S01.E03: She’s a Star Witness

[Whimsy]

Quote

Pam gets her 15 minutes of fame when DA Leah Askey calls her to the stand as a witness for the prosecution even as Joel Schwartz tries to poke holes in the case against Russ.

Original airdate 3/22/22

[Melina22]

I'm enjoying this so much! I just hate only getting one hour a week. It's so frustrating! I want Pam to get her comeuppance. 

I had an epiphany about this show. Originally I felt bad for Betsy's family and Russ, that Betsy's death was being treated as a dark comedy. But now I've seen a few episodes, and how sympathetically the family is being treated I realized something. 

I've never had anyone in my family murdered, thank goodness, but I've lived through two really traumatic, long term situations, both perpetrated on purpose by selfish people for their own benefit. I pictured these injustices being made into TV shows where various family members and I were treated sympathetically, but the perpetrators were given the Pam Hupp treatment, treated as horrible cartoonish villains. I realized it would be incredibly cathartic and vindicating for me to watch. Oddly, it would be way more satisfying than a straight drama, which would probably make me feel way worse. I'm hoping Russ and Betsy's family are having the same experience. 

It reminds me of how they used to make cartoons about Hitler during WWII. Many people feel that ridiculing evil people is so much more powerful than just pointing out how evil they are. It takes away their power. 

Sorry to be so heavy. It's amazing what buttons a good dark comedy can press. But in a good way! 

[CraftyHazel]

This is making me so incredibly angry!!!  Pam Hupp is the absolute worst, but holy cow was that entire trial against Russ slanted to benefit Pam!  Between the prosecutor and the judge, Russ never stood a chance!

[Enigma X]

9 minutes ago, CraftyHazel said:

This is making me so incredibly angry!!!  Pam Hupp is the absolute worst, but holy cow was that entire trial against Russ slanted to benefit Pam!  Between the prosecutor and the judge, Russ never stood a chance!

This!!!

[Annber03]

3 minutes ago, CraftyHazel said:

This is making me so incredibly angry!!!  Pam Hupp is the absolute worst, but holy cow was that entire trial against Russ slanted to benefit Pam!  Between the prosecutor and the judge, Russ never stood a chance!

My mom said multiple times this episode, "Can someone just smack this judge already?" I'm trying to imagine being on the jury in this case, what they must've been thinking - obviously we know what they thought on one level, given the verdict in this episode, but as time went on, I would've been interested to see their reactions to everything else. 

I'm really liking Duhamel as Russ' attorney, Schwartz. I like how he and his partner interact, and I really like seeing how determined he is to get this right, and how incredibly exasperated he is with the bullshit that is this three-ring circus of a trial. I loved his confrontation with Pam when she was on the stand, trying to catch her in all her lies*. I thought maybe he'd point out that for a woman who claims she has trouble driving, she sure seemed to be in her car a lot on the night of Betsy's death. 

*("I can't remember everything I said. But I didn't say that!" Um. Okay. And when she tried to blame menopause for all the contradictions in her stories...I truly don't think I could've rolled my eyes any harder.)

I feel so bad for Russ and Betsy's daughters. I got genuinely nervous when the one daughter took a bottle of water from Pam - I was sitting here like, "NO! Do not take a single drink or piece of food from her!" 

And now we're getting into the "Dateline" portion of this case. Very interested to see how they'll cover that part of things, 'cause it's just another example of how crazy this case truly was. 

[Straycat80]

What a cluster that trial was! Poor Russ. I’m guessing because this was a small town the jurors, lawyer and judge all knew each other, hence the guilt verdict for Russ. 
And Pam putting the dead squirrel in that box to get back at her neighbor, pure evil. 

[gesundheit]

2 hours ago, Melina22 said:

I'm enjoying this so much! I just hate only getting one hour a week. It's so frustrating! I want Pam to get her comeuppance. 

This is the problem I'm having, too. They are doing a great job making me loathe her, but it's torture to have to keep waiting for the tide to turn.

