Casefile True Crime - Case 293: Jamie Faith (Part 2)

Episode Date: August 24, 2024

[Part 2 of 2] After arresting Darrin Lopez for the murder of Jamie Faith, detectives were confident they had solved the case – but the biggest revelation was yet to come. --- Narration – Anonymous Host Research & writing – Milly Raso Creative direction – Milly Raso Production and music – Mike Migas Music – Andrew D.B. Joslyn Sign up for Casefile Premium: Apple Premium Spotify Premium Patreon For all credits and sources, please visit https://casefilepodcast.com/case-293-jamie-faith-part-2

Our episodes deal with serious and often distressing incidents. If you feel at any time you need support, please contact your local crisis centre. For suggested phone numbers for confidential support and for a more detailed list of content warnings, please see the show notes for this episode on your app or on our website. Whenever Darren Lopez heard the song What Might Might Have Been, by country music band Little Texas, his mind wandered and he began to reminisce. In the song, the narrator laments to a former romantic partner about the fact that he cannot change the past and there's no way of knowing what their relationship might have become.

Darren was drawn to the thoughtful lyrics which included lines like, We could sit and talk about this all night long and wonder why we didn't last. Yes, they might be the best days we will ever know, but we'll have to leave them in the past. Darren first heard what might have been in 1996 after returning home from military deployment in South Korea. The song evoked happy memories of his youth in Arizona, specifically of his high school sweetheart, Jennifer Nichols. The pair had met when they were both 15 in their school's jazz band and maintained a mutual friendship for several years until a three-week-long school trip to Europe brought them closer together. By the end of that first week, Darren and Jennifer were officially boyfriend and girlfriend.

They shared their first kiss under the Eiffel Tower. From then on, the pair were inseparable. Jennifer admired Darren's politeness, his organisational skills, and the way he made her feel so safe. They attended prom together, Jennifer in a sleeveless red dress and Darren in a suit with a red bow tie to match. As they entered college, they shared hopes that they would one day marry. But it wasn't meant to be. Darren dropped out and followed in his father's footsteps by joining the army. Jennifer opted to stay put and continue pursuing her education in health sciences. education in health sciences. In 1993, as their paths in life naturally deviated, the pair amicably split.

Years passed with no contact between them, yet anytime Darren heard what might have been, his thoughts turned to Jennifer. He wondered where she was, what she was doing, and who she might be with. Most of all, he truly wished her the best. 2019 wasn't a good year for Darren Lopez. He had separated from his wife, lost touch with friends and barely had any contact with anyone. He was never big on technology and had forgotten the passwords to his long neglected social media accounts.

His daughters were mostly grown up and off experiencing life. The younger ones split their time between Darren and his ex-wife, though spent most of their time with their mother. On New Year's Eve, Darren resolved to spend 2020 getting back into life and reconnecting with people. Then the COVID-19 pandemic hit. As lockdowns, quarantines, travel and social restrictions were deployed across the country, Darren grappled with severe loneliness and depression on his isolated ranch. The darker his thoughts became, the more importance he placed on achieving his New Year's resolution by any means possible.

Darren turned to the internet to reach out to those he genuinely cared for but hadn't seen or heard from in a while. One was his high school girlfriend, Jennifer Nichols. Having lost touch after their breakup in college, Darren was curious to know what Jennifer was up to. After all, she had never been far from his mind. While in the military, Darren had to provide top-secret information that could help confirm his identity if he was ever taken hostage by the enemy. The information had to be extremely personal and couldn't be easily uncovered online or obtained from anyone else. In turn, Darren disclosed fond memories he had of Jennifer Nichols, memories that no one else knew about. Retaining this information during his two decades of active service was paramount for his day-to-day survival. It became ingrained in him and profoundly meaningful. In 2020, Darren searched social media

until he believed he had finally tracked Jennifer Down on business and employment website LinkedIn. She was no longer Jennifer Nicholls, but Jennifer Faith. On Tuesday March 17, Darren sent Jennifer a brief message reintroducing himself. He received a response within the hour which read, Hi Darren, wow, was I surprised to hear from you. I hope you understand if I am a bit skittish in responding. How do I know this is really you? Darren was elated. He responded, Would it help if I called you Angel? This was the special nickname he'd given Jennifer during the time they were together. He signed off with the quote, As You Wish, which was a line from the

1987 film The Princess Bride, a movie they'd bonded over in the past. Jennifer's response was swift. Yep, that did it. Send me an email and let me know how you are. Excited to talk to you. Darren sent Jennifer a lengthy email filling her in on the past three decades of his life. He thanked Jennifer for teaching him to braid hair as the skill had endeared him to his daughters and their friends.

Darren admitted, "...you have no idea how much I have thought of you over the years." He encouraged Jennifer to look up the song What Might Have Been by Little Texas as it made him think of her and always put a smile on his face. Jennifer responded, Wow, my head has been swimming since I read your email this morning. You made my day, month, year, and possibly decade in reaching out to me and saying such nice things. possibly decade in reaching out to me and saying such nice things. Jennifer revealed that she thought about Darren a lot and had searched for him over the years. All she'd been able to deduce was that he was married and lived in Tennessee. You're a hard man to find, she wrote. There are no details out there about you.

Jennifer told Darren that things hadn't been easy for her after their breakup. After one failed marriage, she swiftly married the next man who came along, a decision she called a huge mistake, as it only lasted nine months. As a single mother, she struggled physically, emotionally, and financially while also completing her college studies and a burgeoning career as a therapist. Then she met her third husband, Jamie Faith, and her life greatly improved. Together with Jennifer's daughter, they formed a happy family. Jennifer excelled in her career and by 2020, she was overseeing therapy programs and assisting new hospital openings across the country. Her daughter was 22 years old and had just completed a master's degree, while Jamie was a big deal at American Airlines.

