Judge: Woman Who Arranged Husband's Killing Is 'Pure Evil'

Texas' Jennifer Faith gets life in prison for murder for hire
By Arden Dier,  Newser Staff
Posted Jun 23, 2022 12:40 PM CDT
Judge: Woman Who Arranged Husband's Killing Is 'Pure Evil'
Jennifer Faith, left, and Darrin Ruben Lopez.   (Dallas County Sheriff's Department)

A Texas woman who convinced an ex-lover to kill her husband with false tales of sexual abuse, then gave the man gifts and money using funds donated to a GoFundMe account she set up for herself as a victim, has been sentenced to life in prison. On Oct. 9, 2020, Jamie Faith was shot seven times as he and his wife stepped out of their Oak Cliff home. "I just hope that at some point maybe this person can recognize the gravity of what they've done," a tearful Jennifer Faith told WFAA in December 2020 as she pleaded for her husband's killer to come forward. But prosecutors say Faith knew who had fired the shots. Allegedly, it was her high school sweetheart Darrin Ruben Lopez, whom she called her "one and only love," per the Washington Post.

The pair had been in "near constant contact" since reconnecting in March 2020, according to the US Attorney’s Office for the Northern District of Texas. Soon after, Faith created email accounts in the name of her husband and a friend, which she used to send Lopez graphic depictions of sexual abuse against her, per Law & Crime. Lopez replied that he'd like to "put a bullet in Jamie's head," according to court documents. After he allegedly did just that, Faith publicly said the killer had escaped in a black Nissan Titan truck with a Texas Rangers sticker but privately told Lopez to remove the sticker from the truck she knew to be his, authorities say. They say she also created a GoFundMe account and used the donations to send Lopez money and gifts.

"Ms. Faith put on quite a performance," US Attorney Chad Meacham said in a statement Tuesday. "But crocodile tears didn’t stop the feds." She was charged in September 2021 with use of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire; in accepting a plea deal, Faith avoided a potential death sentence, according to the Attorney's Office. US District Judge Jane J. Boyle described the 49-year-old as "pure evil" in sentencing her to life in prison for murder for hire on Tuesday. She was also ordered to pay a $250,000 fine as well as $6,500 in restitution to Jamie's family. Lopez, arrested in January 2021, is awaiting trial on a state murder charge and federal firearms charge. The man who called himself Faith's "knight" has pleaded not guilty in both cases, per the Post. (More murder stories.)

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