Also I agree with the rest of your post about early discomfort around the comedy and seeing it in a new light now, and I have to say -- I feel like normally a show like this would make the central character fascinating and engaging, like even though you know they're bad and want them to get caught, you're excited to watch how they pull this stuff off. But this? No. I'm completely disgusted by her every breath. I want to see less of her and more of everyone else. So at least there's that. She's not an entertaining personality, she's just loathsome. Has to be a plus for the loved ones. (Betsy's daughters probably feel good that they're depicted as being annoyed by Pam from the outset, even before anything happened.)

[Melina22]

1 hour ago, gesundheit said:

She's not an entertaining personality, she's just loathsome

Absolutely. Renee is doing a fantastic job. I love her accent too. "I been thinkeen..." She really nails it. I'm mostly getting used to the prosthetics. 

[nora1992]

11 hours ago, CraftyHazel said:

This is making me so incredibly angry!!!  Pam Hupp is the absolute worst, but holy cow was that entire trial against Russ slanted to benefit Pam!  Between the prosecutor and the judge, Russ never stood a chance!

We can leave high school, but some mean girls and their acolytes never graduate to fully-formed humans.  

[Madding crowd]

This episode raised my blood pressure I was so angry. Did the judge really allow the DA to accuse Russ’ friends of helping with the murder? The whole trial seemed ridiculous. I’m hanging in to see evil Pam get what’s coming to her.

[Enigma X]

I have seen the Dateline and 48 Hours on all of Hupp's misdeeds, but I can't recall if the real-life judge for the Faria case was this bad. The prosecutor and police were really this bad. I am wondering how much of the judge's actions are embellished.

Edited March 23, 2022 by Enigma X

[Crs97]

The judge really wouldn’t let Joel mention the life insurance beneficiary change in Pam’s favor four days before Betsy’s death because it would “confuse the jury” so yes, she was that bad.

[chediavolo]

2 hours ago, Madding crowd said:

This episode raised my blood pressure I was so angry. Did the judge really allow the DA to accuse Russ’ friends of helping with the murder? The whole trial seemed ridiculous. I’m hanging in to see evil Pam get what’s coming to her.

Is that judge still employed. Should have thrown her out. And the DA too. Makes me so angry and also very scared of what can happen to innocent people. 

[dmfordo]

26 minutes ago, chediavolo said:

Is that judge still employed. Should have thrown her out. And the DA too. Makes me so angry and also very scared of what can happen to innocent people. 

The judge lost in the primary election in 2018.  She was also suspended in 2017 for six months by the Missouri Supreme Court for violating the judicial code of ethics on several cases.  There were three other cases (not the Faria case) that were appealed and turned over that caused her suspension.  Leah Askey also lost in the primary election in 2018.  It's nice to see the voters turned out and got rid of them.  

[JudyObscure]

I'm almost as mad at the jury as I am at the judge. 

Not one juror thought to say: Wait a minute, do you really think four casual friends would lie on the witness stand about a murder case?  If Pam Hupp can't remember whether or not she went in the victims house the very next morning, why would we respect her memory about anything?  If Gus didn't have time to leave Arby's, go home, stab his wife 50 times, shower and and change, why are we even here? 

They absolutely did not have proof beyond a reasonable doubt.  Maybe jurors should have to pass an IQ test.

[LexieLily]

Did Russ Faria reject the romantic advances of the prosecutor and/or the judge once upon a time? Because I can't think of another reason off the top of my head for that farce of a trial to happen the way it did. Between the judge, the prosecutor, and the detectives/police department it was almost like they had money on getting a conviction. Even accounting for the detectives taking leave of their senses and taking Pam Hupp at her word initially (which, duh, they really shouldn't have!), I don't understand why they laser-focused on Russ and didn't consider any other possibility.

That detective that sped 80 mph last week trying to force the trip from Arby's to the Faria house into the 'window of opportunity' should be fired.

And this - 

19 hours ago, Annber03 said:

I feel so bad for Russ and Betsy's daughters. I got genuinely nervous when the one daughter took a bottle of water from Pam - I was sitting here like, "NO! Do not take a single drink or piece of food from her!" 

I had the same thought last week; when Pam insisted that Betsy's sister needed a drink to calm herself down, I was convinced she was going to slip a sedative into it, if not some poisoned capsule. 

Edited March 23, 2022 by LexieLily

[Linderhill]

7 hours ago, LexieLily said:

That detective that sped 80 mph last week trying to force the trip from Arby's to the Faria house into the 'window of opportunity' should be fired.

