By Gregory Orear

General Manager/Editor

The Lincoln County Prosecuting Attorney’s Office filed felony perjury charges against a former Lincoln County Sheriff’s Deputy who provided false testimony that led to the murder conviction of an innocent man.

Special Prosecutor John Krehmeyer requested a warrant for the arrest of Michael Merkel, 45, of Troy on the two Class A felony charges, specifically perjury in (a) criminal trial to secure conviction of murder.

In addition to the arrest warrant, he also filed a request for a $250,000 cash only bond, citing the serious nature of the crime and the impact it had.

“The perjured testimony provided in the case against Rusell Faria resulted in a wrongly convicted man being sent to the Missouri Department of Corrections and spending several years of his life incarcerated,” Krehmeyer stated in the bond request. “One of the pillars of our criminal justice system is that the citizens of this country can depend upon honesty and integrity of those individuals that are entrusted with the responsibility of investigating potential criminal conduct. When that ceases to exist the faith and trust in our judicial system is completely eroded.”

According to a detailed probable cause statement filed by Lincoln County Sheriff Rick Harrell, an investigation by his department revealed multiple incidents of misconduct and lying in court related to key evidence that convicted Faria of the 2011 murder of his wife, Betsy.

Faria spent more than three years in jail and a Missouri prison before a second trial cleared him of all charges in 2015.  

Pam Hupp, who provided key testimony as well in the first trial, has been charged with Faria’s murder and faces an August 2026 jury trial in St. Charles County.

During that original trial, Merkel testified he used a chemical reagent product called Bluestar to located blood evidence at the crime scene.

“Merkel said he observed a positive chemical luminescence when he sprayed the Bluestar reagent … and followed a path of it in a general direction of the kitchen,” Harrell wrote in the probable cause statement.

However, during cross-examination by Faria’s defense attorney, Joel Schwartz, Merkel testified due to a camera malfunction, the photographs showed “absolutely nothing.”

“What did they show,” Schwartz asked of the photographs.

“Absolutely nothing,” Merkel responded.  

“Because why,” Schwartz asked.

“Because of a malfunction in our camera that we have had since been repaired,” Merkel explained in the original trial.

During the second trial, Merkel’s testimony changed significantly, if not initially.

“So there were no pictures developed that day,” Schwarze asked Merkel again during the second trial.

“I don’t believe so, no, sir,” Merkel replied.

Schwarze then proceeded to hand Merkel a stack of photographs.  

“What’s that,” Schwarze asked Merkel. “Take your time.”

“It would be photographs of that day,” Merkel replied.

“Did it show absolutely nothing,” Schwarze continued.

“As far as chemical luminescence, no, sir, it does not,” Merkel said.

Harrell wrote in the probable cause statement that those photos were in fact developed and didn’t indicate the evidence Merkel testified to in Faria’s first trial, including the presence of the previously mentioned chemical luminescence.

“The existence of the developed images in the digital photographs taken on the day of the Bluestar test, including the seven (7) photos revealing obvious blue chemiluminescence, contradicts Michael Merkel’s testimony when he stated the crime scene photos showed ‘absolutely nothing”’ and when he later stated the photos don’t show any of the chemical luminescence,” Harrell wrote.

Harrell also criticized the overall investigation of the murder.

“The photos also uncovered negligence on the part of investigators in failing to preserve the integrity of the crime scene and exposed inconsistencies with the report Merkel submitted and his testimony describing the events surrounding the Bluestar test, specifically his unexplained behavior in apparently ignoring areas of potential evidence where blue chemical luminescence was plainly visible in the crime scene photos,” Harrell wrote.

As for the faulty camera, Harrell said that was another false claim testified to under oath.

“However, this claim is contradicted by a forensic review of the 132 digital images captured between 4:09 p.m. and 6: 15 p.m. that day,” Harrell stated.  “All photos contain complete EXIF metadata confirming consistent camera performance, appropriate exposure settings for lowlight conditions, and no signs of technical failure. At least seven images clearly display visible blue chemiluminescence consistent with a Bluestar reaction, as later confirmed by a forensic expert. Additionally, the Nikon D80 was used on at least two occasions after the January 3 scene and functioned normally in both instances.”

Harrell also stated the camera was not submitted for repair until March 2013, over a year later, and only after an unrelated error message was observed during a training session in August 2012.

“At no time during or immediately after the Bluestar test did Crime Scene Unit personnel report a malfunction, and Merkel made no mention of any technical issues in his written report submitted 15 months after the test,” Harrell said.

While charges have been filed, no court date has been set as of Tuesday night.

Merkel already faces felony stalking and harassment charges in connection with accusations he threatened and attempted to blackmail a Lincoln County deputy tasked with investigating the Faria case.

A May trial was recently postponed on the two Class E felony charges.