Jennifer sent Darren a candid happy photo of herself, Jamie and their daughter together, adding, "...I have definitely missed you over the years and there have been so many times I've wanted to talk to you. Thanks for being persistent in looking for me." Darren replied with a recent photo of himself before confessing that ever since Jennifer had responded to his email, he couldn't get her off his mind. The two continued sending each other long emails throughout the day and into the night, catching each other up on every aspect of their lives. They eventually began reminiscing about their high school romance, at which point

the tone of their correspondence became wistful and flirtatious. Darren admitted that Jennifer was making him feel like that teenage boy so many years ago, while she said she was completely giddy. she was completely giddy. By the next day, Darren was overwhelmed with feelings. He wrote an email to Jennifer calling their reunion a great love story. Not wanting her to slip away from him again, he declared, "...I am glad you have had Jamie in your life. It looks like you have made a great family and what you have is unique and special and I don't want to break that up. That being said, I know my heart and you still possess it. I love you." Jennifer confided in Darren that her commitment to Jamie had waned in recent years due to

a lack of affection. Darren made it abundantly clear that he was willing to provide Jennifer with the intimacy and romance she desired while taking things as slowly as she needed. Jennifer reciprocated Darren's feelings and within days of reconnecting, the pair began brainstorming a five-year plan for a future together. Jennifer and Darren traded cell phone numbers and as their contact continued, they agreed to permanently delete their texts. However, their email correspondence remained archived in Darren's inbox. His ex-wife came across the emails while Darren was in custody awaiting trial for Jamie Faith's murder. Shocked by what they contained, she immediately sent them to detectives fronting the Faith case. By this point, Darren and DeGeneres' emotional affair had already been

exposed. While the emails didn't initially reveal anything investigators didn't already know, it was eye-opening to glimpse the intensity of the pair's mutual affection. But as detectives made their way through the emails, something caught their attention. Three weeks after Jennifer and Darren reconnected, on the morning of Monday April 6, Jennifer sent an uncharacteristically short and sharp email. It read, I can tell Jamie is texting you. Sorry. Before Darren had time to respond, Jennifer sent a follow-up email saying, I love you. I am sorry this has become such a mess. We just need to get through today somehow. Once Jamie starts to believe you're gone, it will be better. I don't know what he is saying,

but whatever he is telling you, I am okay. I can handle this if I don't lose you. Please talk to me. I need you." Without access to the texts to fill in the gaps, investigators deduced that Jamie had likely messaged Darren after learning of the emotional affair. They found this surprising as they had already examined data from Darren's cell provider and found no record of any contact between Darren and Jamie's cell phones. Darren nevertheless confirmed the encounter in his reply to Jennifer's email that same day writing, "'I know today has been horrible again. You were being so strong for us. Jamie cannot destroy us, no matter how hard he tries.'" He encouraged Jennifer to keep planning their lives

together, saying his desire for her had only grown. As far as Darren was concerned, there was nothing Jamie could do to change his feelings for Jennifer. He signed off. Nothing can keep me from you. Angel, I am your rock, your solace. I am here, always. Later that same day, Darren emailed Jennifer to say, Later that same day, Darren emailed Jennifer to say, Jamie started texting again, if you decide to stay with Jamie you need to know what you are up against. Darren claimed that Jamie had lost his mind and had fucked up thinking. He told Jennifer, for some reason us together has shattered Jamie in ways neither of us could have imagined. Darren offered to help Jennifer leave her marriage, though accepted that the decision was hers to make and he would stand by her regardless. He professed,

I love you, I am still here, and this does not scare me away. I am here with you through all this, right by your side through this darkness. We will find the light and come out together even stronger with each other." At no point in the emails between Darren and Jennifer did they address what Jamie had done that had left them so rattled, but things appeared to have escalated that night. According to an email from Darren, Jamie said he had one final test for Jennifer. If she passed it, she would get her life back. Darren wrote, she passed it, she would get her life back. Darren wrote, He plans on taking you somewhere. Has he talked about other men being with you?

He has told me he would let others use you. Just want you to know what he said to me. I just want you to be prepared. We will get through this. I am forever your true love. will get through this. I am forever your true love." To investigators, it sounded like Jamie had told Darren of his intentions to have other men sexually assault his wife. As absurd as it sounded, Jennifer and Darren seemed genuinely terrified and an attack appeared to have gone ahead. attack appeared to have gone ahead. Darren later wrote to Jennifer, I was with you through it all. You did so good. He really thinks he broke you and has driven me off. We beat him. Darren suggested they fast-track their five-year plan so Jennifer could get away from Jamie sooner. In the meantime, the pair came up with a plan to start their text messages with the code 575. This way, Darren would know he was talking to Jennifer and not Jamie. Based on this information, investigators deduced that Jamie had been

contacting Darren through his wife's cell phone, which explained why there was no phone data linking Jamie to Darren. While investigators still couldn't figure out exactly what was going on, the situation seemed serious. From the bits and pieces they could piece together, it seemed like Jamie was subjecting Jennifer to abuse. Darren reminded her to keep up the fight, saying that he loved her and would never lose her. Days later, Darren received an email from Jamie Faith with the subject line, received an email from Jamie Faith with the subject line, Please Stay Away. It read in part, Darren, I got your email from Jennifer's phone. I would normally call you to discuss this, but I don't want this to be an angry conversation, so it's easier for me to send you an email and

hope we can settle this in a civil manner. I want to make a plea to you, man to man, to please leave my family alone. I know you and Jennifer have a strong history together, but the fact is you haven't been around. I have. You have no right to come waltzing back into her life and destroy everything she and I have built together. If someone had done that to your family, you would not have stood for it." Darren responded that same day, alluding to the terrible things that Jamie had done to Jennifer. Everything you did to her this past week she went along with to make you happy," he wrote. I am at a loss to see how a man that says he loves her and needs her in his life could treat her like that. I saw how bad she is hurting and I am very concerned for her safety there.

