Leah Askey: The Prosecutor On Russ Farias Case, Where Is She Now?

May 2024 · 4 minute read

Leah Askey was the prosecutor on Russ Faria’s case. She is known for the way she handled the case that almost had Russ Faria wrongly convicted. Russ Faria got exonerated in the end and Leah Askey was voted out of office. Several people want to know more about Leah Askey. She does not appear to be listed on Wikipedia but some Wiki-bio pages are dedicated to her. Read on to know about Leah Askey’s story and where she is now.

Leah Askey: Bio Summary

NameLeah Askey
AgeN/A
GenderFemale
Famous asthe prosecutor on Russ Faria’s case
Careerprosecutor

Leah Askey is currently a former Lincoln County prosecutor. She is a graduate of Saint Louis University School of Law, where she earned her Juris Doctorate. She is known as the prosecutor in the Pam Betsy Faria case. Leah Askey was the lead prosecutor in the case against Russ Faria.

The character of Leah Askey is played by actress Judy Greer on the NBC television series ‘The Thing About Pam’ while Attorney Joel Schwartz (Josh Duhamel) represented Russ Faria both in 2013 and his appeal in 2015, in which he was found not guilty and his conviction was overturned.

The Thing About Pam is established on a true story as it follows the 2011 murder of Betsy Faria (played by Katy Mixon), who was stabbed to death 55 times in her home in Troy, Missouri, on December 27. The NBC TV series features real-life people including the lawyers who were involved in the trial of Russ Faria (Glenn Fleshler) in 2013: Leah Askey and Joel Schwartz.

Leah Askey was charged with both criminal and ethical misbehavior. She referred to Pam Hupp’s testimony as the centerpiece of her case. The case of Elizabeth “Betsy” Faria was tarnished by conflicts involving prosecutors and investigators on all sides.

Leah is said to have referred to Russ Faria as the husband who became enraged after his wife signed over her life insurance policy to Pam without his knowledge. She portrayed Russ as an angry and violent husband in her story, per Pam Hupp.

Pam Hupp is an American woman who murdered a woman named Louis Gumpenberger and is serving a life sentence for her crime. Louis Gumpenberger suffered from severe mental and physical impairments and was shot to death at Hupp’s home in Missouri.

Pam Hupp claimed that she had done so in self-defense and that Louis Gumpenberger had come into wielding a knife. This was not accepted by law enforcement and she was given a jail sentence.

Leah Askey was selected as the prosecutor for the Pam & Betsy Faria’s case. She had already experienced success in her professional life before the Betsy Faria homicide case was handed over to her. She characterized Russ as an abusive, pot-smoking man who was violent towards his wife.

Also Read: Melanie Olmstead: “Yellowstone”, What Happened To Her

Leah Askey ended up being blamed for having an affair with the then-captain of investigations at the Sheriff’s Office called Mike Lang. Leah however refuted the issue. She debunked the allegations and brought Russ back to court for the second time in 2015. Russ was found not guilty.

Following Russ Faria’s dismissal, he filed a lawsuit against three investigative officers and Leah Askey, accusing them of failing to consider exculpatory evidence. However, the judge dismissed her name from the suit. She was subjected to an investigation for ethical and criminal misconduct in 2017. The investigation did not point out the mismanagement of Russ Faria’s prosecution as a contributing factor.

Where Is Leah Askey Now?

In 2018, Leah Askey was reportedly voted out of office. In an interview with KSDK, Leah revealed that she was hunted by the possibility of securing a conviction for Russ Faria. He was not sentenced by the then-seated judge. Leah continues to feel bad about it, although the fault of the misinformation was on her reckless investigators and not all on her.

According to Leah, her grandfather told her that the only thing worse than a guilty person walking the streets is an innocent person going to prison. Though Russ didn’t go to prison, she still feels hurt and blames herself. It is reported that Leah Askey is now married with a new identity.

She is now Leah Wommack Chaney. She also owns and works at a private law firm, the Chaney Law Group. She has said, “They’ve attempted over and again to have me disbarred. They have alleged that I have done despicable things across the board. And every single time that they have done that, I have been cleared of all of that.”

ncG1vNJzZmivp6x7pbXCsqurnZ6ZwG%2BvzqZmpZ2RnXqiv8qesGasmJp6sb7OrJycraSkv267zWaprqujYrOivsiaqmabkaiybsPHnqmeZZmoerS0xGalqK9f