I thought that as soon as he made the decision that Russ did it because of the way Russ was crying.  And then there was the idiocy of the Miranda rights.  I had to distract myself from the idiocy of the whole town because it was making me too mad.  

I work in a forensic lab, those lame excuses for the lack of luminol photos and the cell mapping, let alone the outdated polygraph machine and an obviously poorly train technician.   I hope they were all fired.

[Cozytea]

I've watched all the Dateline shows about this case so, I know how it all turns out but damn is it frustrating watching the DA and Judge,Cops all being ridiculous. I shouldn't judge others but how can everyone buy into Pam's act. Maybe I'm overly suspicious or my BS meter is set to high but I wouldn't be able to be around Pam. People who act overly familiar with me put me on edge.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Cozytea

[Fig Newton]

This show IS enjoyable, and cringeworthy, and oh so very frustrating. 

That trial was, well.............was something else. To think even if this were remotely true and largely "made for TV" that some aspects of the both the defense and prosecution were abhorrent. 

Askey is intolerable, and the Judge even worse. I can only imagine how aggravating this trial must have been for Schwartz. To see the law disintegrate while working it must have been infuriating. Yet, he did his best to maintain composure in the courtroom with a Judge who was so biased that I don't know how he kept his shit together. 
Things are going to get interesting with the Dateline people arriving and I can assume that the friend of Schwartz's partner (Hmmm, what is his name) that came up to him in the bar will be a pivotal character as the story moves forward.

Renee is just killing it ! (No pun intended! 🤭)

[JudyObscure]

17 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Did Russ Faria reject the romantic advances of the prosecutor and/or the judge once upon a time? Because I can't think of another reason off the top of my head for that farce of a trial to happen the way it did. Between the judge, the prosecutor, and the detectives/police department it was almost like they had money on getting a conviction.

I think we had a hint when the prosecutor told someone they had called the judge "tinkle" in school. (Then tried to cover by saying the others called her that.) I'm guessing the prosecutor was a popular mean girl and the judge was a nerd on the outside.  She's still trying to suck-up to Miss Popular and be her BFF.

Plus you might be right about Russ rejecting them, too.  He was probably a football player.

[pasdetrois]

18 hours ago, LexieLily said:

Did Russ Faria reject the romantic advances of the prosecutor and/or the judge once upon a time? Because I can't think of another reason off the top of my head for that farce of a trial to happen the way it did.

There were subtle hints that the judge, DA and jurors were conservative and religious, and that they all judged Russ and perhaps his family for being uncouth. (The fighting, drinking, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.  And Russ appears to be a bit dim.). They were ready to convict. Typical small-town meanness.

There's an expression "I'm not a XXXXXXX, but I play one on TV." Well, I'm not an attorney but TV (and history) have taught me to not trust law enforcement and the judicial system. Even in my own progressive and diverse community, there has been at least one known egregious case of prosecutorial misconduct. I think it's a desperation to be re-elected to office.

I'm a trustee for two family trusts (the routine revocable kind that protect routine assets - anyone can create one). How did Pam get away with the money shenanigans?

Edited March 24, 2022 by pasdetrois

[Irlandesa]

I thought the theatricality of the dream Pam had at the beginning of the episode had a bit of a Chicago feeling to it.

If I were Joel, I think I would have brought up that it was ridiculous she could accuse the four guys of a conspiracy to protect but I couldn't bring up all the evidence that Pam was the guilty party. Sure, it would have led to a mistrial but at that point, who cares?

11 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

I'm a trustee for two family trusts (the routine revocable kind that protect routine assets - anyone can create one). How did Pam get away with the money snenanigans?

I am not familiar with trusts but the insurance policies didn't start out in trusts.  They were pure insurance policies that were paid out.  To deflect from making it seem like it was a motive for Pam, she said it was to set up a trust for the girls.  The DA in the last episode asked if the trusts had been created yet and to make sure they got done.  I'm guessing that Pam set up the trust that she could do what she wanted with the money.