I have been talking with her at night because she is terrified of you. I will for sure keep checking in on her until I feel you have regained some sense and can control yourself around Jennifer. Do you actually see how you are making her feel? You alone are destroying what you have there. Be the husband you say you want to be. Respect her. Let her feel safe around you and being home with you. Jamie's curt response arrived the next day.

First off, don't insult me. You're more than friends. Second, you didn't address any of my concerns. Third, her safety is my responsibility, not yours. I'm done communicating with you. My priority now is to make sure Jennifer knows where she belongs and who she belongs to. And you can check in with her all you want. She'll learn what to tell you and what not to." what to tell you and what not to. In early May, Darren received another email from Jamie that read, Has Jennifer been telling you everything like she is supposed to? I have a feeling she has stopped talking to you about what's been going on. I am finally going to get what I want from her this weekend. Make sure you ask her about it. Look up any rough gangbang triple penetration with breath control porn and that's what we'll be doing to her. See if she will tell you. If she doesn't, I'll need to start sending details again."

Later that month, Darren received another email from Jamie with the subject line, injuries old and new. Attached were seven close-up images of what appeared to be injuries to Jennifer's body, including severe bruises, a bleeding lip, and most chillingly a healed neck wound. The accompanying message read, Good stuff. Enjoy knowing you can't do a fucking thing about it. Days later, Jamie sent Darren an email describing in disturbing detail how he and his friends were violently raping Jennifer. He called it training and told Darren, "'Too bad you will never know that sweet tone of her begging me to let her go.'" Darren responded, "'Jamie, you are fucked. You are sitting there thinking I can do nothing to stop you from abusing Jennifer, and I am going to show you I have plenty to ruin and to destroy your life."

Darren threatened to take all the evidence of Jamie's abuse to the police and to Jamie's employer unless he promised to stop abusing Jennifer. There's still hope for you, Darren wrote. For some reason, Jennifer still believes you have redeeming qualities, so I'm giving you a last chance. You will never take Jennifer away from the house to be used and raped by other men. All the fucked up sexual things you were doing to Jennifer will stop." Knowing that Texas had a 10-year statute of limitations for rape, Darren told Jamie he intended to keep all the evidence of his crimes for the

next decade. "'I am a man of my word,' Darren warned. "'If you fail in any aspect, I will destroy your life." Darren then emailed Jennifer, assuring her that he wouldn't go to the authorities without her consent, but pleaded with her to at least leave her husband. Jennifer didn't follow Darren's advice, nor did Jamie heed his warning. Jamie began sending Darren close-up graphic images of Jennifer's sexual abuse taking place. Darren begged Jennifer to tell the police, but she refused, saying that Jamie would punish her for speaking out. She also feared that her daughter could face retribution and didn't want her to know the truth about Jamie's evil nature. Feeling helpless in Tennessee, Darren asked Jennifer to confide in a friend close by who

could help her in person. She reluctantly gave Darren the email address of a coworker named Rob Schmidt. Jennifer explained that she had known Rob for over 15 years. She playfully referred to him as her work husband and viewed him as a confidant. Darren emailed Rob, introducing himself and saying, hitches. I am asking if you are willing to get involved and help Jennifer get out of this situation." Rob replied in shock. He had known Jamie for a long time and didn't think he was capable of such abuse. He probed Darren for more details. Darren explained that it all began shortly after he reconnected with the Jennifer. For the first attack, Jennifer was gang raped by Jamie and six other men. The rapes continued almost every weekend after

that, with one carried out on Jamie's birthday involving at least 10 men. Jennifer had to take a whole week off work to recover. She had since developed a urinary tract infection, but Jamie's relentless assaults prevented her from treating it and she was chronically ill as a result. Darren informed Rob that a long-time friend of Jamie's named Jeremy Gabler was almost always involved in the attacks. If Jennifer ever refused to comply, Jamie used a stun gun on her. Darren believed that Jamie was trying to make it so that no other man would ever want Jennifer. He felt like Jamie was hurting Jennifer in order to hurt him too. Rob was shocked to learn that Jennifer hadn't gone to the authorities,

but he acknowledged that she had a strong sense of loyalty, saying, "...my guess is she wants to spare Jamie and is probably blaming herself for this to an extent." Darren hoped that with Rob's help, Jennifer would realise she had more people on her side and would gain the confidence to stand up for herself and speak out. If not, Darren at least felt reassured that he wasn't the only one who knew about the abuse and Rob could take immediate action if things got worse. Shortly after, Rob emailed Darren claiming he had called Jamie to confront him. Jamie denied everything and accused Jennifer of making it all up. Rob wrote,

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content. Rob Schmidt and Darren Lopez remained in contact as they discussed how they could best help Jennifer. Rob shared Darren's fury at the whole situation and the pair vented their brewing anger to one another. At one point, Rob forwarded a photo Jennifer had sent him of burnt flesh and warned Darren, "'Jamie's been burning her, among other things. She didn't want me to tell you, so please keep it between us.'" Darren later confided in Rob, "'I still feel Jamie's very fucked up in the head. I know I won't feel better about our situation

until Jennifer is out of that house away from him, or she lets me put a bullet in Jamie's head." Rob replied, "...if it were up to me, I would tell you to go for it. I'll give you an alibi." Darren continued to receive confronting emails from both Jennifer and Jamie on a daily basis. They both described in detail the pain and torment Jennifer faced, but while Jennifer's emails were anguished and frightened, Jamie's were mocking, as if he was goading Darren. After one particularly terrifying attack, Jennifer turned to Darren for support. She said that Jamie had held her head underwater in their hot tub while forcing her to perform oral sex on him. She lost consciousness and came to with the Jamie performing CPR on her. Darren implored Jennifer to go to the police, but she continued to refuse, fearful of what Jamie would do to both her and her daughter if she exposed his crimes.

