A Wisconsin man who killed four of his brothers late last year when he smashed his truck into an approaching SUV while heavily intoxicated now faces the possibility of spending several decades in prison.
In Waupaca County, Scott Farmer, 48, entered a plea of not guilty on Wednesday to four charges of murder by drunk driving and one count of driving while intoxicated for the fifth time. Because he is a serial drunk driver, the more serious offense carries a maximum penalty of 40 years in jail.
As part of the plea agreement, four outstanding traffic tickets and one additional criminal count were dropped.
Farmer was first taken into custody in December 2023 on four counts of murder by drunk driving, one count of operating a vehicle while under the influence of alcohol, one count of operating a vehicle while under the influence for the fifth time, reckless driving, driving the incorrect way on a divided highway, and speeding on an expressway.
In a head-on collision on Highway 10 in Weyauwega on December 16, 2023, the defendant killed Daniel Gonzalez, the driver of the other car, who was also killed along with his brother Fabian Gonzalez, 23, and their sisters, Lilian Gonzalez, 14, and Daniela Gonzalez, 9.
A Facebook page features multiple memorials to the deceased. Their family is asking for donations on a GoFundMe page. Farmer was traveling west in the eastbound lane at the time. Inside the truck, an EMT found a huge bottle of vodka.
Both qualitative and quantitative data highlight Farmer’s extreme inebriation at the time of the catastrophic event.
When asked what had happened immediately after, he insisted, saying, “I just spun out,” adding, “I didn’t hit anybody.” After that, Farmer acted aggressively with firefighters and even made an attempt to assault medical personnel. Finally, he acknowledged that he had consumed “a lot” of alcohol, but he still thought the crash happened on “the 12th of February.”
According to the criminal complaint, deputies discovered that Farmer smelled strongly of alcohol as they were looking into the deadly collision.
“I could smell a strong odor of intoxicants emanating from inside of the vehicle. I observed Scott to have bloodshot and glassy (or watery) eyes. His eyelids were droopy. He had a very slow, thick, and slurred speech. His speech was incoherent at times and his sentences would trail off so I could not understand them. His facial movements were slow and delayed, specifically his facial and eye movements,” a deputy stated. “He also would not listen when asked to stay still in his seat. He attempted to crawl over to the passenger side of the vehicle at one point. These observations are all indicative of impairment, more specifically impairment caused by consuming alcohol.”
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Farmer’s blood alcohol concentration (BAC) at the moment of blood drawing was.346, according to a blood test. In Wisconsin, a driver’s blood alcohol content (BAC) of.08 is the legal limit for ordinary drivers; however, the defendant’s BAC was notably lower due to his prior criminal past.
Owing to previous convictions for driving under the influence, his BAC was limited to.02.
Several decades’ worth of occurrences where the defendant drove after intoxication are documented. On October 6, 1999, September 18, 2001, November 29, 2006, and December 18, 2019, he was found guilty of these charges.
This is most likely the final conviction for him. The victims’ stepfather, Pastor Kurt Schilling, expressed a degree of optimism on the outcome of the plea deal, saying, “The main charges are there and I hope justice is served in the end.”
The case is scheduled for sentencing on November 22.
