Bone Deep

Untangling the Betsy Faria Case

By: Charles Bosworth, Joel Schwartz

Narrated by: Gary Bennett

Two days after Christmas, 2011, Russel Faria returned to his Troy, Missouri, home to find his wife, Betsy, dead, a knife still lodged in her neck. She had been stabbed 55 times in a brutal murder that would set off a chain of events leading to one man's wrongful conviction and imprisonment, another man's death, the revelation of a diabolical scheme, and an astounding miscarriage of justice left unresolved for another 10 years.

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 listeners 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.

©2022 Charles Bosworth Jr. (P)2022 Tantor

Courtroom Frustration

I couldn't believe that jurors didn't have better discernment. But if you like following murder trials, this one is for you.

Wow what a story!!!

This is a wild story that is told so well you will be hooked! I couldn’t put it down!

GREAT

if you like true crime and true court then you'll love it. just get it

The Power of Psychopathy

I don't think I've heard of a more terrifying "ordinary" person than Pam Hupp. The book conveys the sense of bewilderment and chaos she spread to the lives of those she wanted to use and how people we view as friends or as safe acquaintances might so easily strip of us everything by preying on our vulnerabilities. Good lesson on how the biases of law enforcement can enable people like Hupp.

Gripping

I’ve not binged a book like this in a long time!

Perfect. Not drug out… succinct... And fascinating.

Couldn’t stop listening

What a crazy story. I really enjoyed listening to this book. It was well written and the narrator was pleasant. Highly recommend.

Inept, corrupt, or both?

As a former prosecutor, I am dumbfounded, disappointed, and disgusted at the performance of prosecutor Chaney (who got married probably to change her name), the first trial judge (who, thankfully, was not long for the job), and the many police and sheriff employees who lied and urged the true killer to lie in order to convict this innocent man. It makes one wonder how many others have been railroaded in a similar fashion.

Great story made me emotional

Great story. it made me quite emotional. it was hard to keep track of who was who sometimes but this story sucked me in like a vacuum. I finished it in 2 days

Could not stop listening!

This had me hooked throughout the entire book! I will be watching the Dateline episode as soon as possible.

Excellent True Crime Read

The first true crime book I ever read was written by Charles Bosworth, Jr. Now I am a fan of the genre. Initially I was impressed by the obvious research, clear writing, and the focus on the jury trial in that case. I was not disappointed with Bone Deep. Again the research and writing are thorough and there is plenty of courtroom action. I hadn’t known about the Betsy Faria murder. I was fascinated by some of the information and infuriated at other times. I highly recommend this book.

Gary Bennet did a great job narrating this audiobook.