A veteran Cal Fire captain quietly pleaded guilty Tuesday to killing his girlfriend and her young son in a Cameron Park home, according to local court filings. Darin Blake McFarlin, 47, entered the plea in El Dorado County and is scheduled to be sentenced on April 13, 2026. Prosecutors say he faces either the death penalty or life without the possibility of parole. The plea closes a case that stunned the suburban community when the shootings happened on Aug. 21, 2025.
As first reported by The Sacramento Bee, McFarlin pleaded guilty to the killings of Marissa Herzog and her son, Josiah, and to related counts that were added or amended in the case. The Bee reports that prosecutors amended the complaint to list special-circumstance allegations that raise the stakes at sentencing.
In the El Dorado County District Attorney's amended criminal complaint, detailed in a filing from the El Dorado County District Attorney, prosecutors allege McFarlin committed two counts of first-degree murder with special circumstances, attempted murder, felony child abuse and corporal injury to a cohabitant, and that he "personally and intentionally discharged a firearm" causing great bodily injury and death. The filing also asserts investigators believe the victims were targeted to prevent their testimony in another matter.
Court and penalties
McFarlin is due back in Placerville for sentencing on April 13, 2026, The Sacramento Bee reports. Because the complaint includes special-circumstance allegations, a conviction carries either the death penalty or life in prison without parole under California law, a legal path prosecutors have flagged in the filing.
How prosecutors say it unfolded
Deputies responded to gunfire at a home in the 3000 block of Oakwood Road on Aug. 21, 2025. Marissa Herzog was found dead at the scene and her son, Josiah, later died at a hospital, according to KCRA. The complaint describes an assault in Herzog's bedroom and alleges the defendant went to the dining room and fired the fatal shots. Prosecutors say another child in the home survived an attack.
Official response and next steps
Cal Fire said the department was "heartbroken" by the slayings and placed McFarlin on unpaid administrative leave while investigators work the case, local outlets reported. McFarlin had worked with Cal Fire's Amador-El Dorado Unit since 2000, and deputies say he was arrested hours after the shootings along Highway 395 near Bridgeport before being transported back to El Dorado County jail for booking, per reporting by the Folsom Times.
