Mentally Unstable Man Arrested For Axing Mother, Trying To Drown Sister

A 27-year-old man was accused of bludgeoning his mother with an ax and trying to drown his sister in the pool of the family’s home Monday in Orange County, east Orlando, Florida. According to the Orange County Sheriff’s Office, the man, identified as Adam Farney, faced charges of attacking and killing his mother, 52-year-old Lori Farney. He was also accused of trying to drown his 23-year-old sister, Autumn, in the pool.

Autumn called 911 at around 11 p.m. EST after she escaped to a neighbor’s house, according to a report in the Orlando Sentinel, a local news website. Reports said Autumn informed the police that she heard her mother on the porch shout “Adam, no” and then scream. Autumn added she ran outside the house to find Farney standing over Lori with an ax in his hand. She also told the police that when she questioned her brother, he attacked her with a knife.

An arrest report released Wednesday stated that during the altercation, Farney not only stabbed Autumn in the collarbone but also tried to strangle her after which she tried to fight him and get away. However, according to Autumn, Farney was relentless as he dragged her to the pool and held her underwater.

“Autumn said she couldn’t breathe but continued to swing the knife around but was not sure if she actually made contact with Adam,” the report stated.

Eventually, she managed to free herself and run to the neighbor’s house.

According to an Orange County Sheriff’s Office spokeswoman, Jane Watrel, Farney barricaded himself in the house for several hours after which a SWAT team convinced him to surrender. Watrel confirmed Farney was hospitalized for treatment before being taken to the Orange County Jail. Farney will be booked for first-degree murder and first-degree attempted murder, the arrest report stated.

Watrel also said Farney’s motive is not specified yet because he still hasn’t provided the officials with one. Even though Farney does not have a criminal record, he does have a history of mental illness.

Farney was taken to a mental-health facility under Florida’s Baker Act, which “allows people to be involuntarily detained and given emergency mental-health evaluations if they are believed to be a threat to themselves or others,” another report in the Orange Sentinel stated.

“This is just a tragedy for a family to go through,” Watrel said.

According to the same report by Orange Sentinel, Farney had previously told authorities the Pulse nightclub shooting from last year, which claimed 49 lives, was a planned attack carried out by recording artists. Records showed Farney had also said another attack was being planned for a place on Jersey Avenue in St. Cloud as song lyrics referenced to New Jersey and Jersey Avenue. Farney also believed famous music producers wrote songs about him and pointed out that the lyrics used were evidence of plans to kill him.