Perjury charges shine new light on 2011 murder trial linked to Pam Hupp

LINCOLN COUNTY, Mo. (First Alert 4) - A crime scene investigator who testified during two murder trials has been accused of lying on the stand.

Michael Merkel has been charged with two counts of perjury in a criminal trial to secure a conviction of murder, in association with the trial of Russell Faria and the death of his wife, Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria, in 2011. The charges accuse Merkel of lying, resulting in Russell’s imprisonment before his release after a retrial, and delayed sentencing for Pamela Hupp, who was later charged with Betsy’s death.

According to court documents, Betsy Faria was stabbed around 55 times and died in her home on December 27, 2011, with the knife left in her neck. A 911 call was made by her husband, Russell Faria, when he returned home.

On January 3, 2012, a search warrant was issued by the Lincoln County Sheriff’s Office, with Merkel stating he used a product called Bluestar for luminescent blood testing. He stated that photographs taken at this time showed “absolutely nothing” due to a malfunction with the camera he was using, a Nikon D80. That same day, investigators logged 132 photographs as evidence.

According to court records, most of the photographs have distinguishable content, except for seven that appeared blank. Once the seven photographs were enhanced, they showed the kitchen counter, with the photographs taken in low light.

The Bluestar manual states that the reaction is “very bright” but that reactions to highly diluted blood or blood traces are better found in the dark.

Merkel was questioned under oath on March 19, 2013, ing Bluestar in the Faria home. During questioning, Merkel said he “believed” he had been told about the picture results, but could not by whom. After this, Merkel said the photos showed “absolutely nothing” due to a camera malfunction.

Court documents say that on January 1, 2013, Merkel submitted a report on using Bluestar and made no comment about the camera malfunctioning.

In a cross-examination on November 3, 2015, during a retrial for Russell Faria, Merkel said that his statement that the photos showed “absolutely nothing” was in reference to the lack of luminescence in the photos.

According to court documents, a review of the crime scene photos showed the blue luminescence without enhancement in four photographs and traces of it in three. The documents also say a review of the photos shows “negligence” from investigators in “failing to preserve the integrity of the crime scene.”

The same camera Merkel used was submitted for repairs in March 2013 for an unrelated error message during training, and had been used twice after Merkel. In the months between the Bluestar test and the training report, no Crime Scene Unit personnel reported a malfunction in the camera.

Faria’s conviction was later overturned, and he was acquitted at retrial in 2015. He pointed suspicion at Hupp during his criminal trials and in a lawsuit against Lincoln County officials.

Hupp is scheduled to go on trial in August 2026.