Dallas widow pleads guilty to orchestrating murder of her husband while he walked dog
A Dallas woman who convinced her boyfriend to gun down her husband pleaded guilty Monday to orchestrating the homicide, federal authorities said.
Jennifer Faith, 49, pleaded guilty to the murder-for-hire charge before U.S. District Judge Jane J. Boyle as part of a plea agreement with federal prosecutors.
She had been charged with obstruction and then prosecutors added the use of interstate commerce in the commission of murder-for-hire, a charge that carried a potential for a death sentence.
In return for her plea, prosecutors agreed to drop an obstruction of justice charge and recommended a life sentence.
Federal authorities said on Monday sentencing will be ultimately be at the discretion of the judge.
Darrin Lopez, Faith’s boyfriend, was arrested in January 2021 in Tennessee and charged with the Oct. 9, 2020, murder of James Faith, an American Airlines IT director who was gunned down while the couple walked their dog in the 1000 block of Waverly Drive in Dallas.
“Jennifer Faith’s cold-blooded plot to murder her husband was made all the more heinous by the way she behaved after his death,” said U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Chad E. Meacham in a Monday news release. “Even as she wept for her late husband on TV, Ms. Faith was corresponding with his murderer, plotting about how to cover up their crime.”
Lopez, who has pleaded not guilty, faces a murder charge in Texas and a gun crime charge in federal court.
In an interview with Dallas homicide detective Chris Walton just after the homicide, Jennifer Faith said the killer, who was wearing a blue face mask, repeatedly shot her husband, and then attacked her, knocking her to the ground and placing duct tape around her hands. She screamed for help and the suspect fled, she told police.
Text messages between Lopez and Jennifer Faith revealed that as she publicly projected to be a grieving widow, privately, she repeatedly instructed Lopez to get rid of evidence in the case, according to federal authorities.
“I am pleased to see that there were no stones left unturned during the course of this investigation, and that our collaborative efforts have brought those involved to justice,” said Dallas Police Chief Eddie Garcia in a news release. “I am also excited to continue this partnership with the USDOJ in our ongoing determination to remove the criminal elements off the streets.”
Federal authorities said Jennifer Faith was having an affair with Lopez, who she dated in high school and college. From Sept. 30 to Oct. 30, 2020, she and Lopez exchanged 14,363 texts, according to federal court documents.
“I truly can’t be without you at this point,” Jennifer Faith texted Lopez in December 2020.
James Faith and his wife were having marital problems at the time he was killed, authorities said.
Credit reports reviewed following the killing of James Faith showed that Lopez was having financial problems. According to payment history for his home in Cumberland Furnace, Tennessee, Lopez had $38,157 past due on his mortgage. Utility records showed that his water had been turned off in October.
In October 2020, Lopez is accused of driving from Tennessee to the Faiths’ Dallas home, waiting until the couple left to walk their dog, then shooting James Faith seven times before fleeing.
Just hours after the killing, a GoFundMe account was established called “Support for Jennifer Faith.” More than $60,000 was raised. On Oct. 13, 2020, more than $30,000 was withdrawn from the account.
A MetLife Insurance Co. agent contacted Dallas police in November and told them that James Faith had a life insurance policy in excess of $600,000 and that the beneficiary was Jennifer Faith.
Through the investigation, Lopez was arrested in January 2021 and detectives discovered in Lopez’s home a .45-caliber handgun that ballistic tests proved match the one that killed James Faith.
Authorities also learned that Lopez owned a Nissan Titan pickup that matched witnesses’ description of the shooter’s vehicle. Weeks after the fatal shooting, Tennessee authorities observed a distinctive “T” on the truck’s back window which matched descriptions by witnesses.
In January 2021 Jennifer Faith admitted she called Lopez daily, but denied having an intimate relationship, authorities said.
“Lies, deceit and ultimately the murder of a loving spouse. After attempting to manipulate family, friends and caring citizens, Mrs. Faith has now admitted to her heinous acts,” said ATF Dallas Field Division Special Agent in Charge Jeffrey C. Boshek II in a news release. “What’s done in the dark will always come to light.”
This story was originally published February 7, 2022 at 12:55 PM.
