got the
brains for Mizzou.

And I'm not so sure she has
anything left to save, honey.

This one is very sneaky.

Narrator: Was Pam born

with a certain nature?

He brain wired a certain way?

Don't you walk away from me.

Why don't you have
another drink, Mom?

Narrator: And if
biology loaded the g*n,

so to speak,

did upbringing fire it?

I will cut you out
of my will, Pam.

Did you wet yourself?

What did I tell
you last time? Hmm?

Mm.

- You're done.

Hm.

And if you even try
to take those off,

it'll be worse
for you, trust me.

I should be the one crying.

You owe me, little girl.

But you got any money?

No.

You're broke.

Rand, we're out of milk.

I need some grocery money.

I'm watching the game.

Come on.

Little late, isn't it, Pam?

I'll go with you.

Mom.

Mom, you're tired.

You want me to bring
you back some gin, yeah?

- Okay, all right.
- All right.

Mm-hmm.

- Rand.
- Hmm?

Money.

Thanks for getting milk.

You are a good mom.

Good moms don't run out of milk.

You were always out of milk.

You were always
out of everything.

'Cause we were poor, dumb-a*s.

Why are you here if you're
just gonna insult me?

Somebody has to
keep an eye on you,

for Sarah's sake.

Oh.

So does that mean you don't
disown my daughter after all?

No, she's still a b*stard.

We got married
before she was born.

Sarah is not a b*stard.

She's not my family.

That's for sure.

You're going to
get milk or what?

Or what?

Gin and tonic for you.

- Uh, no.
- So AAA is the last stop

before the pros.

It's got nothing to do with
the automobile association.

I'm headed to play in Florida.

Another G&T for me.

And a beer for AAA over here.

Hi.

Florida, huh?

That's the plan, yeah.

AAA two to three years,

and off to the big leagues.

I like a guy with a plan.

And Florida's real humid, right?

My mom hates humidity.
Frazzles her hair.

So when do we leave?

Great form, Mrs. Fitzgerald.

- Hmm?
- Yeah.

Mrs. Fitzgerald baked
these for helping out.

Isn't that nice?

Her gout's spread like crazy.

She doesn't have
any family around.

I'm sure you'll take
good care of her.

Mm-hmm.

Hey, may I have some
money for a beer?

Hmm? Mm, no.

No more spending today.

Mm-mm.

I am not buying you
another bathing suit.

That one barely fits.

When I was your age,

I had to wear pedal
pushers to the pool.

Know why?

Your grandma beat
me with a belt.

You think I ever
got any cookies?

Hmm.

You and baby Travis don't know

how lucky you are to be mine.

Far, far away from
mean, old Grandma.

Can I come with
you to the house?

Scott and I have been
thinking about flipping, too.

Scott. What's he know?

He got his real estate license.

Anyone can study up.

It doesn't mean
you got the knack.

Actually, Scott found this
perfect foreclosure on Derby.

You guys don't have the
bankroll for this game,

and I don't want to
see you make a mistake

that I gotta fix.

You owe me 15.72

with the fries.

How come Travis
doesn't have to pay?

I do other things.

He does.

Sarah, your mom is always
gonna make you pay.

Grandma, I'm over here.

When she was just
a little b*tch,

Pam stole candy
from a corner store

and hid it under the bed,

and she lied to her dad,

said that I was the
one who stole it.

Who do you think he believed?

And she still steals from me.

Grandma's lying.

Her brain is mush.

Let's do cake.

Narrator: Mothers and daughters,

a bond that can't be severed.

.

Okay, okay.

- Hello?
- It's Cathy from "Dateline."

Narrator: It had
been almost two years

since Russ' conviction,

and Pam had rested
on her laurels.

Hi.

Sorry to just show up,

but you stopped
answering my texts.

Oh, well, first,
nice to meet ya.

And I told ya, I'm
a private person.

I know. But with Joel
pushing for a retrial,

you should really think about
telling your side of the story.

A retrial... who said that?

- Just what I heard.
- Uh-huh.

Kay. Um, well, have a good one.

You might want to send
a new photo, at least.

Ick.

Ironically, it was Pam
that got the ball rolling.

You mean, I could get out?

That's what we're saying.

Lily and Mariah filed a
civil suit against Pam

for the insurance money.

So I was able to use
some of the material

from Pam's civil deposition

as evidence in support of a
thing called a Mooney motion.

Super longshot. And it worked.

Now, this motion got us
a hearing before a judge.

