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he walked in the door and he broke down crying. he kept saying how bad it hurt because he lost his betsy. he was a broken man. >> reporter: she was the life of the party. until her husband found her dead. he's bound to be a system and some said he had a motive. >> he makes comments about how much money he'll have after she's gone. >> reporter: cops found blood on his slippers and said he failed a polygraph. >> the fact of the matter is, you stabbed betsy. >> reporter: the thing was, this husband had an alibi, thanks to the buddies he met every tuesday for game night. >> we knew he could not have

committed this crime. >> it's impossible. a man cannot be in two places at the same time. >> reporter: some said police ignored a another potential suspect. >> one of the concerns that i have is that you're one of the last people to see betsy. >> they wanted to blame somebody and the police were telling them that it was me so they decided to believe that. >> reporter: an innocent man railroaded by investigators? >> in the 25 years i've been practicing law, i have never seen anything like it. >> reporter: >> reporter: here's david morrison with the house on sumac drive. >> narrator: in a small town not far from st. louis, missouri. the woman inside no longer felt the cold, she would never feel anything now. it was 9:40 p.m.

all over but the call to 911. >> what is the location of your emergency? i need you to take a couple of deep breaths so i can see what's going on. >> i just got home from my friends' house and my wife is dead. >> narrator: the man on the phone was hysterical. >> what is her name? >> her name is betsy. >> betsy? >> yes. >> narrator: betsy faria. >> do you think she's beyond help right now? >> she's dead. oh, god. >> narrator: betsy faria was dead and gone at 42. and early death for betsy as you will hear, but not a surprise. that had been preordained, sad

to say. no, it was how it happened, when it happened, why it happened. those were the mysteries burrowed down the rabbit hole, as you shall see. the first you need to know about betsy faria, she was one of four girls in her family, mary rogers and judy sweeney were older sisters. >> betsy was the most outgoing and the most social. >> kind of gleg gregarious? >> gregarious is a great word. she could start up a party. she was in her element when she was out there. she could get anybody on the dance floor. whether they wanted to or not. >> uh-huh. >> narrator: betsy was a single mother of two daughters. leah and mariah when she met

russ, and he seemed perfect for her, funny, outgoing, big heart. said russ's cousin mary anderson. >> she was a jokester, you never see him without him laughing. >> narrator: and said russ, she was the perfect woman for him. >> she encouraged me to go back to school and get my degree which led to a better job and more money, things like that. >> yeah. >> which i probably would not have done had she not done that. >> we created a big bond and leah, you know, bonded with me as well. >> narrator: betsy and russ got married in january of 2000. and like many couples, they had good times and then less good times. for more than a year, they actually lived apart. >> we argued a lot, you know, and it's always darkest before the dawn, they say. >> and then betsy told him, she found a church that meant a lot to her. maybe he would like to come.

>> the first week we went they were starting a series on marriage, it kind of seemed like an omen. >> that's when, russ said, they fell in love again. >> narrator: but life will have its way with a person. like it or not. betsy found out she had breast cancer. >> christmas of 2009 she told us that she thought she had it and it was diagnosed in january of 2010. that's when she had a mastectomy. >> went through a lot of crying, a lot of heart ache, you know, a lot of hard time, but we kept our faith and we kept praying. >> and she handled it with such grace. she just amazed the millions of people that she knows. she was involved in tennis, she just continued playing tennis, you would never know she was going through chemo. >> narrator: and maybe that helped her beat it.

in winter of 2011, betsy's doctor told her her cancer was in remission. so they decided to celebrate, they organized a caribbean cruise and invited their friends and family to come along. >> she thinks i'm free and clear, then this bomb gets dropped on her. >> narrator: the cancer was back, had spread to her liver. >> it was inoperable, it was too far in her liver that they couldn't take it out. >> narrator: she had, with luck, three to five years, perhaps less. so what did russ and betsy do? they went on that cruise anyway, took their whole gang with them. betsy got to swim with the dolphins, a dream she had had for years. >> just to see how happy she was made me happy. >> she told everybody this was kind of like a second honeymoon. they had the best sex they could ever have while they were on this cruise. >> narrator: but then a few

