Bone Deep: Untangling the Betsy Faria Murder Case

THE TRUE STORY BEHIND NBC’S MARQUEE MINI-SERIES "THE THING ABOUT PAM" STARRING RENEE ZELLWEGER AS PAM HUPP AND JOSH DUHAMEL AS JOEL SCHWARTZ, PREMIERING FEBRUARY 2022.

The explosive, first-ever insider’s account of the case that’s captivated millions – the murder of Betsy Faria and the wrongful conviction of her husband – told by Joel J. Schwartz, the defense attorney who fought for justice on behalf of Russel Faria, and New York Times bestselling author Charles Bosworth Jr.

Goodreads Top Nonfiction of 2022

On December 27th, 2011, Russell Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home after his weekly game night with friends to an unthinkable, grisly scene: His wife, Betsy, lay dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She’d been stabbed fifty-five times.

First responders concluded that Betsy was dead for hours when Russ discovered her. No blood was found implicating Russ, and surveillance video, receipts, and friends’ testimony all supported his alibi. Yet incredibly, police and the prosecuting attorney ignored the evidence. In their minds, Russ was guilty. But prominent defense attorney Joel J. Schwartz quickly recognized the real killer.

The motive was clear. Days before her murder, the terminally ill Betsy replaced her husband with her friend, Pamela Hupp, as her life insurance beneficiary. Still, despite the prosecution’s flimsy case and Hupp’s transparent lies, Russ was convicted—leaving Hupp free to kill again.

Bone Deep takes readers through the perfect storm of miscalculations and missteps that led to an innocent man’s conviction—and recounts Schwartz’s successful battle to have that conviction overturned. Written with Russ Faria’s cooperation, and filled with chilling new revelations and previously undisclosed evidence, this is the story of what can happen when police, prosecutor, judge, and jury all fail in their duty to protect the innocent—and let a killer get away with murder.

“Fans of Dateline will be interested in this work, which will likely only grow in popularity when the miniseries The Thing About Pam, starring Renée Zellweger, premieres in March 2022.” –Library Journal

“Filled with chilling new revelations and previously undisclosed evidence, this is the story of what can happen when police, prosecutor, judge, and jury all fail in their duty to protect the innocent—and let a killer get away with murder.  This book is an explosive, insider’s account of a case that continues to fascinate the public. We highly recommend it.” –Mystery Tribune

“An engaging true-crime book that exposes failures in the American criminal justice system while putting a human face on those involved and is recommended to those that enjoy well-researched books.” –Mystery and Suspense

“If you are interested in justice, in criminal profiling, in trial procedures, the dynamics between the judge, the defense, and the prosecution, this book is for you.” –Defrosting Cold Cases

Charles Bosworth is a New York Times and Amazon bestselling author of six true-crime books, with millions of books in print, as ebooks, and audiobooks. He developed an expertise in writing about crime and the courts in twenty-seven years as a daily newspaper reporter, including twenty years with the St. Louis Post-Dispatch. He also has reported for the New York Times and the Chicago Tribune. He spent years in corporate communications with a number of global companies and a leading St. Louis law firm, and as a vice president for one of the world’s leading PR and communications agencies. He lives in Southwestern Illinois in the metro St. Louis area.
 
Joel J. Schwartz has spent thirty years exclusively as a criminal defense lawyer in the St. Louis region as a principal in Rosenblum, Schwartz & Fry, one of the area’s leading law firms. He has handled nearly every type of criminal case in state and federal circuit courts and appellate courts in Missouri, Illinois, Michigan, and Iowa, and has represented clients in California, Colorado, Texas, Arizona and Nebraska.  His recognized expertise in criminal law also has led to serving as a lecturer at legal educational institutions and a legal commentator for a number of news organizations. He earned his law degree from the University of Texas School of Law. He has been consistently selected to the annual Super Lawyers list throughout his career, is a member of the Top 100 Trial Lawyers for the American Trial Lawyers Association, and is a lifetime member of the National Association of Criminal Defense Lawyers. He has appeared on Dateline NBC, 60 Minutes, CBS Morning News, CNN, Fox News and countless local television news affiliates.