Palm Springs Man To Stand Trial For Murder Charges

INDIO – A Palm Springs man accused of fatally shooting an Apple Valley resident who hugged the defendant’s girlfriend will stand trial for murder, and the girlfriend will be tried as an accessory, a judge ruled today.

Dale Farquhar, 47, is charged with first-degree murder in the Nov. 13 slaying of 57-year-old Larry Roger Fisk at Palm Springs Villas condominium complex at 680 Ashurst Court.

Following a nearly three-hour preliminary hearing, Riverside County Superior Court Judge John J. Ryan ordered that Cara Williams-Covert, 38, must also stand trial for allegedly helping Farquhar conceal the crime.

Farquhar and Williams-Covert dated for about seven years before the slaying.

During the hearing, Palm Springs police Detective Mike Villegas testified that Covert- Williams told him in an interview that she met Fisk Nov. 12 at a pub, where they had a drink before going for a motorcycle ride.

She said they met the next day at the Palm Springs Aerial Tramway, and that when she returned home, she was surprised to see Fisk waiting for her at the complex’s mailboxes, Villegas testified.

“He told her he had followed her and wanted to have a drink with her,” the detective said.

He said they went into her apartment, where they hugged.

“Mr. Farquhar came from behind and shot him,” Villegas said, adding that Covert-Williams told him that Fisk had not done or said anything to Farquhar before he was shot.

Villegas said Covert-Williams claims she fainted and woke up on the couch, where she could hear “the helmet of Mr. Fisk banging on the floor as he was being dragged.”

The detective said Covert-Williams admitted to helping Farquhar move the body to the front of an empty condo nearby and then helped get rid of the bloodstains.

She also admitted to helping Farquhar dump the victim’s belongings and their bloody jeans in a nearby desert lot, the detective said.

During the cross examination of Officer Michael Struder, Deputy Public Defender Richard Verlato read aloud statements Farquhar made to police that were documented in a report.

According to the report, Farquhar told officers, “I blacked out and somebody is dead. Somebody is dead, right?”

Farquhar also told police he was “not right in his head,” that he heard voices, and that he was diagnosed online with a mental disorder.

Farquhar and Williams-Covert are being held on $1 million bail, pending a March 26 post-indictment arraignment.