As October 2020 approached, Jamie emailed Darren saying he was planning something special for his and Jennifer's upcoming 15-year anniversary. He said he enjoyed the near-fatal hot tub incident so much that he was going to see how many men Jennifer could handle in the hot tub. He already had seven guys lined up for the assault. up for the assault. While investigators had initially theorised that Darren had been hired to kill Jamie, this email changed their minds. They now believed Darren had been motivated by a desire to protect Jennifer. Given that Jamie Faith was killed on Friday October 9, 2020, the day before the hot tub assault was set to take place, investigators believed that Jamie's threat of the attack was the catalyst that finally prompted Darren to act. After all, he was specially trained to save vulnerable people under the imposing threat of death and had earned accolades for his heroism. The level of overkill as well as the bullet to Jamie's groin made sense given the context of his sexual abuse. It appeared that Darren Lopez wasn't a cold-blooded killer after all,

but a desperate man driven to save a woman he loved. man driven to save a woman he loved. What investigators couldn't quite get their heads around was that Jamie Faith's sadistic, cruel and violent behaviour was in complete contrast to the kind and gentle man his loved ones had described him to be. They wondered if everything everyone knew about Jamie Faith was completely wrong. Investigators tracked down Jeremy Gebler, the long-time friend of Jamie's who Jennifer had implicated in her numerous sexual assaults. Jeremy appeared to be shocked by the allegations levelled against him. He vehemently denied ever assaulting Jennifer, claiming he'd only ever had positive interactions with her. In fact, he was partially responsible for having set her and Jamie up in the first place, believing they were both good people who were perfect for one another.

Jeremy maintained that Jamie had been a courteous and compassionate man. In the many years they'd known each other, Jeremy had never once sensed anything sinister was going on behind the scenes of the faith marriage. Investigators looked into Jeremy's whereabouts over the weekends in mid-2020 where the sexual abuse of Jennifer was alleged to have taken place. Jeremy lived over 800 miles away in the state of Arizona and was ruled out of having collaborated in Jamie's alleged crimes. Jeremy was also one of the select few people who Jennifer had added to her group text message thread wherein she provided updates about Jamie's case. Why would she do this if Jeremy was one of her feared abusers? Jennifer had also added her close co-worker,

Rob Schmidt, to the group text. When Rob was shown the emails sent between him and Darren, he was stunned. According to Rob, he hadn't written the emails and had never even heard of Darren Lopez. Inquiries were made with the email service provider. They revealed that the email account attributed to Rob Schmidt had been created on the same day that Darren first began receiving messages from that address. The same thing went for the email account attributed to Jamie Faith. Both accounts were deleted at the same time on the same day, shortly before Jamie was murdered. When Jennifer Faith had been charged with obstruction of justice following Darren's arrest, investigators carried out a search warrant on her home and serendipitously took possession of her

computer. An examination of Jennifer's inbox revealed a cache of emails sent between herself and Darren in which they discussed the abuse inflicted by Jamie. Investigators also found images of the injuries that had been sent to Daren as proof of Jamie's violence. Some of the images were indeed of Jennifer, but they were found to have been taken eight years earlier and were the result of a car wreck. Others, like the bloodied lip, were stock images Jennifer had downloaded from the internet. The images allegedly depicting Jennifer's sexual abuse were also found to be stills from pornographic movies. Jennifer's computer was sent to the Federal Bureau of Investigation to be more thoroughly examined. They uncovered a deception so unbelievable that case detectives had only had one word for it.

Diabolical. It turned out that Jennifer was the sole mastermind behind every single email that had been sent to Darren, including those allegedly sent from Rob Schmidt and Jamie Faith. There was zero evidence to suggest that Darren and Jamie had ever been in genuine contact. Any time Darren believed he was communicating with Jamie via text or email, he was in fact speaking with Jennifer. This level of deceit required an exceptional amount of time and effort. Jennifer was sending multiple emails to Darren each day from the fake accounts while also pretending to be her own husband and maintaining round-the-clock communication with Darren as herself. Investigators had never seen anything like it. They also found no evidence that Jamie had ever been abusive to his wife. All the stories of physical, emotional, and sexual abuse were deemed to have been outright lies manufactured by Jennifer. And as it turned

out, this wasn't the first time she'd done such a thing. Investigators discovered that Jennifer had a history of contacting ex-partners and telling them she was abused by a husband or boyfriend in order to provoke a reaction. Jennifer's second husband Rick told Dateline that he and Jennifer had originally started dating while she was separated from her first husband. One day, Jennifer confided in Rick that her marriage had been hellish. She called her husband a monster, saying he had physically, emotionally and sexually abused her. According to Jennifer, her husband sometimes tortured her with implements and brought his friends over to gang rape her. Rick was shocked and encouraged Jennifer to go to the police, but she refused.