weeks later, betsy was dead. but it certainly wasn't the cancer that killed her. >> reporter: how did betsy die? the answer to that wasn't clear at all. her husband who called 911 had one idea. but investigators had another. >> it's not typical for someone that's going to commit suicide to do it by the way that she done it. and that's what concerns me. if it doesn't work fast... you're on to the next thing. clinically proven neutrogena® rapid wrinkle repair. it targets fine lines and wrinkles with the fastest retinol formula available. you'll see younger looking skin in just one week. one week? this one's a keeper. rapid wrinkle repair. and for dark spots rapid tone repair. from neutrogena®.

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i just got home from a friend's house and my wife -- my wife -- >> narrator: partway through russ faria's hysterical call to 911 were four little words that

were going to become very important indeed. >> my wife killed herself. >> narrator: my wife killed herself. >> russell, i need you to calm down, okay? take a couple of deep breaths, we're going to get somebody on the way there, okay. >> narrator: russell faria said he came home to find his wife dead on the sofa, and it looked like suicide, he told the operator. now much later, russ told us something clicked when he saw her lying there. >> well, she had talked about it years before and actually tried it once or twice. >> and when you came in? >> i saw slashes on her arms and that was the first thing that just registered in my mind. >> narrator: early the next morning, betsy's mirror janet myers got a knock on the door. officers standing there on her doorstep. >> one of them just looked right

at me and said, betsy's dead. and i said, well, how could she be dead? she was just here last night. >> narrator: officer s also wen to betsy's sister julie's house. >> i gave them the look,like i don't think that sounds right. >> narrator: by the time police offered that suicide suggestion to betsy's family, they already knew, the death of betsy faria was no suicide, not even possible. emergency responders could tell right away. and investigators found betsy's body had been stabbed many times. russ the husband, the man who supposedly discovered the boyd had some explaining to do. but that night, at the sheriff's department, getting him to focus was not an easy thing.

>> oh, god! >> i think you're the only one that can help us with this right now. >> i don't know what to do. >> narrator: but investigators had a job to do, find betsy's killer and they thought it might be russ. who was incredibly emotional. was he acting? was this florid grief actually real? whatever it was, russ seemed to be sticking to the suicide story. >> what do you think happened to betsy? >> it was like she killed herself. >> narrator: but did he really not know about all those other stab wounds? and something else, betsy's body was cold and stiff when those first responders arrived, rigor mortis had all right set in, the blood was drying, based on that it appeared that betsy had been dead for some time when russ called 911. so detectives zeroed in on betsy and russ's movements.

>> tell me about your night. >> narrator: betsy said that she had a chemo point that afternoon, and she was going to go to her mother's afterward and russ would drive her home. when she called her husband sometime after 5:00 p.m. -- >> i asked her if she needed a ride home, she said no, her friend was going to bring her home. she said she had something to talk to me about, i said is it good or bad? she said it's good, no worries. i said, okay, i'll see you at home later, and i love you and that was the last time i talked to her. >> narrator: after that, said russ, he ran some errands and as he almost always did on tuesday evenings, he arrived at a friend's house where they had what he called game nights. >> but that particular night, my friend had gotten a couple of movies so we decided to watch movies instead.

>> narrator: he left at 9:00, he left, got a sand witch at the local drive through and then drove back to his house in troy, which would have put him there at a 9:45 p.m. >> i took my jacket off and calling for betsy and i seen her there on the floor. >> will you ever forget what that waslike coming into the house seeing that? >> i see it every time i close my eyes. i felt down by her and i looked and i saw a cut on her arm and i saw a knife in her neck. >> that's all russ said he saw. so it looked like she r betsy had done it deliberately. >> you're calling it a suicide, do you have any idea who may have harmed betsy? >> no, everybody loved betsy. she was a positive soul. she always brought smiles to people. she made me smile all the time. she made me so proud.