[Cozytea]

2 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

I think we had a hint when the prosecutor told someone they had called the judge "tinkle" in school. (Then tried to cover by saying the others called her that.) I'm guessing the prosecutor was a popular mean girl and the judge was a nerd on the outside.  She's still trying to suck-up to Miss Popular and be her BFF.

Plus you might be right about Russ rejecting them, too.  He was probably a football player.

I thought the DA said they called the Judge "cankles" but I might have miss heard.

I don't think Russ rejected anyone lol. I think the DA and Cops had tunnel vision and Russ wasn't The DA's kind of person. She seemed very dismissive of his hobbies and friends and some mean girls  grow up to be mean women.  Small town cliques are very real.

Edited March 24, 2022 by Cozytea

[nomodrama]

 

11 minutes ago, Cozytea said:

I thought the DA said they called the Judge "cankle" but I might have missed heard.

Yep it was "cankles". 

This is so hard to watch because of the absolute rage that I have felt at how incompetent and despicable the detective, prosecutor and judge are. It's disgusting. I hope that they are watching, I hope their family are watching and everyone that knows them personally is watching and that they are experiencing the most intense form of embarrassment imaginable right now. 

I wonder if Shwartz really did have Pam's number that early on and if so that is even more frustrating that it took 2 years for them to turn things around on this. 

The only good part of the episode was the girls faces when Shwartz revealed what Pam had said about them re: the trust money. 

1 hour ago, pasdetrois said:

There's an expression "I'm not a XXXXXXX, but I play one on TV." Well, I'm not an attorney but TV (and history) have taught me to not trust law enforcement and the judicial system. Even in my own progressive and diverse community, there has been at least one known egregious case of prosecutorial misconduct. I think it's a desperation to be re-elected to office.

I'm a trustee for two family trusts (the routine revocable kind that protect routine assets - anyone can create one). How did Pam get away with the money shenanigans?

This BIG TIME! TV has taught me what not to do in if I'm ever in this case and rule number one is to TRUST NO ONE on the law enforcement side. That's is sad and not at all the way that the justice system is supposed to work but its a messed up world that we live in. Also, are a judge and prosecutor that are working the same case allowed to interact socially right before a trial???! That seems insane! 

Also, my husband's question when Pam made the phone call to withdraw the money from the trust was how the heck she could do that. I don't think trusts work that way. 

[Cinnabon]

1 hour ago, nomodrama said:

 

Yep it was "cankles". 

This is so hard to watch because of the absolute rage that I have felt at how incompetent and despicable the detective, prosecutor and judge are. It's disgusting. I hope that they are watching, I hope their family are watching and everyone that knows them personally is watching and that they are experiencing the most intense form of embarrassment imaginable right now. 

I wonder if Shwartz really did have Pam's number that early on and if so that is even more frustrating that it took 2 years for them to turn things around on this. 

The only good part of the episode was the girls faces when Shwartz revealed what Pam had said about them re: the trust money. 

This BIG TIME! TV has taught me what not to do in if I'm ever in this case and rule number one is to TRUST NO ONE on the law enforcement side. That's is sad and not at all the way that the justice system is supposed to work but its a messed up world that we live in. Also, are a judge and prosecutor that are working the same case allowed to interact socially right before a trial???! That seems insane! 

Also, my husband's question when Pam made the phone call to withdraw the money from the trust was how the heck she could do that. I don't think trusts work that way. 

Since it was a revocable trust, she could do anything she wanted (vs irrevocable.) She only created it for show during the trial. My question has always been - WHY did Betsy ask/agree to making Pam the beneficiary right before her death? 

[Cozytea]

31 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Since it was a revocable trust, she could do anything she wanted (vs irrevocable.) She only created it for show during the trial. My question has always been - WHY did Betsy ask/agree to making Pam the beneficiary right before her death? 

I have the same question, why did Betsy do that? I guess if we are to believe how good Pam was at manipulating people, that could be the answer.  In one episode they said one of the daughters had stole money from the grandmother and I believe the same daughter had a boyfriend that Russ and Betsy didn't care for. So having all that and Pam in her ear and telling Betsy that she(Pam) would better taking care of the money and to make sure that Russ and the girls didn't just run through the money. We see that Pam didn't take a no from Betsy easily.  So probably just the constant "I will take of your girls".   made Betsy cave, idk what an awful mistake on her part. 

