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Man Accused of Killing Wife Was Allegedly Dismembering Body When Troopers Came To Check On Her
Amber Farren's family has identified her as the victim and said her marriage to Philip Farren, the suspect in the case, had been troubled.
A Buffalo man was allegedly caught with his wife’s dismembered body during a welfare check at a New York home late last week, according to authorities and the woman’s family.
Philip Farren, 52, was arrested after troopers say they found him disposing of a body at a rural home, according to the New York State Police.
Troopers were called to a home on Holdridge Road in Allen, New York shortly after 12:30 p.m. on Friday for a welfare check. Farren told law enforcement the person they were looking for had “left the area.”
However, authorities soon made a gruesome discovery. In the home’s backyard, investigators recovered a “partially dismembered” corpse.
“The body was located in the rear of the residence, obviously deceased, and dismembered to a point,” Trooper James O’Callaghan told Oxygen.com. “That’s where investigators and forensic identification units were called in to properly go through the evidence that was on-scene.”
The victim appeared to have sustained a fatal gunshot wound.
“Farren shot the victim, believed to be in the head, and then after that started dismembering the body,” O’Callaghan added. “They were there for a welfare check. … They go there thinking it’s going to go one way and then it drastically goes a different direction.”
Farren later “made admissions” to troopers, who then took him into custody, authorities said.
Police have not positively identified the victim. An autopsy is pending, state police said. Authorities suspect she had been murdered earlier in the week.
“As far as our investigation goes, the victim hasn’t been positively confirmed,” O’Callaghan stated. “We’re just going through the process working with the medical examiner’s office in doing that.”
Monroe County Medical Examiner’s Office hasn’t yet released those results.
However, the suspected victim’s family claims the woman in question is Farren’s wife, Amber Farren, according to local media and a GoFundMe page for the family.
“After everything she did to get her life back together, she would give the shirt off her back to anyone and then this happened,” the woman’s sister, Ashley Ryan, told WKBW-TV. “I just can't believe it.”
“She was a sweet girl, a big heart,” Bonne Mineo, Amber Farren’s aunt, added. “Would do anything for anybody. And for her life to be ended like this.”
It’s unclear what exactly triggered the killing, investigators said.
“We don’t have that — [a] motive has yet to be determined,” O’Callaghan told Oxygen.com.
However, the suspected victim’s family claimed the woman’s marriage to Philip Farren had been troubled for a while.
Police were called to a Buffalo residence related to an alleged domestic disturbance supposedly involving the couple shortly before the alleged killing. The woman’s family have since shared a short video of the alleged incident involving police, which was captured by a neighbor’s doorbell camera.
State authorities confirmed they were aware of the incident but were unable to confirm the authenticity of the video and declined to comment further.
Oxygen.com was unable to reach the suspected victim’s family on Tuesday.
Philip Farren was arraigned via video teleconference and is currently in custody at a county detention center, online jail records show. He’s being held without bail, officials said. It’s unclear if he’s retained legal counsel.
