Florida Police Arrest Suspect In Cold Case Death of 15-Year-Old Farrah Carter

Police have made an arrest in the brutal murder of Farrah Carter nearly 20  years after her mother discovered her body in their home in Miramar, Florida.      

In a press conference on Tuesday, Miramar police announced that Joseph L. Pollard had been indicted for first-degree murder for Carter’s death. Pollard, 56, is already serving a life sentence for kidnapping, robbery and assault at the Taylor Correctional Institution. He has been incarcerated since July of 2002, according to the Florida Department of Corrections. Carter was killed on May 22 of that same year.  

Police said they were able to tie Pollard to Carter’s death with DNA evidence, which they originally collected from the crime scene back in 2002.   Detectives were unable to make a match back then, but with the advancement of DNA technology, they were finally able to get a match to Pollard.

“The case may have gone cold, but it was never forgotten,” Tania Rues, public information officer for the Miramar Police Department told Oxygen.com

Joseph Pollard Photo: Florida Department of Corrections

Police found signs of a struggle in Carter's living room: a chair was knocked over and broken glass was found on the floor, according to the arrest affidavit. Blood was also found on the walls and on the bedspread in her mother's bedroom as well as her own, which is where her body was discovered.

There were no signs of forced entry into the home. 

“We’re grateful that we received an indictment for first-degree murder last Thursday, Miramar Police Detective Joe Tomlin, told WPLG. “We interviewed Joseph Pollard. He denies involvement.”

Rues said that Pollard’s DNA was found in three locations of Carter’s home.

Carter’s mother, Kim Battle, told WTVG that the arrest doesn’t necessarily bring closure.

“For the detectives to come forward with this information, it is very pleasing in a sense but it is still heartbreaking without her being here to see what her life would have been like, to see the children maybe she would have had,” Battle told the station.

Farrah Carter Photo: Miramar Police

Farrah was a student at Hallandale Adult Community Center, who dreamed of attending beauty school or opening a restaurant, People Magazine reported.

Farrah’s father broke down during the news conference, WPLG reported.

“She was a daddy’s girl and I was a daddy’s girl growing,” Farrah’s sister, Jasmine Carter, told the station. “We had that bond, that connection.”

Police are asking anyone who knows Pollard, and has information, to please come forward.