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A former captain of California’s wildfire management agency has admitted guilt in the tragic shooting deaths of his girlfriend and her young son last year.
Darin McFarlin’s decision to plead guilty may have been a strategy to avoid the death penalty. Initially, prosecutors had indicated he might face either capital punishment or life imprisonment without parole due to special circumstances, as reported by KCRA.
The special circumstances stemmed from McFarlin’s actions, which involved the killing of 29-year-old Marissa Herzog and her son, Josiah Divodi-Lessa, because they were witnesses to a crime, according to CrimeOnline. Although details about the crime remain undisclosed, it is suggested that the boy may have been killed for witnessing his mother’s murder.
In addition to the murders, McFarlin also made an attempt on the life of Herzog’s daughter, but she survived the attack.
Prosecutors detailed that McFarlin’s assault on Herzog began on August 21 inside a bedroom. She managed to leave the room and use her cellphone before McFarlin armed himself and proceeded to the dining room, where he fatally shot her. The charge against him describes the murder as “willful, deliberate, and premeditated.”
Herzog was found dead at the scene. The boy died at a hospital.
He was fired after his arrest, the Sacramento Bee reported.
According to Law&Crime, McFarlin pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree urder with special circumstances, attempted murder, child abuse, intentional discharge of a firearm causing great bodily injury, and corporal injury to a cohabitant.
His sentencing is scheduled for April 13, KCRA said.