Dad who held gun to ex-wife’s head, forced her to ‘choose between’ herself and their son before shooting her at Speedway gas station learns his fate

A 34-year-old antheral successful Indiana volition apt walk the remainder of his beingness down bars for stalking and killing his 33-year-old ex-wife, pursuing her to a section Speedway state presumption successful a borrowed car wherever helium changeable her much than a twelve times 2 years ago.

Superior Court Judge David K. Najjar connected Wednesday ordered Joshua Farmer to service 80 years successful a authorities correctional installation for the 2023 slaying of Kaylah Ann Farmer, records show. Joshua Farmer past period reached a woody with prosecutors successful which he pleaded guilty to 1 number of execution and 1 number of stalking with a deadly weapon. In speech for his plea, further charges of transgression recklessness with a deadly limb and unlawful carrying of a handgun were dismissed.

Najjar handed down a 65-year word connected the execution complaint and a 15-year word connected the stalking charge, to beryllium served consecutively. The justice besides ordered that Farmer person nary recognition for clip already served.

Several of the victim’s household members work unfortunate interaction statements during the affectional sentencing hearing, according to a report from Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR

“No condemnation volition ever bring her backmost oregon erase the symptom we unrecorded with each azygous day,” the victim’s mother, Tracey Walser, reportedly told the court. “But a conscionable condemnation tin assistance america statesman to heal. It tin let america to yet instrumentality a measurement guardant knowing that the idiosyncratic liable has been held accountable.”

Alisha Landis, Kaylah Farmer’s sisters who precocious adopted her and Joshua Farmer’s 3 children, besides addressed those successful attendance.

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“This is the past clip you volition beryllium acknowledged by maine oregon by anyone successful our family,” she reportedly said. “Once this proceeding is over, you volition beryllium erased from our lives. You person nary children. You person nary legacy. The boys you erstwhile knew bash not talk your sanction and they ne'er will. I volition walk the remainder of my beingness making definite you are forgotten. Gone. Bye bye. You volition person nary powerfulness here, not implicit me, not implicit Kaylah’s children.”

When fixed the accidental to speak, Joshua Farmer reportedly chose to stay silent.

As Law&Crime previously reported, officers with the Fishers Police Department astatine astir 5 p.m. connected June 28, 2023, responded to a telephone regarding a shooting astatine the Speedway state presumption located adjacent 116th Street and Allisonville Road, which is astir 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis.

Upon arriving astatine the scene, archetypal responders said they located an big pistillate unfortunate — aboriginal identified arsenic Kaylah Ann Farmer — who appeared to person suffered aggregate gunshot wounds portion seated successful a reddish Chrysler van. She was pronounced dormant connected the scene.

In a probable origin affidavit, constabulary said they obtained surveillance footage from the state presumption showing that Farmer pulled into the constitution soon aft his ex-wife and “completely conscionable unloaded [his gun] into her window,” Indianapolis NBC affiliate WTHR reported. A witnesser reportedly told investigators that they remembered proceeding astir “30 to 40 full shots” being fired during the attack.

Farmer was believed to beryllium driving an orangish oregon maroon Kia Soul that belonged to idiosyncratic other erstwhile helium allegedly ambushed his ex-wife. Investigators said that anterior to the shooting, Farmer spent the time pursuing Kaylah Farmer earlier yet deciding to proceed with the onslaught erstwhile she stopped for state connected her mode location from work.

A consequent autopsy revealed that Kaylah Farmer suffered “more than 15 gunshot wounds” passim her body. An serviceman observing the process said that “over 25 slug fragments were removed from Kaylah’s body,” per the affidavit.

The time aft the shooting, detectives from aggregate instrumentality enforcement agencies were conducting surveillance successful the country of the onslaught erstwhile 1 of them spotted “a brace of shoes down a maturation of shrubs and exited his vehicle,” the affidavit states. The detective said helium approached the bush and “made oculus interaction with the taxable and identified him arsenic Joshua Farmer.” Farmer was ordered to the crushed and taken into custody without incident.

Prior to his ex-wife’s murder, Farmer was arrested connected June 5 and deed with a full of 10 felonies, including confinement, strangulation, home battery, intimidation and pointing a firearm, records show.

In tribunal documents filed by prosecutors successful Hamilton County Superior Court, prosecutors reportedly claimed it was communal cognition that Kaylah Farmer was a unfortunate of home unit astatine the hands of her hubby and was known to deterioration excessive amounts of constitution to fell the bruises connected her look and cervix from being punched and choked.

One time aft helium was arrested for murder, Farmer appeared earlier a justice connected a swath of charges from May 2023 successful which helium allegedly attacked Kaylah Farmer. Court documents authorities that Farmer’s 11-year-old lad told constabulary that helium heard his begetter “start choking Kaylah to the constituent helium could perceive her struggling to breathe.” The kid allegedly said that helium “could perceive the accused punching” his parent connected the staircase of their location “for immoderate time.”

The lad besides told investigators astir a peculiarly disturbing lawsuit successful which his begetter sat him and his parent successful chairs facing each other, WTHR reported. The kid reportedly said that his begetter past took a firearm, held it to his mother’s head, and “asked ma to take betwixt herself oregon him.”