>> it's not typical for someone that's going to commit suicide to do it by the way that she done it. and that's what concerns us. >> narrator: so it did. it also made russ the prime suspect. co >> reporter: coming up, russ and betsy's relationship. they had recently enjoyed that romantic cruise, but a friend tells police, things between them weren't that sunny. >> he started playing this game of putting a pillow over her face, this is what it's going to feel like when you die, and he would act like he was kidding. >> reporter: as "dateline" continues. oh my goodness! let's bubble! mega shower foamer stays where you spray with ultra cling technology. and the wide angle spray covers more of the mess! wide spray, ultra cling... that's nice teamwork!

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not long after russ faria found his wife dead, the police took him in for a long night of questions and a polygraph test, the following afternoon, though, said russ, when he saw the machine -- >> honestly, i don't even know if that thing was on or not. >> narrator: but after it, they told him he failed it miserably, so he must have done it. they said, time for him to confess. >> the fact of the matter is you did it. >> no, i did not. i wasn't even there. >> russ, you were there.

>> no, i found her like that when i came home. >> narrator: it seemed obvious said the investigators, either russ killed betsy in a sudden blind rage or he was a cold-blood ed killer who planned the crime. which was it? they demanded to know. >> i did not do this. >> narrator: russ denied it again and again, dozens of times, but investigators didn't buy it. and much of the reason for that is they were hearing from this woman, pamela hupp, pam met betsy years earlier when they both worked in the insurance industry and she had a lot of things to say about russ. including what sounded like a big, fat motive. money. >> he makes comments about how much money he'll have after she's gone because she's got, i don't know for sure, because i have never seen the financials,

he's got life insurance on her at work, she's got life insurance. >> pam hupp said that she was with betsy the day she died. they would save money and she would be closer to friends and her chemo treatment. but pam claims betsy was concerned about how russ would react to that idea. >> and she goes, i'm telling you right now, he's going to get very angry. she said he's tired of moving, he is staying in his house and that's it. >> so she already approached him with the idea? >> she was going to approach him when he came home. >> narrator: could that have set russ off? investigators asked him about that. >> she never mentioned that to me. >> she said she wanted to ta hao share with you when she got home. >> we never talked about that. >> narrator: investigators

didn't believe that, especially when -- >> he would start playing this game of putting a pillow over her face to see what it would feel like, i don't know if she said, this is what it's going to feel like when you die or whatever and then act like he was kidding. she was very upset. >> did she sound scared? >> oh, yeah. >> narrator: so they took that accusation to russ too. >> how many times did we practice putting a pillow over her face and suffocating her and telling her this would what it would feel like to die? >> who did that? >> why would pam tell the police that betsy said you had done that and that she was scared. >> she had no reason to believe that. >> narrator: it wasn't just the pam hupp story that -- though betsy was killed in her living room, investigators found her blood on a light switch in the bedroom and on a pair of russ's slippers, stashed in a bedroom

closet. >> the fact of the matter is it's a sloppy crime scene, there's blood on your clothes in your residence, in your bedroom. >> i didn't even go to my bedroom. >> narrator: and they confronted russ with the horrifying thought that betsy had been stabbed over and over again, many, many times. >> you absolutely -- >> betsy was stabbed over 25 times, we're still counting. a burglar doesn't do that, russ, a stranger doesn't do that. somebody who loves that person does that. somebody who goes into a blind rage does that. >> narrator: there was only one option said the investigators, russ was going to have to come clean and confess. >> there's no one else that has any kind of motive, monetary or crime of passion. >> i can't tell you what i don't know. i don't know. and i said i can't confess to something i didn't do and i can't give you details for something that i wasn't present

for. >> there was never a focus on anybody else. >> narrator: it was the day after the murder that russ's cousin mary heard that russs with being questioned. she had scene russ just a few days later. everyone was fine then. >> betsy was laughing and happy. she was even saving him a spot on the couch. she was like here, baby, you can sit next know. >> narrator: russ would not and could not have killed betsy. by the time investigators released russ 48 hours after he was first brought in for questioning, the story was all over local media. >> reporter: this case has been taking a lot of turns today. >> it was hard, i mean they showed my picture on the news -- >> they said you were the main suspect? >> yeah, that's what it appeared. and while i was watching it, my family came in and turned it off. they said you don't need to watch that. >> narrator: some keep began rethinking the man. maybe those jokes and pranks of