And he agreed to
grant you a new trial.

Russ, this is a good thing.

I know. Thanks, but
they're a bunch of cheats.

I've already been in here
three years because of them.

What if they just
tear me down again

- and I wind up back here, and...
- No, no, no.

Everything is gonna be
different this time, Russ.

This motion guarantees that
we'll be able to bring in

all the evidence
implicating Pam Hupp.

Now, we'd like to
request a bench trial.

That is, one judge,

not an uninformed group
like we had last time.

- Just a judge?
- Just one judge.

- Is that risky?
- Yeah, it's different.

Normally, we only have to
convince one juror out of 12.

Now, those odds didn't exactly

work in our favor last time,

but this time, you'll
get a new judge,

a fair one.

That's all we need, and
we can win this thing.

But it's up to you.

We don't want to do anything
without your say-so.

If you think it's better...

Let's go for it.

I trust you.

Mrs. Hupp is...

It's fine. It's fine.

You said it would
take five or six years

for an appeal.

- What's this about retrial?
- Uh...

It's the most ridiculous thing.

My ten-year-old could
file something better.

A Mooney motion.

- Money motion?
- Mooney.

I could show you
my bank statement.

- It's Mooney.
- The money's still there.

- I'm not the kind of person...
- Right, it's...

Who goes out and
just blows money.

- No, I know.
- Not me. Never has been me.

- Of course.
- I went to college.

You know, top of my class.

- I didn't need that money.
- Right.

And if he's such a great lawyer,

and he charges what he charges,

he's gonna crack
this whole thing open

based on a deposition?

What deposition?

The one for the girls'
lawsuit against you.

Because of what you said.

Are you okay?

I'm fine.

Joel's just using your testimony

to say that the only reason
that you opened the trust

is because you felt
pressured by the cops or me?

No. That is not true.

That is ridiculousness.

I know it's not...
It's ridiculousness.

So you never said that.

- Are you saying that...
- That this is my fault?

No.

Not at all.

Just that Schwartz is using...

Schwartz is doing
that one-sided BS.

But we will have to prep,

so I'm gonna have Tina
schedule some time.

Dream team.

Right.

Let me help you with
the door. There you go.

Thanks, Pam.

Bye.

Tina, um,

do you understand Facebook?

Because I made a campaign
account for my reelection,

but am I a page? Am I
a person? What am I?

I don't know, but I was
actually just going over

the original evidence list,

and it seems like there
are a few items on here

that weren't filed correctly
the first time around,

- or never even tested.
- Hmm.

Should I test them now?

Yeah. Test everything.

Against Russ and anyone else?

Why would we test
against anyone but Russ?

So we can, I don't know, be
on the right side of things.

- We are on the right side.
- We won.

Seems like I knew
what I was doing then.

Why would we change tactics now?

She was just weird.

It was like she was
blaming me or something.

It's not my fault
that Betsy's girls

made me talk to their lawyer.

She's the DA. It's her
job to put Russ away

and keep him there. Her job.

Hey.

We're behind on
the mortgage and...

That's all that's left
of Betsy's insurance.

And it's... it's sentimental.

She would want me to
save it for a rainy day.

Plus, people are late
on bills all the time.

Nothing ever happens.

We gotta think bigger.

Is now the time
for bigger, though?

It's the time for big swings.

Russ is getting a retrial,

and "Dateline" is up my a*s.

- Well, reporters are rats.
- Yeah, they are.

You know what my mom
used to do with rats?

She liked that poison
that k*lled them slow.

I like the kind with zinc.

It makes 'em pop

right from the get-go,

you know?

Well, my mama always said

to make sure they got
nothing to feed on.

You are so right.

Huh.

If Russ never gets out,

there's no story.

No "Dateline."

Narrator: No "Dateline."

Hmm. We'll see.

.

Would you scootch back
a bit for me, please?

We're gonna try and
get a shot of you

through the doorway, like this.

Oh, boy.

There's no need to be nervous.

We're not here to
interrogate you.

It's okay.

I know what you're here for.

I'm here to report the facts.

You're gonna say that the facts

don't point to Russ, right?

- There are certain facts

that call into
question that theory.

And it's my responsibility
to report those too.

You mean some people
saying it's Pam Hupp?

I know what some folks think,

and I can only guess what
they're saying about me.

But Pam was there

for the family and the police.

She was their star witness.

So how could that be

if she were the guilty one?

Pam, it's great

that you wanted to come
back in and help us,

but a lot of this we know
from the first time around.

