ST CHARLES, Mo. — Pamela Hupp was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole Monday in the murder of Louis Gumpenberger.
Gumpenberger, who had a traumatic brain injury, was killed at Hupp’s home in O’Fallon, Missouri, in August 2016. Prosecutors said in 2016 Pam Hupp lured Gumpenberger over to her home and shot and killed him while telling a 911 dispatcher he had held her at knifepoint and chased her into her home.
5 On Your Side's Jacob Long was in the court room when Hupp was sentenced. He spoke with the mother of and sister of Gumpenberger.
“I never thought my family would be here,” the sister of Louis Gumpenberger gave an emotional victim impact statement in court and called Hupp a 'disgusting monster who only cares about herself.'
In June, Hupp pleaded guilty to first-degree murder and armed criminal action in Gumpenberger's death. Hupp entered an Alford plea in court. An Alford plea means she accepts the fact that the state had enough evidence to convict her of the murder of Gumpenberger.
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.
In 2017, she entered a not guilty plea. Hupp has previously insisted shooting Gumpenberger in her home was self-defense.
Prosecutors believe that was all part of her plan to distract from another investigation in Lincoln County where Russ Faria’s wife Betsy was murdered in 2011. Russ spent two years in prison for her death before he got a new trial and his freedom when the finger was pointed at Pam Hupp. Hupp collected Betsy’s insurance money and reportedly later told investigators she was also Betsy's lover.
Faria attended Hupp’s sentencing on Monday.
Lohmar held a brief press conference Monday afternoon.
On Tuesday, Hupp's latest mugshot was released, which is her first photo since 2016. She’s in custody at women’s prison in Vandalia.