The St. Charles County woman convicted of murdering a stranger with a traumatic brain injury as part of a bizarre plot to deflect attention away from herself in another murder will officially learn her fate on Monday.
Pam Hupp, 60, is scheduled to appear in court at 1:30 p.m. for a sentencing hearing. It is widely expected that she will get life in prison without the possibility of parole or probation.
In June, Hupp switched her plea to guilty in connection to the fatal shooting of Louis Gumpenberger, 33, inside her own home three years ago.
The guilty plea was part of an agreement Hupp reached with the state. In exchange, St. Charles County Prosecuting Attorney Tim Lohmar agreed to take the death penalty off the table.
Lohmar previously told 5 On Your Side Gumpenberger's family was pleased with the deal.
"She will never spend another day of her life outside a prison cell," Lohmar said at a news conference after announcing Hupp's guilty plea.
Under the agreement, Hupp admitted that had the case gone to trial prosecutors would've presented enough evidence to convict her, but she hasn't admitted to actual guilt.
“I don’t think she has the courage to say that she did it. She has shown that she’s a coward and she’s manipulative from day one, so it doesn’t surprise me that’s how we got there,” Lohmar said previously.
Police were called to Hupp's O'Fallon, Missouri home for a reported home invasion and shooting in August 2016.
Hupp had picked Gumpenberger up in her SUV and offered him money under the premise she was a Dateline NBC producer looking to create 911 calls.
Gumpenberger, according to family and prosecutors, suffered from a traumatic brain injury and did not have an IQ appropriate to his age.
Once at Hupp's home, she then claimed Gumpenberger was armed with a knife, forced himself inside and was looking for "Russ' money."
Hupp originally claimed she shot and killed Gumpenberger to protect herself.
But it was all an elaborate rouse to distract from her possible involvement in another death investigation in Lincoln County.
In 2011, Hupp's close friend, Betsy Faria, was found stabbed to death in her Troy, Missouri home.
Faria's husband, Russ, spent two years in prison for the crime before getting a new trial and eventually being found not guilty.
Faria's attorney and many of his supporters have long suspected Hupp as being involved in Betsy's death.
Hupp was the sole beneficiary of Betsy's life insurance policy, a change that occurred shortly before Betsy's death. Hupp was also the last person to see Betsy alive.
Hupp has not been charged with any crime as relates to Betsy's murder, but Lincoln County prosecutors are now reviewing the case.
5 On Your Side will be in the courtroom for Monday's hearing and will have the latest information as it becomes available.