his were really rather immature and crude and boorish. betsy's church friends had spent a lot of time with betsy and russ. >> many people would describe him as a pig, the things he would say, not respectful. he would do it to everybody, but he was doing it to his wife too. >> you wouldn't understand, it doesn't matter. you don't say that in a group of other people to your spouse. >> betsy's mother who said she was very close to russ, also remembered a few things that now stuck out like a sore thumb. >> he told a friend of mine's husband, that if he got in a fight with somebody, he would fight to kill. >> narrator: and betsy's sisters, they weren't aware that russ ever physically hurt betsy, but when they thought about it, there was rage in that man. >> i think he had a lot of built up anger. >> narrator: there was a time when russ chased one of the daughter's boyfriends with a baseball bat? >> who chases after a boyfriend with a baseball bat? >> yeah. did you see that happen?

>> no. >> who told you about that? >> the girls. i think they were very scared about it. >> narrator: so when officers told the family about all those stab wounds -- >> when they said that, i didn't have any doubt in my mind, i never thought it could be anybody else but russ when they told me that. >> narrator: that's what the investigators were thinking too. but there were plenty of people in town who thought the idea that russ faria killed his wife was utter hogwash. and they said they could prove it. co . >> reporter: coming up -- what sounds like a solid alibi from russ's game night buddies. >> a man cannot be in two places at the same time. life with crohn's disease or ulcerative colitis

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but when police accused him and betsy's family painted russ as an angry family man, other people in russ's world didn't believe it. >> they were very happy, and they were planning a trip to florida and it was going to be in march. if that's what you want to do, you plan it, we'll make it happen. >> narrator: after betsy's death, cousin mary saw russ's grief up close. >> he was heart broken and he kept saying how bad it hurt because he lost hiss betsy. that was the most heart wrenching thing to see. he broke down just talking to her all by himself, just him at the casket and he fell to the ground. he was a broken man. >> it was hard, it was really hard, but it was really nice to see how many people that she

touched and that came. >> narrator: and as for that story pam hupp was telling about russ putting a pillow over betsy's face saying that's what death feels like? >> could russ have done such a thing? >> no, would russ put a cover over her head and part and say something like that, that he would do. because he was a jokester. but would he put a pillow over her face and do that? absolutely not. >> narrator: one of betsy's best friend was linda -- >> the way that he had spoken about losing betsy, you know how much he loved her and how he didn't know whether he was going to live without her. he was taking it really badly. >> narrator: but, said linda, the police didn't seem to want to hear any of that.

>> they kept saying, do you think it could have been russ? >> narrator: but most of what you heard was just opinion, they had something much strong never their corner, an alibi. remember that game night russ said he attended between 6:00 and 9:00 p.m. that tuesday evening? this is michael corbin, the host of game night. that particular tusz night, mike said, russ and the others watched movies together and everyone left at 9:00 p.m. as usual. then, early the next day, mike and his girlfriend angie got a surprise. >> we were up having our morning coffee, got a knock on the door, which is instantly odd, about 6:00 or maybe a little bit before. the police more or less invited themselves in and started asking us a lot of questions, like was russell here last night?

was there drinking? was he acting strangely? it was a really boring night, quite honestly. >> narrator: the police didn't say anything about betsy, they just asked a lot of questions about their game night the night before. three days later, there was another early morning knock on the door. they took angie in one car, me in another vehicle with two investigators and they questioned us separately, or interrogated us, i'll put it that way. >> narrator: the two others at mike's house that night were also picked up and questioned separately. they all said the very same thing, russ arrived around 6:00, they watched movies. >> and we were all within eight feet of each other the whole night. >> did he act the same as usual? >> he dozed off at one point, i know that he w-- >> narrator: it was simply the unsupported story of some friends.

