CalFire Captain Accused of Killing Girlfriend, Her Son to Prevent Their Testimony | Crime Alert 6AM 09.05.25

New court documents reveal A California fire captain is accused of killing his girlfriend and her young son — and attempting to kill another child — because they were witnesses to a crime.

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Episode Transcript

Speaker 1 (00:00):
Crime Alard hourly update, breaking crime news Now. I'm Sidney Sumner,
a California fire captain accused of killing his girlfriend and
her young son and attempting to kill another child, entered
not guilty, Please in court. Darren McFarlane, forty seven, is
on unpaid administrative leave from cal Fire after his arrests
last week for the murders of twenty nine year old

(00:21):
Marissa Herzog and her son, Josiah, a second grader. He
stands charged with two counts of first degree murder, one
count of attempted murder, and domestic violence and child abuse charges.
Court documents say the murders took place to prevent the
victim's testimony for a crime, but they do not specifically
reveal what that crime was. They do, however, detail what

(00:42):
investigators think happened on the evening of August twenty first.
Prosecutors say that McFarlane attacked Herzog inside a bedroom before
she left the room and used her cell phone. McFarlane
then obtained a gun and went out to the dining
room to kill her. The arrest affidavit says that Herzog's
murder was will full, deliberate, and premeditated and that she

(01:02):
and her son were killed because they witnessed a crime.
McFarlane then attempted to kill a second child, identified as
Herzog's daughter. The court document say the killer did willfully
and unlawfully inflict unjustifiable mental suffering on a child, or
permit a child to suffer unjustifiable mental suffering under circumstances
and conditions likely to produce great bodily harm. El Dorado

(01:25):
County deputies found Herzog dead at the scene when they arrived.
Josiah was taken to a hospital, where he died. McFarlane
had fled the scene and was later arrested several counties
away in Mono County. The El Dorado County District Attorney's
Office added special circumstances to the murder charges, committing multiple murders,
murder of a witness to prevent testimony, an intentional discharge

(01:47):
of a firearm causing death, and child endangerment, making McFarlane
eligible for the death penalty if he's convicted. McFarlane is
being held without bail and has a preliminary hearing set
for September twenty ninth. A Wisconsin man pleaded guilty to
reckless homicide in the fatal shooting of his eight year
old step son earlier this year while trying to look

(02:07):
cool by showing off his guns. Stephen Merkle, fifty three,
is expected to be sentenced on November twentieth. Merkele called
nine one one at about two am on January twentieth,
telling detectives he did something stupid. Merkele said he was
showing his step son, Michael Meager, his guns because it
made him look cool. He said he had taken the
magazine out and assumed the gun wouldn't fire, even though

(02:30):
there was a bullet in the chamber, apparently because he
was not very knowledgeable about guns. The complaint said that
Merkele retrieved his gun from the bedroom and exited, pointing
the gun at the boy and pulling the trigger. He
said he expected it to click, but instead it went boom.
Meeger was taken to a hospital, where he died. Merkele
also said he had two little drinks of rum in

(02:53):
RC that evening, although there was no indication police checked
him for intoxication. More crime and justice news after this.
An Oklahoma man has been charged with child sexual abuse
after his eleven year old stepdaughter gave birth at home
earlier this month. Dustin Walker's wife, thirty three year old
Cherie Walker, was charged with enabling child sexual abuse. The

(03:16):
girl gave birth at home on August sixteenth, with no
medical care, and the Walkers claimed they had no idea
she was pregnant. Scherie Walker's mother, who identified herself only
as Michelle, said her daughter claimed the father was a
twelve year old boy and that the children just got curious.
The Walkers were initially charged with child neglect when they
were arrested last week, but the charges were changed on

(03:39):
Monday when DNA test showed that Dustin Walker thirty four,
was a ninety nine point nine percent match for the
baby's father. Muskigee County Assistant District Attorney Janet Hudson said
in a statement, this is one of the most, if
not the most serious child sexual abuse in neglect cases
I have ever prosecuted. The couple is all so charged

(04:00):
with six counts of child neglect for the eleven year
old girl and her five siblings, ages two, four, six, seven,
and nine. The children who have been removed from the
home were found living in deplorable conditions. The eleven year
old had not seen a doctor in more than a
year and was apparently homeschooled. The Walkers are due in
court on September third. A North Carolina elected official was

(04:23):
arrested on Tuesday for allegedly lacing his granddaughter's ice cream
with drugs. James Yokeley, sixty six, reportedly flagged down Wilmington
police at a Sheet's gas station and claimed his granddaughters
found two pills in a blizzard they purchased from a
nearby dairy queen. However, police said surveillance footage showed Yokeley
putting the pills in the girl's ice cream. The girls

(04:45):
did not ingest the pills, which tested positive for MDMA
and cocaine. The dairy queen's owner said that Yokeley came
into her store five days before he flagged down officers
and ordered blizzards for his granddaughters. Four employees were reportedly
on duty at the time. The owner said police came
to her establishment to request surveillance footage, commenting, thank goodness

(05:07):
we had video. Yokley was charged with contaminating food or
drink with a controlled substance, child abuse, and possession of
Schedule one narcotics yesterday, he resigned as chair of the
Surrey County Board of Elections. He was elected to the
position in July. Yoakley said in a letter addressed to
Auditor Dave Bolliek, who called for his resignation hours earlier,

(05:28):
based on the truth in facts, I remain prayerfully confident
that I will be exonerated of all accusations leveled against me.
Yoakle's bond was set at one hundred thousand dollars. The
pills allegedly found in his granddaughter's blizzards were sent to
a state laboratory for further analysis. It's unclear what Yoakley's
motive was for the frame job. For the latest crime

(05:48):
and justice breaking news, be sure to follow the Crime
Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app with this
crime Alert. I'm Sidney Sumner.