Jennifer told Rick she wished her husband was dead. As Jennifer continued to offload stories of her horrific abuse, Rick found himself wanting to kill Jennifer's husband. He explained to Dateline, "...it's her idea until she makes you think that it's your idea. The pair devised a plan for Rick to shoot Jennifer's husband while he was out tending to his garden. But Jennifer had a last-minute change of heart, saying she didn't want her daughter's father dead. She ultimately divorced her first husband and married Rick instead. first husband and married Rick instead. Shortly after their wedding, Rick started receiving emails from two men he didn't know. One claimed to be a surgeon and the other an airline pilot. They both told Rick that Jennifer was hot and said he didn't appreciate her enough. Rick ended up divorcing Jennifer within nine months,

and in hindsight he was certain she was behind the strange emails. After learning what happened to Jamie Faith, Rick assumed the stories about Jennifer's first husband were entirely false. He described to Jennifer as the most evil person he'd ever come into contact with, saying that being with her was like, swimming in a sea of lies, manipulation and pain. Investigators speculated that Jennifer stopped Rick from killing her first husband because she didn't feel confident in his abilities. In contrast, Darren Lopez was a trained killer who could get the job done swiftly and discreetly without drawing any attention towards Jennifer. There was also another element that made Darren the ideal hitman. In one of his initial emails to Jennifer, Darren had written extensively

about his experiences in the military. Specifically, the Humvee explosion in Iraq that left him with a traumatic brain injury and post-traumatic stress disorder. This information immediately piqued Jennifer's interest. Through her work as a therapist, Jennifer told Darren that she had treated many patients with traumatic brain injuries over the years, many of whom were soldiers. She claimed to be a certified brain injury specialist who had written a number of articles for the Brain Injury Alliance of Arizona. Jennifer said she wanted to help Darren and convinced him to send her a copy of his medical records from the Department of Defense and to the Department of Veteran Affairs. Over 912 pages, the reports disclosed that Darren also had a major depressive disorder, as well as attention deficit hyperactivity

disorder. He also suffered from severe migraines, vision loss, ringing in his ears, dizziness, vertigo, nightmares, sleeping difficulties, and frightening flashbacks of combat. He was on various medications to treat these conditions, while neurological tests showed that he had performed below average on cognitive, attention, and memory function. His PTSD could be triggered by stress or crowds, which then caused him to spiral emotionally. With the Jennifer's knowledge of traumatic brain injuries, she was aware of the many challenges that patients faced. There were personality changes, behavioural issues,

memory lapses, difficulties processing profound emotions and difficulties with decision making. Post-traumatic stress disorder can also alter the way a person's brain works, specifically the emotional core of the brain. Veterans with PTSD often endure irritability, hyper arousal and aggression problems as they find it difficult to turn their brain off and relax. Some feel like they are always on edge, enduring ongoing feelings of fear, horror, anger, guilt and shame. They can also struggle to trust others as they typically view the world through a negative lens. When their trauma is triggered, they often depersonalise and disassociate. These skills serve them well while surviving on the battlefield, but have devastating impacts in civilian life.

From Darren Lopez's medical records, it was clear he was a particularly vulnerable individual. He had been deemed fully disabled and was considered unfit to perform normally in society. As soon as Jennifer learnt of Darren's condition, she leaned heavily into the affection he displayed towards her. Investigators believed she used these emotions to manipulate and exploit Darren, telling lie after lie about the horrific, fictitious abuse her husband was allegedly inflicting. The stories Jennifer concocted were described by investigators as, some of the most sadistic things you can possibly dream up. It appeared that Jennifer had successfully tricked a disabled veteran into becoming her

own personal assassin. All the while while she was living a double life, maintaining her seemingly happy marriage with Jamie. In contrast to Jennifer's stories, it appeared Jamie had no idea she was engaging in an emotional affair. While all this was going on, he remained at home with Jennifer and even took her on two trips interstate to visit his family. It was now clear that Jennifer's efforts to thwart her husband's murder investigation weren't to protect Darren, her daughter, or even Jamie. She was only ever protecting herself. The question was, why did Jennifer want Jamie dead?

By all accounts, he had been a loving and supportive husband and father who provided Jennifer and her daughter with financial security and a happy home life. Investigators wondered whether Jennifer thought the grass would be greener with Darren. Perhaps she envisioned the two of them having a more exciting and attractive life. Or maybe it was all about money. Jamie had over a million dollars in life insurance and retirement funds, which Jennifer was the beneficiary of. Having access to this money also meant she could use Darren's financial diastrates to her own advantage. In the words of one US attorney, Jennifer Faith preyed on Darren Lopez's pocketbook to propel him to murder.

Criminal prosecutors hoped they could get Darren Lopez to cooperate with them once he learned the truth about Jennifer. However, when shown evidence of her extensive con, Darren had the opposite reaction. He flat out refused to believe the allegations against Jennifer and remained convinced that Jamie Faith was an abuser. Darren didn't trust anyone but Jennifer and simply couldn't come to terms with the possibility that the whole ordeal had been a scam. Even his own court-appointed attorney struggled to get him to accept the truth of the matter. Darren stood by Jennifer even when the extent of her deception was publicly exposed. She had done well to muddy the waters by sending Darren a letter beforehand.

It began with the number 575, their secret code to confirm the letter was authentic. Jennifer wrote, Just a quick note to say I never lied to you and I never sent you the emails from any account but mine as me. You once said you would never believe anything about me unless you heard it from me. I hope that's still true. There is a ton more I wish I could say, but I can't right now. Soon, hopefully." For six months Darren refused to believe that Jennifer could have used him in such an abhorrent

way. He was convinced that the two were deeply in love and his hatred for Jamie was so pervasive and genuine, it was impossible for Darren to view him any other way. It took a difficult conversation with one of his daughters before Darren finally saw the light. With the veil lifted, he agreed to finally tell investigators the full story. Casefile will be back shortly. Thank you for supporting us by listening to this episode's sponsors. Thank you for listening to this episode's ads. By supporting our sponsors, you support Casefile to continue to deliver quality content. According to Darren Lopez, he never wanted to be a homewrecker.

When he confessed his feelings to Jennifer within days of them reconnecting, he assured her that he was willing to take things slow out of respect for her family. He didn't want Jennifer's daughter to think poorly of him or view him as the person responsible for breaking up their family. Furthermore, from what Jennifer had initially told Darren, he thought Jamie sounded like a legitimately good guy and hoped they could become friends. Darren encouraged Jennifer to be honest with the Jamie, even floating the idea that Jamie might agree to share Jennifer with him, so neither man wound up heartbroken.