the surveillance camera showed russ stop for gas just after 9:15 p.m. more receipts, when he stopped by cigarettes, dog food a couple of iced teas, on the way to game night before 6:00 p.m. russell's cell phone pinged in those areas too and all evening, from 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. near mike's house. and the receipt for his trip to the arrest by's drive through was-time stamped 9:09 p.m. the drive back to russ's house with that stop at arby's would put him at home just before he called 911. >> once we knew the timeline, we knew that he did not commit this crime. >> impossible? >> impossible, a man cannot be in two places at the same time. >> narrator: but detectives, not persuaded, not at all. after all, they had pam hupp's story and what they said was

russ' failed polygraph and her blood on his slippers. and it wasn't long after betsy was killed that russell faria was arrested for the murder of his wife. >> reporter: coming up, some say investigators may have blown it because it's betsy's friend pam, not russ, who's the beneficiary of betsy's $150,000 life insurance policy. >> she got the money? >> she got the money. >> reporter: when "dateline" continues. ugh...this toilet paper's like sandpaper. [ male announcer ] that's when the charmin relief project came to the rescue. holy charmin. [ male announcer ] delivering over 10,000 rolls of bath tissue. charmin not only saved the day. charmin saved our butts. [ male announcer ] making a firehouse feel like home again. one more way the charmin relief project is helping people enjoy the go. we need a new recipe. let us consult the scroll of infinite deliciousness. perfect.

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>> narrator: the case against russell faria went to trial in november 2013, almost two years after betsy's murder. >> i don't know what to do. >> narrator: prosecutors opened their case with that frantic 911 call the night that she died. >> do you think that she's beyond help right now? >> she's dead. >> narrator: the state said it sounded suspiciously hysterical, like an act. betsy's mother said it sounded to her like howls of guilt. >> the 911 call was really goofy. >> goofy? >> oh, my god, oh, my god, what do i do? what do i do? >> he loved her, didn't he? >> uh-huh, that's what causes these crimes of passion.

>> narrator: if that wasn't suspicious enough, said the state, it was also russ's clearly bogus suggestion that betsy killed herself, an obvious lie, they argued. after all, as they pointed out, the medical examiner discovered she had actually been stabbed more than 50 times. members of betsy's family including her daughters testified that russ had a temper. the friend who drove betsy home that night, pam hupp told the jury what she told police, essentially that russ was a bad guy. the physical evidence said the state, also proved that russ committed the murder. that is betsy's blood on his slippers and her blood on the bedroom light switch, even though she was killed in the living room. what's more, said the prosecutor, russ's sem*n was found in betsy, showing he had sex with her before killing her. as the prosecutor put it to the jurors, he violates her one more time. and as for russ's alibi, the prosecutor said it only made his movements that evening more

suspicious, looked like he went out of his way to appear in front of cameras at multiple gas stations when he could have bought everything at one place. and his alibi to witnesses sounded -- >> they all were saying the exact same thing and the exact same monotones, it was unbelievable. >> narrator: and that was in essence, the state's case against russ faria. to which defense attorney jooel schwartz said, are you kidding? >> in my opinion, the man got charged with murder and then it snowballed from there. >> narrator: one thing he said t receipts t cell tower pings, his friends' testimony, was a good an alibi as he had every seen. what stuck out to him was that there were also some very

serious questions, like questions about pam hupp, who had bad mouthed russ . he was one of the last people to see betsy alive. between 6:00 to 9:00 p.m., when the window that betsy was thought to have died. inconsistencies stood out. to him anyone. example, betsy's mom said pam told her, she didn't go into betsy's house when she dropped her off that evening, but -- >> she told me a completely she said she went inside for 10 to 15 minutes. >> narrator: another one? when she left the house, she said betsy was sitting on the couch. but in another interview which was videotaped, she said something didn't. >> she may have still been on the couch, but today, it makes sense that she walked me to the

door. >> narrator: beginning at 7:21, she had not a answered phone calls, including one from her daughter who she had promised to answer. >> at 7:27, there's a call from pam hupp's cell phone to betsy's cell phone. >> narrator: that one also went unanswered. but here's what pam told police about that 7:27 p.m. call. >> initially she stated i called to let her know that i was home safe. >> narrator: home? impossible, pam lived a half hour's drive away. >> but where was she based on the cell tower try angulation? >> she had not gotten, at the very most, three miles from the house, i think she was still at the house. >> narrator: but the biggest question, said schwartz was about insurance. it seemed very odd that three days before the murder, someone, supposedly betsy made pam the