Edited March 24, 2022 by Cozytea

[Annber03]

2 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

There's an expression "I'm not a XXXXXXX, but I play one on TV." Well, I'm not an attorney but TV (and history) have taught me to not trust law enforcement and the judicial system. Even in my own progressive and diverse community, there has been at least one known egregious case of prosecutorial misconduct. I think it's a desperation to be re-elected to office.

Agreed. And Russ, thankfully, didn't get the death penalty here, but cases like this are a perfect example of why I have always been anti-death penalty, too, because people have been sentenced and put to death in cases that were equally as bungled as this one was. Imagine this kind of ineptness and corruption with Russ' actual life being on the line and it becomes that much more infuriating and terrifying. 

Another thing that tends to bug me about a lot of prosecutors I see in these kinds of stories on "Dateline" and other shows is how incredibly dramatic they think they have to be in the courtroom, turning their arguments into these grandiose speeches and coming in with all these props and whatnot to really drive home their arguments and everything. They always come off like they think they're auditioning for "Law & Order" or something. You can definitely tell the prosecutors that seem to care more about getting their fifteen minutes of airtime and potential fame, than they do actually making sure they have a strong, logical, factual case to present to the jury. 

[LexieLily]

38 minutes ago, Cinnabon said:

Since it was a revocable trust, she could do anything she wanted (vs irrevocable.) She only created it for show during the trial. My question has always been - WHY did Betsy ask/agree to making Pam the beneficiary right before her death? 

Did Betsy make the beneficiary change of her own free will or did Pam do it for her/forge the signature(s)? I don't know anything about this case beyond what I've seen here but I wouldn't put it past her. True-crime watching has made me overly suspicious of everything, lol. 

[Cozytea]

The beneficiary thing bugs me so much. I  just remembered  that scene in the last episode (?) At Pam's daughter wedding reception, they were all dancing and having fun then out the blue Pam starts yammering on about the daughter didnt want Betsy's DJ package when the daughter tried to shut her up, P says well I'm paying for it and look how fun it is blahblah , all of a sudden Betsy decides not to charge her at all... Pam did it while smiling and dancing , of course she got that life insurance . Wow.

[Annber03]

14 minutes ago, LexieLily said:

Did Betsy make the beneficiary change of her own free will or did Pam do it for her/forge the signature(s)? I don't know anything about this case beyond what I've seen here but I wouldn't put it past her. True-crime watching has made me overly suspicious of everything, lol. 

Yeah, I'm trying to remember exactly how that went down, too, but you're right to be suspicious. We've all seen the stories where people are able to find some way to manipulate someone into making them the beneficiary, after all - some people have REALLY good persuasion skills, or know how to distract others just enough, to get their way. 

(I always love the moments in these kinds of cases when someone finagles it to where they're the beneficiary, or think they are, only to realize after the murder that either a) there is no money, for some reason or another (or not as much as they'd thought/hoped), or b) someone came in at the last minute and changed the beneficiary back, often precisely because they rightly didn't trust this person who wanted to have control of the life insurance benefits.) 

[pasdetrois]

1 hour ago, Cinnabon said:

WHY did Betsy ask/agree to making Pam the beneficiary right before her death? 

I suspect Betsy did not understand the nature of a revocable trust, and the power it gave Pam to do what she wanted with the money.

[Cinnabon]

17 minutes ago, pasdetrois said:

I suspect Betsy did not understand the nature of a revocable trust, and the power it gave Pam to do what she wanted with the money.

I believe Pam opened the trust, not Betsy.

[pasdetrois]

Yes, but I think when Betsy heard the words "trust" and "I will be sure your girls get the money" she did not realize Pam would have the power to do whatever she wanted with the money. Or she trusted Pam to do the right thing.

Maybe the show sidestepped some more serious problems with Russ and the daughters being irresponsible. Maybe Betsy believed Pam was the only safe choice.

[RunningMarket]

Since the show started, I have read up on the case, so I do know where this ends up going. But the one thing I cannot figure out is motivation. I'm guessing Pam is your basic raging narcissist to start.

Edited March 24, 2022 by RunningMarket
missing a word

[Cinnabon]

2 minutes ago, RunningMarket said:

Since the show started, I have read up on the case, so I do know where this ends up going. But the one thing I cannot figure out is motivation. I'm guessing Pam is your basic raging narcissist to start.

