04/03/2024
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SUSPECT IN GRAVEYARD MURDERS SAYS HE HAS KILLED 4 TOTAL
Connersville man arrested!
NEWS
EXCLUSIVE: Connersville man arrested in graveyard killings case tells cops he killed 4 people
by: Max Lewis
Posted: Mar 3, 2024 / 09:32 PM EST
Updated: Mar 4, 2024 / 12:07 PM EST
CONNERSVILLE, Ind. — During a police interrogation, a Connersville man implied to investigators that he killed four people, including two men who were found shot to death less than a month apart in and around cemeteries, according to court documents obtained exclusively by CBS4 and FOX59.
Thomas Combs
The Fayette County Prosecutor charged 28-year-old Joshua Lee Farmer with two counts of murder this past week for the killings of 53-year-old Thomas Combs and 47-year-old Joshua Durham.
Combs was found dead in Dale Cemetery in August 2022. Police said he was shot in the face and neck.
According to court records, investigators located a beer can near Combs’ body and collected it as evidence.
The next month, police found Durham shot to death between two homes across the street from the Connersville City Cemetery.
Police collected several bullet casings at both scenes and from the bodies of the victims.
Second body found near a Connersville cemetery in less than a month
In October 2022, detectives said they found a spent .41 caliber casing in Farmer’s pant pocket. During a later search of his home, police said they also located a box containing the same type of bullets.
An analysis by the Indiana State Police laboratory determined that one of the bullets collected from the Durham case contained “similar class characteristics” to the box of bullets found at Farmer’s home.
Man found dead in cemetery near Connersville, third time in 3 months
Booking photo of Farmer provided.
Read More
Detectives said the lab also concluded that the bullets collected from both Durham and Combs were fired from the same gun.
“I didn’t kill no one on purpose,” Farmer said during an interview with police, according to court documents. “I don’t want to get myself in more trouble than I am already in.”
During that interview, police said Farmer implied that he killed four people.
“There’s four,” Farmer said, according to court records. “Dale cemetery, Liberty and shot at two people by the graveyard.”
Detectives said Farmer also admitted to owning a .41 caliber gun.
“Farmer’s interview aligned with the locations of the above investigations as well as the caliber of the firearm used to shoot and kill Thomas Combs and Joshua Durham,” Detective Kelly McPheeters wrote in court filings. “The Liberty reference is believed to be shooting in Union County, which is also under investigation.”
Farmer pleaded not guilty.