beneficiary of betsy's $150,000 life insurance policy. >> and she got the money? >> she got the money. >> narrator: pam hold investigators she was one of betsy's best friends and betsy wanted her to get the money to make sure her daughters got what they needed. but to make this important change, they went to a local library and had a young librarian, not a notary or any insurance company employee witness betsy's signature on the change of beneficiary form. the whole thing seemed very fishy to schwartz. >> i believed that betsy was conned in some way, shape or form into signing this policy without believing it would ever actually be sent to the insurance. company. which is why she never told anybody, including her own mother and her own sisters who she was very close with. >> narrator: but the lead detective told the insurance company pam was not a suspect. and so the company cut her the check. >> the husband always does it, so of course this is the guy who

did it so i think that clouded their investigation. it's the only explanation in my eyes to explain what i consider to be a horribly deficient investigation. >> narrator: plus later that same lead detective was preparing pam to testify at russ's trial and warned her the defense would certainly bring up the issue. >> one of the concerns that i have is, again, like i said, just because you're one of the last people to see betsy. you get this money given to you. >> narrator: after all said the detective, pam did benefit from betsy's death to the tune of $150,000. >> they're going to suggest that you had something to do with the planning or the conspiracy to commit that murder because of your financial wind fall. >> narrator: and not only that -- >> what you're originally told investigators is that you did this to try to get the kids taken care of because she's

afraid russ will get it. but at of this date, you haven't turned any money over to the family or the kids? >> no. >> that's a huge problem. >> narrator: the investigator said she should set up a trust for betsy's daughter. >> i told you that is my first phone call. >> sure. >> narrator: then the didnetect prepared pam for the key questions he thought the defense would ask. >> have you had anything to do with betsy's murder? >> no, i have not. >> narrator: attorney schwartz told the judge that indeed he did plan to ask pam hupp about all those things when she took the stand. but the judge said no. he could not ask about any of that because, said the judge, there was no direct connection between pam and the murder. >> in the 25 years i've been practicing law, i have never -- a witness testifies, you can cross-examination the witness, that's a basic tenet of law,

their bias, their interest, the fact that they are the last person with the victim, the fact that they just recently were given the victim's insurance under who knows what pretenses. the fact that they lied about going in the house. the fact that they lied about where they were when they called the victim, after being in the house, and i couldn't get into any of that. i have never seen anything like it. >> narrator: both pam hupp and the district declined "dateline's" request for an interview. in any case, the case against russell faria wasn't over. russ had helpers as he set about killing his wife. >> reporter: coming up -- russ is stunned when the prosecution disputes his alibi. >> i have four credible people that i was with all evening and you might get one person to lie for you, you might even convince two -- >> reporter: but four? what will the jury think? [ female announcer ] if you're struggling

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. >> narrator: russ faria's defense attorney precluded sending any evidence to the jury about pam hupp's inconsistencies and insurance went fall made his last best case that his client was an innocent manage. russ wasn't pretenting to be grieving when he made that 911 call, said joel schwartz, he was grieving. >> he sounded like a man who was grieving and he was grieving. but he was trying to answer the questions that were asked. >> narrator: and russ told the police he thought it was suicide because that's what it looked like when he walked into the house and found her there. >> her wrist was slit deeply and the knife was in her neck. although there was 56 wounds,

those were the only two visible to the naked eye. her shirt and her pants covered up every other stab wound and those weren't visible to see. i think the person calling this in as a suicide, but somebody who had no idea. >> narrator: this is not the result of a wild stabbing, rather they appeared to be methodically and deliberately made after betsy was dead to make it look like a crime of passion. >> there's no other explanation for the lack of blood and no other explanation for the deep cut on her wrist that's post mortem. >> narrator: and russ's. >> how would the blood get on the shoes? >> somebody attempted to stage this. >> dipped it in the blood? >> dipped it in the blood and hid them back in the closet.

