Texas Woman Who Appeared On TV As 'Grieving Widow' Often Texted Husband's Killer, Say Police

A Texas woman, who appeared on TV pleading for information regarding her husband's murder last October, has been arrested after authorities discovered that she was in touch with the alleged killer.

Jennifer Lynne Faith, 48, was charged with federal obstruction of justice on Wednesday, said acting U.S. Attorney for the Northern District of Texas Prerak Shah in a news release.

"Even as she publicly claimed she was 'desperate for answers’ regarding her husband's murder, Jennifer Faith was communicating with the alleged killer, actively urging him to destroy evidence and attempting to delete incriminating communications from her phone," Shah said.

James "Jamie" Faith, Jennifer's husband, was an IT director for American Airlines. He was gunned down while the couple was out on a morning walk in their Dallas neighborhood. The gunman, identified as 48-year-old Darrin Ruben Lopez from Tennessee, was Jennifer's high school sweetheart, a report from the New York Post said.

A search of Jennifer's phone revealed she was having what she described as "a full-blown emotional affair" with Lopez, the complaint said.

According to investigators, Lopez drove from his home to Jennifer and James' residence on Oct. 9, 2020. He waited until the couple came out to walk their dog. He then shot James seven times before fleeing the scene.

Two months after the murder, Faith appeared on TV, urging anyone with information about the case to come forward. "I heard running behind me, and I turned around and all of a sudden somebody just started shooting at him," Jennifer told a local news outlet.

However, police found out that Lopez and Jennifer had some 14,363 calls and texts between Sept. 30 and Oct. 30, 2020. When quizzed in January, Jennifer admitted to speaking with Lopez daily but denied having an intimate relationship with him.

However, following Lopez's arrest, police discovered they were actually "intimately involved." Jennifer also coached her lover how to respond to police questioning and would share with him her plans to cash in on James' life insurance policy.

"If asked about you, you are an old friend going through a divorce … If it ever comes to it, I'll answer the same way," she texted Lopez, according to court documents.

Ballistic tests proved that the .45 caliber handgun found inside Lopez's home was the weapon used to kill James.

"Text messages revealed that even as she publicly projected the grieving widow persona on TV, privately, Faith instructed Lopez to remove the distinctive 'T' decal off of his truck – the same decal that witnesses had reported to law enforcement on the day of the murder," said the arrest warrant affidavit.

Jennifer is expected to appear before a judge on Friday.