Where is Russ Faria Now and What Has He Said About Carol McAfee Romance?
Russ Faria was wrongfully convicted of his wife Betsy's 2011 murder, a sentence that was later overturned by a bench trial in 2015.
His trial and the involvement of Betsy's friend Pam Hupp in the case are the focus of NBC's true crime series The Thing About Pam.
The drama focuses on Hupp (Renée Zellweger) more than it does Faria (Glenn Fleshler) in later episodes, so fans are no doubt wondering what happened to him and where he is now.
Where is Russ Faria Now and What Has He Said About Carol McAfee Romance?
After his wrongful conviction Faria was unable to mend the broken family bond he had with Betsy's daughters Leah and Mariah Day.
Fleshler told Newsweek that when they spoke together before he started working on the show, Faria had made it "very clear that there was indeed a break there, which is unfortunate."
Faria struggled to reintegrate in the community he knew because they were convinced of his guilt, Fleshler shared.
"Almost an entire town turned on Russ, everybody thought that he did it, he only had a couple of people who stayed by his side," the actor told Newsweek. "You can imagine how isolated you would feel, how alienated, if everyone [did that], his whole [life was ruined], he couldn't go back to his church anymore.
"Many family members, certainly Betsy's family, turned on him and they were convinced of his guilt. It's not like they were doing it maliciously, they had had somebody near and dear ripped away from them. It's very painful in that way."
Despite this struggle, Faria has been able to find some peace in the aftermath of the difficult experience as it introduced him to Carol McAfee.
McAfee, then Carol Alford, had a run-in with Hupp when she impersonated a Dateline producer in 2016 and offered her $1000 to re-enact a 911 phone call.
Despite initially agreeing, McAfee changed her mind and returned home. Hupp then targeted Louis Gumpenberger who she later shot and killed, claiming it was self-defense because he was a home invader.
Hupp is currently serving a life sentence in prison for the killing of Gumpenberger, for which she entered an Alford plea which meant she admitted police had enough evidence to convict her but she didn't admit guilt to the crime itself.
It was at Hupp's trial that Faria and McAfee first met, with the latter telling Fox2 that she apologized to her future partner for what happened to Betsy, and said she hoped he would "find happiness."
Faria and McAfee later started dating and they are now engaged, and in the same interview with Fox2 Russ said: "Out of all this bad—and this bad, bad evil person, I mean she's evil incarnate—if it weren't for her, I wouldn't have met this lovely lady here. I think we both make each other pretty happy."
He added: "It's been a long journey. It'll be 10 years this year that all of this began and, you know, I just want people to see there is a life after."
McAfee shared that she knows "part of his heart's always going to be with" Betsy and she respects that, with Faria saying that his fiancée is being supportive of him as he continues to seek justice for his late wife.
"That means everything. That's part of why we're sitting here today—together. She knows I'm still on a journey and I have chosen to complete that journey and I've accepted it and I want (justice for Betsy) to happen. I want it to come through," Faria said.
The Thing About Pam finale airs Tuesday, April 12 at 10 p.m. ET on NBC.
Uncommon Knowledge
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Newsweek is committed to challenging conventional wisdom and finding connections in the search for common ground.
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