It wasn't until Jennifer told Darren that she had come clean to Jamie about their emotional affair that Darren's opinion of Jamie began to change. Jennifer reported back that Jamie had taken the news poorly. He had become angry and violent, his abusive behaviour amplified by alcohol and cocaine. From then on, she constantly bombarded Darren with details about the horrific things Jamie subjected her to. She called Darren at all hours of the night, depriving him of sleep as she cried about the latest abuse she'd endured. In addition to the rapes, Jennifer claimed that Jamie kept her tied up in a closet, was restricting her diet, and had once forcibly cut her hair off. These details, coupled with the emails Darren received from Rob Schmerton to Jamie Faith, made him sick. He felt like he was losing his mind. While he wanted to alert the

authorities, Jennifer made him swear not to. If Darren ever told the police, Jennifer said she would deny everything. Darren gave his word that he wouldn't go behind her back, and in the military, word that he wouldn't go behind her back, and in the military, word is everything. In October 2020, Jennifer told Darren that she'd reached her breaking point. She confessed that she wanted Jamie dead and began brainstorming ways to kill him. She considered poisoning him, but was worried what would happen to her and her daughter if she got caught. Darren was shocked by Jennifer's plan and didn't express any interest in getting involved. He even tried to convince her to reconsider. In turn, Jennifer appealed to Darren's sense of duty and honour, commending his protective instincts. It was clear she was trying to get him to carry out the killing instead.

Darren pondered the idea in a facetious and wishful manner while trying to convince Jennifer to simply leave Jamie. She refused to do so, fearful that he would retaliate against her and or her daughter. Darren invited the two women to come live with him in Tennessee, but Jennifer dismissed this possibility, saying that they had to stay in Texas for her daughter's work. It was only when Darren received emails from Jamie warning him of his plans to orchestrate a hot tub gang rape for his and Jennifer's 15th anniversary that Darren started seriously considering Jennifer's proposal. Scared that Jennifer could be killed during this attack, which was planned for the weekend of Friday October 9 2020, Darren was left agonising over what to do.

He said he didn't settle on a decision until the day before, Thursday October 8. That day, Darren convinced himself that he needed to eliminate the threat to save Jennifer's life. After promising Jennifer that she would never go through another bad weekend again, Darren set out for Texas. The 10 hour drive gave Darren plenty of time to transition back into a military mindset. He hyped himself up, reminding himself over and over that he had to rescue Jennifer and her daughter from Jamie. As he approached the Texas border, his emotions ramped up and he turned off his phone. But once he reached Dallas, he became lost. He drove helplessly among the unfamiliar dark roads with no idea where to go or what to do. Panicking as time was

running out, the intense emotions triggered Darren's post-traumatic stress disorder and he had a mental breakdown. Overwhelmed and spiralling, he had to pull over to get his bearings. As far as he knew, the love of his life was going to be attacked within hours. His mind was flooded with thoughts of what she was about to endure and the possibility that she could be killed. With the Darren's stress levels peaking, he was plagued by visions of the loved ones he'd lost over the years. There were his military comrades, a close friend who had taken his own life, and Darren's own granddaughter who had drowned while he was on deployment. Darren felt responsible for all these deaths as he wasn't able to prevent them. He'd since told himself that if he was ever in a position to help somebody, he wouldn't hesitate.

He remembered an old military saying, it's better to be judged by twelve than carried by six. In other words, it was better to face a jury than wind up in a casket. Darren knew the only way he could get out of his predicament was to turn his phone back on so he could search for directions. He knew this would leave a digital record of his whereabouts and potentially seal his fate, but he felt as though he had no other option. If he returned to Tennessee and Jennifer ended up a dad, he wouldn't be able to live with himself. With that, Darren powered on his cell phone, searched online for South Waverly Drive,

and followed the map. Once he reached the Faith's house, Darren turned his phone back off. He didn't want to storm the Faith's home and risk any collateral damage. Jennifer had already informed him that the house to the right was vacant, so Darren headed there. He positioned himself against the fence in reconnaissance mode and waited. Jennifer had already told Darren that she and Jamie walked their dog Maggie every morning. At daybreak, Darren listened until he heard the faith's door open. He then heard Jennifer's voice and saw her walk past with Maggie. It was the first time Darren had laid eyes on her since they dated 30 years prior. He then watched as Jamie walked casually by.

Darren acted immediately, shooting Jamie three times in the chest and causing him to fall to the ground. As a military medic, Darren knew the human body could survive significant trauma. Even though he thought Jamie was a monster, he still didn't want him to suffer. He stood over Jamie and shot him three times in the head before shooting him in the groin as payback for the sexual abuse he'd inflicted on Jennifer. Darren stole Jamie's wedding ring to make it look like a robbery gone wrong. He then launched an attack on Jennifer. Darren hadn't forewarned Jennifer of his intentions to do this because he wanted her reaction to be genuine. He thought this would add credibility to the staged robbery while also giving Jennifer plausible deniability. Darren knocked Jennifer to the ground, punching and slapping her before

duct taping her hands together. It was the first time they had touched since 1993. Jennifer's blood-curdling screams made Darren sick. He tried to pull off her wedding ring, but it got stuck. That's when he noticed a witness rushing over. It was Emery Wilson, one of the Faith's neighbours. Emery approached Darren and the two made eye contact. Darren was carrying extra ammo and could have killed Emery to protect his own identity, but he maintained his mission of not wanting any collateral damage. Once Emery ran off, Darren got back into his truck. The commotion had drawn several more neighbours onto the street, so Darren drove off slowly, not wanting to accidentally run any of them down. Darren wasn't happy about what he'd done, but was nevertheless satisfied that he'd accomplished

his mission. On the long drive home, he tossed a Jamie's wedding ring out the window. He didn't get rid of the murder weapon because he wanted to make sure it was never used to hurt another person again. While Jennifer pretended to be a grieving widow in public, behind closed doors she was elated that Jamie had been killed. She showered Darren with money, gifts and praise. When Darren was arrested, he took solace in knowing he had saved Jennifer and her daughter. But that all changed once he finally accepted that Jennifer had duped him. Darren was devastated to realise he had taken the innocent life of a proud family man. He was equally shocked that Jennifer would bestow such tragedy on her own daughter.

