Long Branch man indicted for 2014 killings, child porn

FREEHOLD — A Monmouth County grand jury has indicted a Long Branch man on six counts stemming from the strangulation murders of a city woman and her foster daughter, and child pornography-related charges connected to the young murder victim.

Brian Farmer, 59, of John Street, Long Branch, was named Nov. 30 in an indictment charging him with two counts of first degree murder for causing the death of Joan Colbert, 62, and her 10-year-old foster daughter Veronica Roach, one count of first degree endangering the welfare of a child, one count of second degree endangering the welfare of a child and two counts of third degree endangering the welfare of a child, Monmouth County Acting Prosecutor Christopher Gramiccioni said.

The endangering charges allege that Farmer was involved in causing or permitting a child to engage in child pornography, in the manufacture of child pornography and for the possession of child pornography.

Farmer is being held in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold Township, on $2.56 million cash-only bail, as set by then-Monmouth County Superior Court Judge Francis Vernoia, who recently received a temporary assignment to the state Appellate Division.

An investigation revealed Farmer was at the home on July 30, 2014, where he was discovered by Colbert taking pornographic photographs of the 10-year-old girl.

A confrontation ensued, ending with Farmer killing Colbert and the girl. Farmer then fled the scene.

Detectives discovered pornographic pictures of the 10-year-old victim on Farmer’s cellular phone prompting the child endangerment charges. Farmer is accused of causing the girl to engage in a prohibited sexual act while simultaneously photographing the girl; photographing the girl while engaged in a prohibited sexual act; engaging in sexual conduct with the child; and possession of child pornography.

An autopsy determined both deaths were the result of a homicide, and both victims died as the result of strangulation.

If convicted of both charges of first-degree murder, Farmer faces a prison sentence of life without the possibility of parole.

Farmer faces a state prison sentence of 10 to 20 years for first degree endangering the welfare of a child, and faces a state prison sentence of five to 10 years on the second degree charge for the same offense.

On each of the third degree charges, Farmer faces a state prison sentence of three to five years.

The case is assigned to Monmouth County Senior Litigation Counsel Thomas Huth and Monmouth County Assistant Prosecutor Jennifer Lipp, director of the Office’s Professional Responsibility and Bias Crime Bureau.

Farmer was previously charged in 1996 in connection with an aggravated sexual assault on a 15-year-old female, according to the New Jersey State Police Sex Offender Internet Registry. The website stated that Farmer engaged in a sexual act with the juvenile while armed with a knife, confined the minor and her mother over a three-day period and burned the house down after they escaped.