The money! She needed that facelift, doncha know? And I wonder if her disability claims were true, or if she got denied, and panicked about that.

[JudyObscure]

8 hours ago, pasdetrois said:

There were subtle hints that the judge, DA and jurors were conservative and religious, and that they all judged Russ and perhaps his family for being uncouth. (The fighting, drinking, Dungeons and Dragons, etc.

Didn't we see them all getting drunk and rowdy at the local bar?  

7 hours ago, Cozytea said:

I thought the DA said they called the Judge "cankles" but I might have miss heard.

I don't think Russ rejected anyone lol. I think the DA and Cops had tunnel vision and Russ wasn't The DA's kind of person. She seemed very dismissive of his hobbies and friends and some mean girls  grow up to be mean women.  Small town cliques are very real.

Sorry, I miss heard that.  I heard  "tinkles" and pictured the judge wetting her pants. It was fun while it lasted.!

Oh, I know they scorn Russ now, but we had dumb guys in high school who went nowhere later, but as long as they were playing football we liked them.

[nora1992]

7 hours ago, Cozytea said:

I thought the DA said they called the Judge "cankles" but I might have miss heard.

I don't think Russ rejected anyone lol. I think the DA and Cops had tunnel vision and Russ wasn't The DA's kind of person. She seemed very dismissive of his hobbies and friends and some mean girls  grow up to be mean women.  Small town cliques are very real.

Cliques are in big cities too - there are just more of them.  And more wannabes.  Sometimes I wonder who does more damage: the mean girl or the wannabe sucking up to her.  This behavior isn’t gender-particular, but my own experience hasn’t involved males.

Edited March 24, 2022 by nora1992
Correction

[Whimsy]

Posts were removed due to not following the rules about this show. See red mod notice below. 

[chediavolo]

17 hours ago, Cozytea said:

The beneficiary thing bugs me so much. I  just remembered  that scene in the last episode (?) At Pam's daughter wedding reception, they were all dancing and having fun then out the blue Pam starts yammering on about the daughter didnt want Betsy's DJ package when the daughter tried to shut her up, P says well I'm paying for it and look how fun it is blahblah , all of a sudden Betsy decides not to charge her at all... Pam did it while smiling and dancing , of course she got that life insurance . Wow.

Betsy was quite gullible unfortunately. 

[Enigma X]

1 hour ago, chediavolo said:

Betsy was quite gullible unfortunately. 

Betsy comes off as being timid and not having the self esteem to speak up for herself. So, Pam types just walk all over her. I don't mean this to be mean. I had to learn to not be a Betsy.

[Cozytea]

19 minutes ago, Enigma X said:

Betsy comes off as being timid and not having the self esteem to speak up for herself. So, Pam types just walk all over her. I don't mean this to be mean. I had to learn to not be a Betsy.

This is very true. Pam types are very good at finding Betsy types. 

[mostlylurking]

22 hours ago, JudyObscure said:

Sorry, I miss heard that.  I heard  "tinkles" and pictured the judge wetting her pants. It was fun while it lasted.!

I thought I read the same thing and was thinking to myself like see this is why it’s so important to potty train early kids are such assholes….ha!

[Court]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:31 AM, Enigma X said:

I have seen the Dateline and 48 Hours on all of Hupp's misdeeds, but I can't recall if the real-life judge for the Faria case was this bad. The prosecutor and police were really this bad. I am wondering how much of the judge's actions are embellished.

I'll go post in the other thread. I googled the judge after this episode because I was wondering the same thing. 

[JudyObscure]

On 3/25/2022 at 9:45 AM, Cozytea said:

Pam types are very good at finding Betsy types. 

And if Pam thinks you're a Betsy type and then you turn out to have a mind of your own, you get a dead squirrel in a box.

[AzraeltheCat]

On 3/23/2022 at 10:31 AM, Enigma X said:

I have seen the Dateline and 48 Hours on all of Hupp's misdeeds, but I can't recall if the real-life judge for the Faria case was this bad. The prosecutor and police were really this bad. I am wondering how much of the judge's actions are embellished.

