Joshua Alexander Farmer (Fishers Police Dept.) and Kaylah Ann Farmer (currentobituary.com)
A 34-year-old man in Indiana will likely spend the rest of his life behind bars after admitting to stalking and killing his 33-year-old ex-wife, shooting her more than a dozen times when she stopped at a gas station.
Joshua Alexander Farmer on Thursday formally pleaded guilty to one count of murder and one count of stalking in the 2023 slaying of Kaylah Farmer, court records reviewed by Law&Crime show. In exchange for pleading guilty, prosecutors agreed to drop additional charges against Farmer, including criminal recklessness with a deadly weapon and unlawful carrying of a handgun. The plea deal also took the death penalty off the table.
The Hamilton County Prosecutor’s Office in August 2023 had filed court documents declaring its intention to seek capital punishment for Farmer, alleging he “completely emptied” the gun on his ex-wife to prevent her from testifying against him in a spate of investigations into alleged domestic violence against her and their children.
“The victim of the murder was listed by the state or known by the defendant to be a witness against the defendant and the defendant committed the murder with the intent to prevent the person from testifying,” prosecutors wrote at the time.
As Law&Crime previously reported, officers with the Fishers Police Department at about 5 p.m. on June 28, 2023, responded to a call regarding a shooting at the Speedway gas station located near 116th Street and Allisonville Road, which is about 20 miles northeast of Indianapolis.
Upon arriving at the scene, first responders said they located an adult female victim — later identified as Kaylah Ann Farmer — who appeared to have suffered multiple gunshot wounds while seated in a red Chrysler van. She was pronounced dead on the scene.
