By John Burton
LONG BRANCH – The cousin of a city woman, found dead with her 10-year-old foster daughter, in their home earlier this month has been charged with their murder and is also facing child pornography charges.
Detectives for the Monmouth County Prosecutor’s Office on Wednesday evening charged Brian Farmer, 58, of John Street, Long Branch, with two counts of first-degree murder in the deaths of Joan Colbert, 62, and Veronica Roach, 10 and six counts of endangering the welfare of a child, according to Charles Webster, a spokesman for the prosecutor’s office.
Farmer is currently being held at the Monmouth County Correctional Institution, Freehold, on $2.5 million cash only bail.
Long Branch detectives and prosecutor’s investigators conducted a 13-day probe following the Aug. 1 discovery of Colbert’s and Roach’s bodies in their Lippincott Avenue home, according to Webster.
Authorities accused Farmer of first strangling Colbert and then Roach during an altercation. Authorities said Colbert came home to discover Farmer allegedly taking pornographic photos of Roach. Police said he had previsouly engaged in sexual activities with the minor.
Authorities said they found pornographic photos of the girl on Farmer’s cell phone.
