Murder trial beset with twists ends in guilty verdict in Genesee County Circuit Court

Posted by Bryn Mickle | The Flint Journal, mlive

December 31, 2008

FLINT, Michigan -- A bizarre murder trial that included one witness who was dead and one who was blind ended in a guilty verdict.

Kerrick S. Farquharson, 23, was convicted of second-degree murder Monday in the January 2005 slaying of David Colen Jr. outside a Flint after-hours club.

Farquharson also was found guilty of felony firearms and assault with intent to murder in the shooting of Colen's sister, Denise, that night.

The case presented problems for both sides from the outset, given that Denise Colen couldn't identify the shooter because the incident left her blind.

A witness who claimed Farquharson did not pull the trigger was himself shot to death before the case went to trial.

Sentencing for Farquharson is set for Feb. 13.

David Colen Jr.