Did you know that Betsy
had an inverted nipple?

No, I didn't.

Well, I told her it
was a sign of cancer,

and it sure was.

I mean,

we just spent a whole
lot of time together,

you know?

Um, and I did.

I, uh, replaced what
a husband would be.

So you were filling voids
they had in their marriage.

- Yeah.
- Uh-huh.

And after that,

I knew she had a
mad crush on me.

I didn't know to what level.

It didn't matter.

I think that
happens with people.

But I think because I
always had her back,

she trusted me.

She really, really,

really loved me.

And it just kept
growing from that.

She wanted to be more.

- Oh, you mean, like...
- Like, a sexual relationship?

Yeah.

But I said, "No, that's not me,"

and all of that, nd
she got sort of mad.

So over time...

It didn't start out that way...

But our relationship
became more.

We were sexual together.

Don't like girls.

Never been attracted to girls.

I'll go watch "Magic
Mike XL" right now.

Love men.

But sex isn't a big deal to me,

so it was something
I sacrificed for her.

Well, it's the caregiver in you.

Exactly.

And, uh, never
mentioned it before

because it's private,

and, um, she was very
serious about nobody knows,

'cause she was scared
what Russ would do,

but he knew.

He was jealous.

Thought we were ripping
each other's clothes off

all the time.

But it wasn't like that.

We weren't lesbians.

- Mm.
- We just had this

sexual thing between us.

Betsy getting that from you,

that must have made
Russ really mad.

Big time.

Russ and me got
physical over it.

We were in the basement
playing softball

when Russ comes home.

He goes, "What the hell are
you two doing down here?"

"If I ever catch you two

"muff thumpers together again,

"I'll stab ya

and bury ya out in the yard."

"Muff thumpers?"

That's what he said.

- Huh.
- Okay.

Well, that's...

Uh-huh.

Thank you for coming
in and telling us that.

That's... That's
on the record, so.

We'll let you know

- if we have any questions.
- That's fine.

Thank you.

Just doing my part.

I'll walk you out.

- Thank you, Detective.
- Thank you, Pam.

We're gonna need to rethink.

I agree.

It's about time we
move away from her lies.

She's not lying. She just
keeps changing her story.

And I know Schwartz's
whole case is gonna be

making Pam look guilty,

and with this new muff stuff,

it just could be
distracting in court.

Especially since
she didn't mention

any of it in the first trial.

Well, she was probably scared.

And then look what happened.

Russ k*lled Betsy.

We can't too much on
Pam this time around.

We need more hard evidence.

Well, back in 2011,

Pam mentions an email
that Betsy had written her

but not sent.

She said it was a document
on Betsy's computer.

But it details how she
was afraid of Russ,

how he would hold a
pillow over her face,

but no one ever looked for it.

Why?

I don't know.

Well, we need to
find the letter.

Joel, listen to this.

"I woke up to Russ holding
a pillow over my face.

"Didn't know what was going on.

"I broke loose and
started to scream at him,

"asking what he was doing.

"He was said that
he wanted me to know

what dying feels like."

Sounds Huppity.

That was just sent over
from the DA's office.

Remember the Medical
Examiner's report

said that there was bruising
around Betsy's neck?

If Pam wrote this letter
before the m*rder...

She would be setting up

that Betsy was gonna
be suffocated by Russ.

And that was found
on Betsy's computer,

just like Pam it would.

It's weird that they sent over

a little piece of paper.

We need the computer.

We need the original
data file analyzed.

Hey, Greg. Joel Schwartz here.

I got a rush job for you.

Front desk says

nobody's changed your
diaper in two days.

I cannot come running every
time you crap yourself, Mom.

Well, this is what you wanted.

I can't do anything without you.

Come on.

Mm-hmm.

- All right, come on.
- What? No, what?

Damn it! Where are my glasses?

I know you took 'em.

You take all my things.

I don't know how I raised
such a fat little thief.

I did not take your things.

You should be nicer to me.

Why should I be nice

to a girl who
marries a Gunderson?

I'm married to Mark now, Mom.

Mark. Mark.

Mark, Mark, Mark, Mark.

But you made a little Gunderson.

And she's still got you beat.

Sarah is a teacher.

And you're what?

On disability or something?

I make a nice living

with my real estate business.

Well, just go flip
your dang houses,

before Sarah takes that too.

Narrator: When a
parent hurts a child,

does that hurt get passed on

like a grim inheritance?

All right, ladies and gentlemen,

the next house on
the auction block:

Derby Street.

