The cousin of the Long Branch mom and her foster daughter found strangled to death last July faces life in prison without parole if he's convicted of their murders at trial.

Brian Farmer, 59, also of Long Branch, was indicted Tuesday on two first-degree murder counts for the deaths of Joan Colbert, 62, and Veronica Roach, 10, on July 30, according to the office of acting Monmouth County Prosecutor Chris Gramiccioni.

The six-count indictment also charges Farmer with one first-, one second- and two third-degree child endangerment counts, related to allegations of child pornography.

He remains in the Monmouth County Correctional Institution in Freehold, with bail set at $2.56 million, cash only. He previously served 13 years in East Jersey State Prison for assault, released in 12

Balloons and candles at the Long Branch home of Joan Colbert.
Balloons and candles at the Long Branch home of Joan Colbert after her murder. (News 12 New Jersey)
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Investigators believe that Colbert arrived home that day and found Farmer taking salacious images of the youngster. The ensuing confrontation ended with the deaths of both victims, after which Farmer fled the house, investigators alleged.

Pornographic images of the 10-year-old allegedly found stored in Farmer's cell phone data led to the endangerment charges.

If convicted of child endangerment, Farmer would risk sentences of 10 to 20 years for the first-degree count, five to 10 for the second-degree charge,and three to five for each of the third-degree counts.

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