>> narrator: and the allegations that betsy had sex with russ before killing her. >> there were eight sperm cells found inside of her during the autopsy the next day. >> narrator: totally consistent with what russ told the police, that is intimacy two days before the murder. and besides all of that said the defense, given russ's alibi, there's simply no way he could have committed the crime. but the state wasn't quite finished with its case against russ faria. the prosecutor declined our request for an interview. in her closing art, she presented a theory of how the crime occurred. making claims for which she did not present evidence at trial. and those claims were big. the alibi, she told the jurors was all a set up for the precise intention of hiding a murder and that russ's game night friends

were in deep, co-conspirators with who helped russ hatch the murder plan, waited for the right night to carry it out and then lied out about on the stand. >> we're innocent people. there is absolutely no evidence that we did anything wrong that night, there never will be because it didn't happen. >> narrator: and despite what the prosecutor argued, neither mike corbin nor any of the others have ever been charged with conspiracy nor have they been connected in any way to betsy's murder. so according to the prosecutor, how did russ do it without getting a single drop of blood on the clothes he wore all that evening and that night when he talked to detectives afterwards? here's how, said the prosecutor the jury. first, knowing what he intended to do, russ ran errands so he would appear in front of those surveillance cameras. then drove to his friend's house and dropped off his cell phone

so it would ping there all evening. then he droved the half hour home, stripped naked, had sex with betsy, stabbed her more than 50 times, showered, put on his slippers, began to slip on the blood but caught himself and stopped, then he cleaned those slippers off. then he got dressed and one of his friends drove his car back to his house and then russ called 911 and quickly tossed his slipper into the closet. and what did russ think of all that? >> i thought she was making up some kind of co*ckamamy story. i had four correct people that i was with all evening. i don't know of anybody that would lie for anybody when it comes to a crime like that. you know, i wouldn't. not for my best friend, not for my mom. >> narrator: the more important question of course is what the jurors would think, they deliberated for 4 1/2 hours

before arriving at a verdict. >> when you heard it? >> relief. huge relief. >> narrator: guilty. guilty of first-degree murder. >> it was devastating but i was trying my best to hold it together because my family's behind me there and i can hear them crying. >> how would people get the idea that you were in fact capable of this? >> i don't know. i previously had had a temper, but i never touched betsy in any way. they wanted to blame somebody and the police were telling them that it was me. >> narrator: russell faria was sentenced to life in prison. he's filing an appeal. and sits in his cell now unable to do much of anything but say -- >> i can't imagine ever being mad enough to do anything like that to anybody, let alone my wife whom i loved. i never stopped loving my wife. i'm innocent of this. i did not kill her.

>> narrator: betsy's family was and remains convinced justice was done no matter what anybody says. >> if somebody were to come to you with strong evidence that wasn't russ but it was some other person, is that something that you could accept? >> i would still feel it's russ, 100%. >> narrator: as for pam hupp, she insisted to "dateline" she had no involvement in the murder, she said she had no motive to kill betsy, her dna wasn't found at the house and she cooperated with the police. pam also said she set up a trust for betsy's daughters. the family said it did not receive any insurance money. and meanwhile, the answer to the mystery, who killed betsy, still for some hangs in the air. resolved by a jury, and yet, does anyone really know? >> reporter: that's all for this edition of "dateline." we'll see you again next friday at 8:00, 7:00 central and i'll

see you tomorrow on "today." i'm lester holt, for all of us . - previously grimm... - someone outside the family is carrying royal blood. what do you suppose a royal offspring would be worth? - but we must trust each other, or there will be no stopping the royal families. they will dominate the world again. i want you to get to adalind before they do. - you must leave immediately. - you didn't get her? - someone tipped them off, and they escaped. - someone close to you has betrayed us both. - hey, you're gonna be okay. - aswang. - [gasps, screams] [grunts] - now that we know what we're dealing with, what do we tell wu? - we can't risk involving him in something that he doesn't understand. - but we can't let him think he's going crazy. - i know what i saw! [crumbling] - [grunting]

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