It is a beautiful little house

with two bedrooms, a bathroom,

and a wonderful
little kitchenette.

Wonderful opportunity
for a smart buyer.

85, the woman in blue.

Going once, going twice.

95, the woman in pink.

Pam, what are you doing?

I don't think the lender's
gonna give us another loan.

- Shh.
- We shouldn't even be here.

You really gonna let this go?

Do we have enough money?

Bow out, Sarah.

It's only gonna get
worse for ya, trust me.

Okay, going once, going twice.

Sold to the woman in pink.

Narrator: Pam wins again.

For now.

But could she do it once
more in a court of law?

- Oh, boy.
- Mrs. Hupp.

Why did Betsy make
you the beneficiary?

- Pam.
- Pam!

Any comments?

Mr. Hupp, anything?

Any comment at all?

Anything at all today?

Do you have any comment?

- What's that?
- Someone from the DA's office

sent those over
to me anonymously.

And they change
everything for us, Russ.

- What is it?
- Luminol photos.

That's right, perfect pictures.
No camera malfunctions.

- And...
- Wait for it.

No signs of blood, no
evidence of a cleanup,

- which means the police lied.
- Ha!

Hey.

I can't promise you
we're gonna win.

I think we learned
that last time around.

But I can promise you

that these give us
a much better shot.

I've thought about
you and this case

every damn day since
the last trial,

and I am gonna fight like
hell for you out there, Russ.

I appreciate that.

Mrs. Askey, you may proceed.

"My name is Russell Faria.

"I just got home from
my friend's house,

and my wife k*lled herself."

That's what the defendant
said on his 911 phone call.

But that was a lie.

The first of many.

Betsy Faria did
not k*ll herself.

She was m*rder*d.

And the state will show
that the only person

with the means,
motive, and opportunity

was Russell Faria.

Judge, our case will
be based on evidence,

not theories.

And the evidence
will clearly show

that Russell Faria did
not m*rder his wife.

The person who
m*rder*d Betsy Faria

was the last person
to see her alive,

was the person who got
the insurance payout,

and the person who
has consistently lied

about every single
detail of this case.

Detective McCarrick?

Detective McCarrick,

nobody followed up
with Pam Hupp's husband

to do an actual
interview with him alone.

No.

Nobody bothered to
seize his phone,

to verify when Pam's
message was left?

- No.
- Hmm.

And nobody... nobody bothered
to check with the neighbors

to see when she
might have got home.

Not to my knowledge.

Can anyone testify
where Pam Hupp was

at the time of the m*rder?

No.

Were you aware that Pam
Hupp's financial situation

was so dire at the
time of Betsy's m*rder

that she was several
months behind

on her COBRA payments
for her health insurance?

I was not.

How much did Pam
gain when Betsy died?

$150,000.

$150,000.

No further questions.

Daniel Williams.

"I need to change my
life insurance policy

"out of his name, but
can't let him know

"that I have taken him
off as beneficiary.

"I need your help.

"I am so tired from the cancer.

"I am so afraid of staying
out in Troy alone with Russ.

"If something happens to me,

would you please show
this to the police?"

And that was
addressed to Pam Hupp.

Correct.

And as a member of the
Cybercrimes Task Force,

it's your job to examine
all the digital evidence.

Can you please tell the court
where you found this document?

I found the pdoc on
Betsy Faria's computer,

State's Exhibit 3.

No future questions.

What's this letter?

Don't worry about it.

The defense would like to
call Detective Michael Merkel.

After you took the
Luminol photos,

you testified, back
in the first trial,

that they showed
absolutely nothing,

because of a malfunction
in the camera

that has since been repaired.

Is that correct?

So there were no photographs
that were developed that day.

I don't believe so. No, sir.

I'd like to show you
what is marked as.

Defendant's Exhibit O.

What you see?

It would be

the Luminol photos
from the scene.

- Where did he get those?

And do they show
absolutely nothing?

No, sir.

There's 130 of them there.

Pull one out. Any
one. At random.

What is that a picture of?

Looks like a sink drain.

- Is that absolutely nothing?
- No.

Pull out another one. Any one.

- Now what's that?
- Floor tile.

- Is that absolutely nothing?
- No, sir.

So when you said
that the photographs

contained absolutely nothing,

you actually meant
nothing you wanted to see.

- Objection.
- Sustained.

You testified in 2013
that those photographs

contained absolutely nothing,

but today, you now
see 130 photographs

of absolutely something,
is that correct?