I've been trying to find some of the info on Westlaw, but it most of it doesn't seem to be readily available.  But I did find Schwartz's brief on Russ's appeal.  Particularly interesting was his argument regarding the impropriety of DA's closing argument in which she conjectured, with NO evidence, that the alibi witnesses were in on it, had held Russ's phone, gone to the Arby's etc.  This is from the transcript of what the judge allowed: 

"I'm going to tell you how I think it happened.

I think--How did [Mr. Faria] do it? He decided that this would be the ultimate role play. The ultimate game. The ultimate way to stage, but it required all hands on deck.

It required a pretty good script, one that could be committed to memory and one that could be anticipated. Anticipation of every move.

Now I'm not suggesting that he knew all along that December 27th was going to be the day, but I am suggesting that months before, maybe years before, he had the idea and I think he brought it to his friends.

I think he talked about it. How would we do this? How would the ultimate role play happen?

And so the ball starts rolling. The momentum starts gaining. He makes all of these stops so that he can establish an alibi. Not a bad idea.

He laid it out. Cancelled dinner with his Mom because he had lots of errands to run. You heard of the errands that he ran. He got down there and he said, tonight's the night.

He leaves his phone and he heads back to Troy. "

This seems pretty close to the dialog on the show.  In his brief, Schwartz mentioned how many times she said "I think" [instead of "the evidence shows"].  Also noted that she never asked the alibi witnesses if they knew of Russ's alleged plan, or had gone to the Arby's or anything that could conceivably be considered part of the evidence. 

On 3/24/2022 at 10:43 AM, pasdetrois said:

'm a trustee for two family trusts (the routine revocable kind that protect routine assets - anyone can create one). How did Pam get away with the money shenanigans?

Originally, I assumed it was an actual trust, but on the show, she calls the bank to transfer $ to her personal account. So instead of an actual trust, I think she set up a separate bank account that was "Pam Hupp in trust for Daughters 1 and 2 Faria" or something like that. You can set one of those up with the intention of the money passing to the others when you die; it goes directly to the named and bypasses the probate estate.  Those types of accounts are revocable at will at the discretion of the owner, here Pam.  Don't know if that's what happened in real life, but from the dialog on the show, I think that's what it was and why it was so easy for her to take the money for herself. 

Edited March 30, 2022 by AzraeltheCat

[LexieLily]

On 3/22/2022 at 9:44 PM, CraftyHazel said:

This is making me so incredibly angry!!!  Pam Hupp is the absolute worst, but holy cow was that entire trial against Russ slanted to benefit Pam!  Between the prosecutor and the judge, Russ never stood a chance!

Between the way Pam and DA Askey manipulated the oldest (youngest?) stepdaughter into saying what they wanted her to say on the stand and the way Pam had her mom (?) be a spy for her in the courtroom, I don't know what to say about the trial that hasn't already been said. 

Isn't it Prosecutorial Witnessing 101 that you aren't allowed any contact with the courtroom or the players involved until it is your turn to be called? And aren't the witnesses supposed to be held in separate rooms, anyway, not one big room like Pam and the cops were in?

[LadyintheLoop]

"I wanna play something else, Mom. This one cheats!"

"Nonononono, honey. We already have tokens in this machine!"

 

I love a good metaphor.

[Whimsy]

22 hours ago, LadyintheLoop said:

"I wanna play something else, Mom. This one cheats!"

"Nonononono, honey. We already have tokens in this machine!"

 

I love a good metaphor.

It’s a clever metaphor, but I also think she wanted to stay there as she was visible to the DA. She wanted to engage with the DA without being obvious. 

[bluegirl147]

Between watching this and the Dropout I think I need to watch something with a likable female lead that doesn't make me want to reach through the screen and punch them.  Even knowing the outcome of both doesn't make me hate these women any less.  

And as already posted by other posters the prosecutor and everyone else involved with the investigation and trial should be ashamed of themselves.  Did i read somewhere the prosecutor still believes the husband did it?

[LadyintheLoop]

17 hours ago, Whimsy said:

I also think she wanted to stay there as she was visible to the DA.

That dialogue was actually between the DA and her daughter. It was just one instance of Askey falling for the Sunk Costs Fallacy.