He told detectives, Jennifer turned me into a monster. While Jennifer had told countless lies to Darren, he'd only ever lied to her once. His military training had taught him to always have an escape route. He therefore assured Jennifer that he'd deleted all of their communications, when in reality, he'd kept their emails. Following Darren's confession, investigators upgraded the charges against Jennifer Faith from obstruction of justice to murder for hire. This was a federal offence that carried the death penalty. Jennifer maintained her innocence as she was placed in custody pending trial. A month later, she wrote a letter to her father claiming the prosecution and media had twisted

the situation and taken things out of context in order to paint a damning picture against her. Yet, just two days after sending the letter, Jennifer was informed that Darum was cooperating with prosecutors and was willing to testify against her. This coupled with the overwhelming evidence dissuaded Jennifer from taking the case to trial. In exchange for the death penalty being taken off the table, she agreed to tell the full truth about her husband's murder.

Jennifer admitted that Jamie had never been anything other than a wonderful and loving husband. After learning of Darren Lopez's disability, she'd used fake online identities and misleading images to convince him that she was being abused by Jamie in the hopes that Darren would be compelled to kill. After Jamie's death, Jennifer rewarded Darren with gifts and adoration to keep him on her side and prevent him from exposing her involvement. In the words of one US attorney, Jennifer Faith's conduct both before and after her husband's murder was extraordinarily heinous and cruel. The one person that Jamie Faith loved and trusted more than any other led him to his death. At Jennifer's sentencing in May 2022, the presiding judge criticised her treatment of Darren, stating,

He thought he was the only person who could save you. You tricked him because you thought his brain wasn't working. Jennifer's subsequent attempts to sway law enforcement and public opinion were described as spineless. At one point, Jennifer started to cry. The judge told her, Mrs. Faith, I'm not sure why you're crying. What you did was such a betrayal. You are pure evil. Not to mention, disgusting. Jennifer Faith was sentenced to life imprisonment. She was also ordered to pay $6500 in restitution to Jamie's family to cover his unpaid funeral expenses, as well as a $250,000 fine. Outside court, one US attorney remarked, Outside court, one US attorney remarked,

Jennifer Faith put on quite a performance in the wake of her husband's murder. She poured out her sob story to reporters and to law enforcement, then headed home to orchestrate her cover-up. But crocodile tears didn't stop the feds. We were committed to getting justice for Jamie and with the judges in position of a life sentence, we're one step closer. Darren Lopez's murder trial went ahead in July 2023, one year after Jennifer's trial, and almost three years after Jamie Faith was murdered. Given that Darren had already confessed to the killing, it wasn't up to the jury to determine whether he was guilty of murder per se. They just had to consider the degree of his culpability and whether a lesser charge like manslaughter was more applicable. In their

opening statements, the defence told the jury that what they were about to hear was one of the most heart-wrenching and tragic cases anybody's ever heard in this courthouse. While Jennifer Faith wasn't on trial, the defence asserted that she was the real guilty person in this scenario. The crux of their case was that Jennifer had taken advantage of Darren Lopez's disability as well as his feelings for her, which meant she knew which buttons to push. Quote, Darren pulled the trigger, but Jennifer pulled him. Given Darren's past trauma, the defence argued that he viewed danger differently than the average person, and therefore he

genuinely believed that Jennifer's life was in immediate danger, which required necessary action. In their opinion, what Darren did amounted to self-defence. The prosecution called this idea absurd and unbelievable. Texas law dictates that an individual can only be justified in using force against another if they reasonably believe the force is immediately necessary to protect themselves in the face of imminent harm. But as the prosecution argued, there was nothing immediate about what Darren did. From the day Jennifer had first confided in Darren about the alleged abuse, 186 days passed

before Jamie was killed. Darren therefore had plenty of time to consider other, less drastic options. He could have reached out to Jennifer's family, contacted Jamie's employer, alerted the authorities, or helped Jennifer escape. After all, he had the Special Forces training needed to conduct an escape mission without taking any casualties. Darren had considered all of these options in his emails to Jennifer, but the prosecution argued that he glossed right over them. Instead, all he did was email Rob Schmidt, a man he'd never met.

When Rob didn't do anything, Darren skipped all the other options and jumped straight to murder. It took him 10 hours to drive to Dallas, at which point he laid in wait for five hours before ambushing Jamie Faith. The prosecution asked, what is immediate about that? It has to be immediate. That means now, right this moment, action is needed. Not in a few minutes, not in a few hours, not later today, not this weekend. Right now. A split second decision. Fear of future danger is never enough, and certainly when you have premeditated an execution, there is nothing immediate about it.