- Yes, that's correct.
- Yes, so there's no evidence

that Russ cleaned up any blood
in those photos, is there?

- No.
- Thank you.

No further questions.

The defense calls Greg Chatton.

I work in digital forensics
for law enforcement matters.

And you examined
the computer file

the prosecution claims is
a letter from Betsy Faria?

Yes, I validated the file

and documented the date and
times the file was created.

Can you explain to the
court what you found?

Mrs. Faria was
running Windows 2003,

and when a document is
created, she would be tagged

within the metadata of
the file automatically.

This is something that
the user cannot control.

That's a lot.

So who did the metadata say

created the alleged letter?

- It said "unknown."
- "Unknown"?

Hmm. I wonder how that happened.

There are only two ways:

Someone changed the
author to "unknown,"

or the file was created
on another computer

- and then copied over.
- I see.

You found something else
interesting in the metadata.

What was that?

The metadata tagged
this document

as being created in Word '97.

Was Word '97 installed
on Betsy's computer?

No.

So it would be impossible

for that document
to have been created

- on Betsy's computer.
- Yes.

Which means it had to have been

copied over from a
different computer.

That's correct.

No further questions.

The witness may step down.

Are there any more
witnesses for the state?

Leah.

Are you going to call Pam?

The state rests, Your Honor.

- Why didn't they call Pam?

If there's something
more damaging,

we could discover it on cross.

We could finally nail her.

Very well.

Are there any more
witnesses for the defense?

The defense rests, Your Honor.

We don't need her
lies in this court.

.

Please rise.

There's no question this
was a brutal m*rder.

And I'm sorry for the family

who had to experience
such a horror.

But the investigation of
this case by law enforcement

is rather disturbing,

and frankly,

raised more questions
than answers.

Consequently, as to count one,

m*rder in the first degree,

court finds the defendant,

Russell Scott Faria,

not guilty.

- Oh!

As to count two,
armed criminal action,

the court finds the defendant,
Russell Scott Faria,

not guilty.

So Mom's k*ller just gets
to walk away and that's it?

Looks like it.

Leah blew it.

All she had to do was
call me to the stand.

Here she comes.

Joel Schwartz is here.

Thank you, Tina.

How you doing, Leah?

Just great, Joel.

Look, I'm not sure you're
gonna want to do this,

but we have a lot of research

that we are willing to share,

if you decide to
reopen the Faria case.

We had the right
guy, but thanks.

- All right.
- Well, if you change your mind.

Yeah, you'll be my first call.

- Can I ask you a question?
- Of course.

How do you like working for her?

I don't work for Leah.

I work for the county.

Doesn't matter whose
name's on the door.

This town is lucky to have you.

Hi, this is DA Askey.

I'd like the Sheriff's
Office to draw up

a destruction of evidence order.

Yes, all evidence related
to the Faria case.

That's items 1 through 214.

Yep, and the evidence logs.

Thank you.

I still think there's
evidence out there

I never received.

When I finally got the
cell tower triangulation,

it showed that Pam had
not gotten more than,

at the very most,

about three miles
from the house.

And at the very least, she
was still at the house.

And the fact that she
lied about where she was

when she called the victim...

But I couldn't get into any
of that when she testified...

Well, the 25 years I've
been practicing law,

I have never seen
anything like it.

Narrator: In everyday
life, we're all the heroes

of our own stories.

But what happens when
our story gets told?

Can you believe this crap?

Maybe nobody will see it.

Narrator: For the first time,

Pam wasn't in control
over her own story.

Hello, missy?

- No.
- Hello...

- No, no, no.
- No, no, no, no, no.

I'm cutting you off.

12 bucks a pop.

12.

What, now you can't
buy me a drink because

you bought Sarah's house
out from under her?

It wasn't hers.

You owe her big time.

I have half a mind to
cut you out of the will

and stick her in your slot.

I pay for Autumndale.

I hate Autumndale.

It smells like
spiderwebs and soup.

You know, you're done, Pam.

I'm cutting you off.

Aww, thanks, hon.

You really do take care of me.

I don't know what
I'd do with ya.

She is down for
the count up there.

Won't be down for dinner.

- Or breakfast.
- Breakfast, too?

Yeah, she needs her rest.

If you don't from her,

maybe pop in around lunchtime.

Sure thing, Miss Pam.

Happy Halloween.

Trick or treat.

- I like your costume!
- Ah!

- Will you please wait for me?

Whoa.

That almost looks real.