The Thing About Pam is that you couldn’t make this story up

In December 2011, Betsy Faria was stabbed 55 times, in her home in the small town of Troy, Missouri. That is a fact. What came before and after is so mind-bogglingly crazy that it’s hard to believe.

In the six-part limited series The Thing About Pam, Renée Zellweger plays Pam Hupp, a frumpy middle-aged woman with a tenuous grasp on reality and an audacious sense of entitlement. Just like a Karen. She even had the poster hairstyle.

Some criminals get away with things because they are clever; Pam Hupp – for a while at least – probably got away with murder because no one could believe anyone could be so daring. Despite her alleged love of money, she did it all for very little, in the greater scheme of things. Perhaps she was so confident she wouldn’t get caught that the relatively small return made the killing worthwhile in her mind.

Betsy (played by Katie Mixon) had terminal cancer, and a few days before her death, she made Pam the beneficiary of her life insurance policy to the tune of $150 000. That’s a clear motive right there; even us armchair prosecutors know that. Instead, Pam spun a story that turned the blame on Betsy’s husband, Russ (played by Glen Fleshler), and that’s who got convicted. He was sentenced to life without parole, which is pretty lousy.

Russ’s attorney Joel Schwartz (played by Josh Duhamel – remember him from Las Vegas, Transformers and not much else?) didn’t give up, and on appeal, evidentiary inconsistencies came to light as did alleged prosecutorial misconduct. It all fit into confirmation bias: the police and DA thought Russ was guilty, despite no concrete evidence and a strong alibi, and they went along with Pam’s outrageous claims. Russ’s sentence was overturned and he walked free.

In the meantime, however, Pam’s mother, who had dementia, fell to her death from the third storey balcony of the old age home where she lived. Pam was the last person to see her alive, and her blood contained eight times the recommended dosage of Ambien. It was initially ruled accidental; Pam benefited from her will too.

Was this enough for Pam? No, it was not. She was still out for Russ so she came up with the most insane plan of all to frame him for an alleged kidnapping of herself. During the course of this she shot and killed a man, Louis Gumpenberger, who had physical and mental disabilities following a car crash.

Pam never stood trial for this first degree murder, copping an Alford plea (“whereby a defendant in a criminal case does not admit to the criminal act and asserts innocence, but admits that the evidence presented by the prosecution would be likely to persuade a judge or jury to find the defendant guilty beyond a reasonable doubt”). This meant she was sent to prison for life without parole but could in effect claim she didn’t do it, despite evidence to the contrary. It sounds like madness but maybe she thought it better than a jury trial in a state that has the death penalty.

As it happened, none of this was laid to rest and the Betsy Faria case was reopened with the investigation now turned back to Pam, progressing painfully slowly due to Covid. And get this – “a preliminary hearing was scheduled for February 2022, but was delayed indefinitely after Hupp’s public defender died of a heart attack,” says HITC. As if we needed yet another “what the actual…?” moment in this insane saga.

This brings us up to date with the real Pam Hupp, the original “Karen”, as you’ll see in these moments from each episode of The Thing About Pam.

Episode 1 (She’s A Good Friend): Pam arrives at Betsy’s mother’s house, insisting she will take her home. Betsy had chemo that day and Pam was counting on her tired and weakened state to carry out her diabolical plan because it was also Russ’s game night with his friends. She already had motive (the life insurance); here was her opportunity. Betsy tries to dissuade her but Pam sits herself down and insists she’ll wait, until Betsy gives in.

Episode 2 (She’s A Helper): Pam is everywhere, sowing her seeds of interference that will point the finger of guilt at Russ – to the police, to Betsy’s family, to gossiping friends and neighbours. All in the name of doing “good” and aiding the investigation.

Episode 3 (She’s A Star Witness): It’s Russ’s trial and Pam’s moment to shine on the witness stand. This is all about her, and the TV cameras, and taking Russ down. How anyone could have taken her seriously, with her ditsy testimony, remains a mystery.

Episode 4 (She’s A Loving Daughter): With all her stories and lies – including only now mentioning at the stage of Russ’s retrial that she and Betsy had had a sexual relationship – Pam asserts she is “just doing my part”.

Episode 5 (She’s Not Who You Think She Is): Nothing to do with the case or murders, but Pam goes to a store to try to return something (clearly a scam) and literally asks to speak to the manager. You don’t get more Karen than that.

Episode 6 (She’s A Killer): After her frankly ridiculous attempt to set up her kidnapping and frame Russ for it, Pam claims “I am the victim here!”. In the police cruiser, she asks for the air conditioning to be turned down.

For more true-life crime dramas, stream Landscapers. Closer to home, Ellen: Die Ellen Pakkies Storie will break your heart.