that the Faria case had inspired him to run for the job. In February 2021, Wood stated that the COVID-19 pandemic had slowed the investigation, but that he expected "significant announcements" in the summer or fall. On July 8, 2021, Hupp was interviewed in connection with the murder of Betsy for the first time. On July 12, 2021, Wood charged Hupp with the first-degree murder of Betsy Faria and with armed criminal action. Court documents filed by Wood asserted that Hupp murdered Betsy for financial gain. Wood stated that he would seek the death penalty for Hupp due to the "heinousness and depravity" of the crime. The prosecution alleged that Hupp repeatedly stabbed Betsy while she was asleep on her sofa and weakened from her chemotherapy treatment, then removed her socks and used them to spread blood around the house to try to give the impression of domestic violence before replacing them on Betsy's feet. The court documents noted the following points: Hupp had been named the sole beneficiary on a $150,000 life insurance policy held by Betsy days before the murder; following her death, she did not give any of the money from the policy to Betsy's daughters despite her reported wishes. Hupp insisted upon driving Betsy home from her chemotherapy treatment despite Betsy already having transportation arranged and despite Hupp claiming not to be familiar with the Troy area. The position of Betsy's body suggested that she was murdered by someone she trusted. Hupp texted "home" to Betsy's phone at 7:20 p.m. yet cellphone records showed that Hupp's cellphone was still in the vicinity of Faria's home at the time. Wood also stated that he would be investigating potential prosecutorial misconduct in the original murder investigation, stating it had been "mismanaged from the beginning" and driven by confirmation bias against Russ. He suggested that the actions by investigators and prosecutors concerned could constitute gross negligence or "calculated criminal behavior". He further suggested that, by the time of Russ' second trial, Lincoln County prosecutors were acting to protect their own civil liability rather than seeking justice. Wood noted that a destruction order had been made in November 2015, the time of Russ' acquittal, but never actioned; had it been actioned, the order would have resulted in physical evidence connected with the case being destroyed. In response to Wood's announcement, Leah Wommack Chaney gave an interview in which she denied