‘You will be erased from our lives’ | Sister of woman killed by ex-husband at Fishers gas station gives scathing remarks at sentencing hearing

The victim’s family delivered scathing messages to Joshua Farmer during court statements Wednesday.

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NOBLESVILLE, Ind. — An Anderson man will likely spend the rest of his life in prison for stalking and killing his ex-wife at a Fishers gas station. At the sentencing hearing for Joshua Farmer Wednesday afternoon, the victim’s mother and two sisters delivered powerful messages straight to the man who killed Kaylah Farmer.

Joshua’s plea deal called for an 80-year sentence, and that’s exactly what he got for ambushing Kaylah when she stopped at a gas pump at the Speedway at 116th Street and Allisonville Road late in the afternoon of June 28, 2023. Joshua shot Kaylah as she sat in her car. An autopsy found more than 15 gunshot wounds on her body.  

Credit: WTHR

Joshua Farmer stands in court during his sentencing hearing for the murder of his ex-wife, Kaylah, on April 30, 2025.

“No sentence will ever bring her back or erase the pain we live with every single day,” Tracey Walser, the victim’s mother, told the judge. “But a just sentence can help us begin to heal. It can allow us to finally take a step forward knowing that the person responsible has been held accountable.”

Credit: Family photo

Kaylah Ann Farmer with her three children. She was killed by her ex-husband, Joshua Farmer, in June 2023 at a Fishers gas station.

Joshua and Kaylah had three boys together.

“Now her children will live with the reality that their father killed their mother,” testified Kassie Adkins, the victim’s sister. “That will be the defining truth of their lives. Their story will forever start with tragedy that they did not choose and didn’t deserve.”

Kaylah’s other sister, Alisha Landis, just completed legal adoption of the three children. Landis addressed Joshua directly in the courtroom, telling him that he is no longer the father of the children.

“This is the last time you will be acknowledged by me or by anyone in our family,” Landis said. “Once this hearing is over, you will be erased from our lives. You have no children. You have no legacy. The boys you once knew do not speak your name and they never will. I will spend the rest of my life making sure you are forgotten. Gone. Bye bye. You will have no power here, not over me, not over Kaylah’s children.”

Credit: Family photo

Kaylah Ann Farmer with her three children. She was killed by her ex-husband, Joshua Farmer, in June 2023 at a Fishers gas station.

The sentence combines the murder case with an incident a month earlier, in May 2023, when Joshua punched and choked Kaylah and put a gun to her head in front of their oldest son. There was a no contact order in place from that incident when he killed Kaylah.

With Kaylah’s family and friends filling the courtroom, Joshua offered no apology.

“I don’t have anything to say,” Joshua told the judge.

Dad Who Held Gun to Ex’s Head and Forced Her to ‘Choose Between’ Herself and Son Learns Fate

Joshua Farmer was sentenced to 80 years in prison

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Sean Neumann

Sean Neumann

Sean Neumann has more than a decade of experience working as a reporter, with a focus on sports and entertainment news.

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Published on May 5, 2025 12:10PM EDT

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• Joshua Farmer was sentenced to 80 years in prison after murdering Kayla Farmer in 2023
• A month before the killing, prosecutors said the killer punched and choked the victim before holding a gun to her head
• Kaylah’s sister Kassie Adkins reportedly testified that her sister’s “children will live with the reality that their father killed their mother”

Kaylah Farmer’s mother and two sisters provided an emotional message to her killer in court last week, telling the ex-husband who stalked and shot her at an Indiana gas station that he will be forever “erased” from their lives and “forgotten.”

Joshua Farmer was sentenced to 80 years in prison for the June 2023 murder, according to local WTHR. Farmer, 32, pleaded guilty to the murder in March, according to The Current. Local Fox 59 had reported that Hamilton County prosecutors originally sought the death sentence against Farmer for killing the mother of three.

“No sentence will ever bring her back or erase the pain we live with every single day,” Tracey Walser, the mother of Kaylah Farmer, told the court last week, according to WTHR. “But a just sentence can help us begin to heal. It can allow us to finally take a step forward knowing that the person responsible has been held accountable.”

Kaylah’s sister Kassie Adkins testified that her sister’s “children will live with the reality that their father killed their mother,” according to the outlet.

“That will be the defining truth of their lives,” Adkins said. “Their story will forever start with tragedy that they did not choose and didn’t deserve.”

Alisha Landis, Kaylah’s other sister, addressed Farmer directly, according to WTHR.

“This is the last time you will be acknowledged by me or by anyone in our family,” Landis said. “Once this hearing is over, you will be erased from our lives. You have no children. You have no legacy. The boys you once knew do not speak your name and they never will. I will spend the rest of my life making sure you are forgotten. Gone. Bye bye. You will have no power here, not over me, not over Kaylah’s children.”

https://people.com/embed?url=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.youtube.com%2Fwatch%3Fv%3Dd4bspZkaOHI%26ab_channel%3DWTHR&id=mntl-sc-block_13-0-iframe&options=e30%3D&docId=11728118

A month prior to the June 2023 killing, prosecutors said Farmer punched and choked his ex-wife in front of their children. During the incident, Farmer held a gun to his ex-wife’s head and demanded she “choose between herself” and her child, WTHR previously reported, citing court documents. The child also told police that their mother attempted to call 911 but their father had “taken her phone from her.”

One month later, Farmer followed his ex-wife to a local gas station and shot her 15 times through her car window while she waited at a gas pump. His sentencing last week reflected charges from both incidents, according to WTHR.

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Farmer did not provide a statement in court last week with his ex-wife’s family and friends sitting in the courtroom, according to the outlet. 

“I don’t have anything to say,” he said.

If you are experiencing domestic violence, call the National Domestic Violence Hotline at 1-800-799-7233, or go to thehotline.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.