there is nothing immediate about it. When Darren did act, the prosecution highlighted that Jamie was unarmed, unsuspecting, and had done nothing to provoke Darren. Darren was trained in situational awareness and assessing threats, yet he killed Jamie when he was innocently walking past with his dog and with his wife. His use of force was therefore unnecessary. The prosecution stated, "...the defendant talked a lot about honour. There was no honour in this. This was the most dishonourable thing that a man can do. They argued that even if Darren had been completely misled, it still didn't justify him committing murder. As an elite special forces soldier, Darren was well equipped to conduct reconnaissance to confirm if Jennifer really was being abused. Not only did he fail to do so, he also knew that Jamie was a tech whiz who worked for one of the most regulated industries on Earth. Surely he didn't believe that Jamie would send damning

evidence of his crimes through a basic email account in his own name. Even with his disability, the prosecution argued there was nothing to suggest Darren lacked the critical thinking skills necessary to question Jennifer's assertions. When asked on the stand why he didn't scrutinise the claims about Jamie's behaviour, Darren testified, I put my faith in Jennifer. As far as the prosecution were concerned, Darren knew that Jennifer's stories of abuse were bogus. The two of them had shared detailed sexual stories, watched pornography together, and bought each other adult toys. They even roleplayed fantasies in which Jennifer was gang raped while Darren watched

or participated. Some of these sordid conversations took place immediately after Jennifer confided in Darren about the sexual abuse she was enduring. As the prosecution pointed out, what kind of man would have these types of conversations with the woman he loved if he genuinely believed she was enduring this kind of sexual abuse in real life. They stated, The abuse was the fantasy. They played this out through calls, texts, emails. They were roleplaying. They were enjoying it. It was all part of the fantasy. The violent, graphic nature of this was part of it. While Darren claimed he had made a last-minute decision to kill Jamie, there was an abundance of phone calls and texts between him and Jennifer that couldn't be retrieved. The prosecution believed these communications contained evidence of the pair scheming to

get rid of Jamie well before October 2020. Jennifer had given Darren access to a since-deleted online document titled, Concerns slash Things to be Add, slash done. She had also sent him texts about what time her pool cleaner was expected at the property, along with information about the way in which Texas license plates were displayed on a vehicle. In another text prior to October, Darren told Jennifer, I'm just going to take the freeways." Given that's exactly what he did on the day Jamie was killed, these factors combined painted a very suspicious picture.

While the defense had made Darren out to be a victim, the prosecution were unconvinced. They told the jury, They told the jury, There are lies and there are stories and there's strange sex and strange love, but there's no defense. There is but one victim here, one victim, Jamie Faith. After three days of testimony, the jury deliberated for just 90 minutes before returning a verdict. For the murder of Jamie Faith, they found Darren Lopez guilty. Speaking anonymously with NBC News after the trial, one juror revealed that they all agreed an innocent person was dead because of Darren's actions. What they couldn't agree on was dead because of Darren's actions.

What they couldn't agree on was the level of punishment he deserved. Darren faced anywhere from five years to life in prison. While the jury accepted that Darren had been manipulated and didn't present an ongoing danger to society, they believed he should have asked more questions and considered alternative options to help Jennifer. Ultimately, the jury settled on giving Darren Lopez 62 years in prison. Following his conviction, Darren Lopez sought help from the Governor of Texas to get a reduction in his sentence. In an exclusive interview with NBC's Dateline, Darren accepted the consequences of his actions but said he deserved leniency because Jennifer Faith was the true criminal and he was just her weapon. He also pointed out that the jury hadn't been fully informed that he'd helped secure justice

against Jennifer by providing a detailed admission to police. Had they known this, Darren believed they might have looked at him more favourably. As of August 2024, his appeal efforts are ongoing. When Jennifer Faith's friends found out that she'd used their fundraised money to pay her husband's killer, they were devastated. The fundraising platform had an anti-fraud policy, and everyone who made a donation was fully reimbursed. Regardless of Jennifer's deceit, the donors regretted nothing. One said, I would do it again if I thought that a neighbour was in need because that's who we are, and we're not going to change because somebody was awful. If nothing else, our actions were a witness that people care. It turned out that some people had been suspicious of Jennifer's actions from

the outset. Some thought it was strange that Jamie's killer had spared Jennifer's life despite her being a witness to their crimes. Others immediately thought the shooting had all the hallmarks of a hired hit. Those close to the Faiths also found it odd that soon after Jamie's murder, Jennifer cropped Jamie out of her existing profile picture on social media. The Faith's neighbour, Emery Wilson, had also been suspicious of Jennifer. After Jamie's death, Emery was one of the supporters who put his own anxieties aside to accompany Jennifer as she walked her dog. During one walk, Emery offhandedly remarked that he had seen the then yet to be identified gunman. Jennifer immediately stopped in her tracks.

Previously unaware of this fact, she abruptly asked Emery if the man seemed black or Hispanic. Emery replied that he couldn't tell as he had only noticed the man's dark eyes. Jennifer didn't press Emery any further, which Emery found strange. He thought she would want to learn all she could to help identify her husband's killer. The situation left Emery with mixed feelings about Jennifer, and he stopped walking with her after that. Jamie Faith's death had a profound impact on his loved ones. A friend of his told ABC News, a friend of his told ABC News, "...not having Jamie in our group definitely left a hole. I just miss my friend." Others felt blessed to have known him, recognising Jamie as a rare find who genuinely cared about others without limit. Jamie was the only real dad his adopted daughter had ever known. The two were incredibly close

and were described as being joined at the hip. With Jamie gone and her mother in prison, the Faith's daughter moved away from Dallas, taking the family's beloved dog Maggie with her. On their last Valentine's Day together in February 2020, Jennifer gifted Jamie a hardcover book she had created just for him. It was titled, To Thank You For Being You and For Being Mine. A message on the first page read, Jamie, thank you for my wonderful life. This book is a keepsake we can look back at for years to come. I can't wait to celebrate many more Valentine's days with you, my love. The book featured hand-drawn illustrations of the couple along with a list of all the

things Jennifer loved about Jamie, including his generosity, his humour, and the way he always had her back. Jennifer thanked Jamie for appreciating her and always making her feel safe, saying he was the sweetest, most caring partner she could ask for. Jennifer wrote, I hope you feel how much I love you and how grateful I am to have you in my life. One month later, Darren Lopez found Jennifer Faith online. you