The South Buffalo man charged with the grisly murder of his wife in Allegany County last month had been seen as a good guy by his neighbors.
Amber and Philip Farren had been together almost four years, and were married about a year ago. They made their living selling novelties at carnivals, parades and even some Trump rallies around the country, according to neighbors. But that work dried up when outside events were canceled because of Covid-19.
"He was so nice, he came over all the time and helped me and talked," said Mary Ann Gioia. "But then, I don’t know what goes on behind closed doors."
But in the days leading up to the killing April 24, his Ryan Street neighbors saw a different Philip Farren. This one was uncharacteristically mean, scary and threatening. His family blames mental illness, saying he is schizophrenic, and had become obsessed with Covid-19, thinking the world was coming to an end.
Michelle Scheib, the girlfriend of Philip Farren's brother, said Philip Farren was usually loving and caring.
"It's just sad he wasn't able to get help," she said.
Amber Farren's family said on a GoFundMe page that Amber is the victim of domestic violence. Her sister, Ashley Ryan, told WKBW that "the system failed her, three times I can count," including two days before her death.
Buffalo man called police two days before he was charged with grisly murder in Allegany County
Next door neighbor Brandy Koch said Farren had became convinced she or someone he thought she knew broke a window in his shed. At one point on April 22, Farren, 52 and husky, started yelling at her, and swung his fist at her, missing her but leaving a dent in her metal door, she said.
"He looked possessed. The dude looked like he had a black film over his eyes," Koch said. Farren told her he was calling the police.
Police arrived at the South Buffalo house and talked to the couple about Farren's complaint that someone broke a window in his shed. Amber Farren, 34, told police they were estranged, but she never said she was threatened or did not feel safe, Capt. Jeff Rinaldo said.
Neighbors dispute that, and said Farren put his arm around his wife's neck and dragged her into the house after she asked police for help. A video posted on Facebook by Koch shows one officer in a patrol car, and another walking to another patrol car and getting in when neighbors said Amber Farren was pulled into the house.
In the video, Amber Farren, standing on her porch, can be heard saying, "It's an emergency, and you're a police officer, I'm asking for your emergency assistance."
"That's when I started freaking out," Koch said.
She bolted off her porch and told one of the officers, who was still in his car, "He just grabbed her and pulled her into that house."
As the officers approached the house, the couple came out on the front porch and started talking to the officers, Rinaldo said.
"While police are there, the woman, the victim, she makes a comment to police that the husband, he’s not acting right, he needs some help," he said.
"She was telling them he was schizophrenic and needs help and she can't live here," Koch said.
The officers talked to Farren, who seemed fine, Rinaldo said. Amber Farren never alluded to a domestic problem or that her husband was threatening her, he said. She told police she lived in Allegany County. She also told them her husband did not have guns in the house, but that there were guns at their Allegany County property, according to Rinaldo.
Koch and Gioia said Amber told police her husband had a gun, and that she was afraid he would hurt her dog. They said she told police her husband needed help.
Police asked her what she wanted to do, and, "She says, 'I just want to get my stuff and leave,' " Rinaldo said. She got her dog, and officers waited for her to drive away before they left, he said. A video taken by neighbors showed that Amber Farren pulled out of her driveway just after police drove away.
"He didn’t act crazy, he didn’t threaten her, he didn't threaten police," Rinaldo said. "He wasn't acting bizarre."
But two days later, about 12:30 p.m. on a Friday, State Police charged Farren with second-degree murder after making a welfare check at the couple's property on Holdridge Road in the Allegany County Town of Allen. Troopers said they discovered that Farren had shot and killed his wife, and was dismembering her body when they arrived. The couple had been renovating a house on the property.
Buffalo man arrested on murder charge; police say he had been dismembering body
Family members said he also killed her dog, Dallas.
Trooper James J. O'Callaghan said State Police are aware of the incident in Buffalo, and Rinaldo said Buffalo police have made the police body camera footage available to troopers.
"Even though an incident happened in Buffalo, that is totally separate from the State Police investigation," O'Callaghan said.
O'Callaghan said there is no cellphone service at the Allegany County property, and troopers had to leave to contact the original caller who asked for the welfare check. The person gave them additional information, he said.
"Because they had already been there, they saw a couple things that would make sense with the information they were given and they were able to work with that to establish more of a case," O'Callaghan said.
The investigation revealed that Farren had shot and killed his wife earlier in the week at the Holdridge Road property, O'Callaghan said.
The State Police Forensic Identification Unit and Underwater Recovery Team responded to Holdridge Road. O'Callaghan said there is a small body of water on the property, and the water team was called in to check it. He declined to say if anything was found in the water.
In addition to murder, Farren was charged with first-degree manslaughter, and is being held in the Allegany County Jail without bail.
"We didn't just lose one, we lost both, from something that was preventable," Scheib, the girlfriend of Philip Farren's brother, said. "I loved Amber, she was awesome with my kids."
"Phil was a great person, too," said his neighbor, Brandy Koch. "They both didn't get justice, because he needed help."
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May 08, 2020 at 04:00PM
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'He's not acting right': Buffalo man's demeanor changed in days before wife's homicide - Buffalo News
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