A 27-year-old Sacramento man has been booked into jail on a murder charge after his 11-month-old son was found unresponsive inside an apartment in the 500 block of Rivergate Way earlier this month. Emari Thompson was detained at the scene on August 15 and formally booked on one count of murder five days later, on Thursday, following an investigation by homicide detectives and consultation with prosecutors.
According to Sacramento Police Department, officers responded just after 6 a.m. that Saturday to reports of an unresponsive infant inside the apartment, located in the Pocket-Greenhaven neighborhood roughly 10 miles from Downtown Sacramento, according to Apartments.com real estate records. The child was rushed to an area hospital, where he was pronounced dead despite lifesaving efforts. As reported by CBS News, Thompson is the child's father.
Detectives Took Over the Scene
Homicide detectives and crime scene investigators took over the investigation, interviewed witnesses, processed the scene and collected evidence, per the department's news release. Police say Thompson was initially detained at the scene, and the formal murder booking came only after department investigators consulted with the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office — a step outlined in county procedure, since criminal charging decisions in Sacramento County are made by deputy district attorneys evaluating evidence submitted by law enforcement, per the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office. The office's Homicide Unit oversees felony filings in fatal child cases.
The Sacramento County Coroner's Office has not yet released the identity of the deceased child and will do so only after next-of-kin have been notified, the department's report notes. Forensic determinations of cause and manner of death by the coroner's office are typically a critical step in these cases, often shaping whether a preliminary investigation leads to a formal murder charge, per the district attorney's office. The exact cause and mechanism of the child's death remain unresolved pending those autopsy findings.
Legal Exposure Under State Child Abuse Law
California law includes a specific statute for fatal child abuse cases. Under Penal Code Section 273ab, assault on a child under eight resulting in death carries a mandatory state prison sentence of 25 years to life, according to the Griffin Law Office, and a conviction is classified as a violent felony and a strike under California's Three Strikes Law. Separately, standard second-degree murder under Penal Code Section 187 carries a sentence of 15 years to life, though prosecutors frequently charge both counts in infant death cases to maximize potential sentencing exposure, per Eisner Gorin LLP. It is not yet known from available records which charges beyond the single murder count Thompson currently faces. As with any pending case, the murder charge against Thompson remains an allegation subject to court proceedings.
Sacramento police are asking anyone with information to come forward. Witnesses can contact Sacramento Valley Crime Stoppers at (916) 443-HELP (4357) or the department's dispatch center at (916) 808-5471, and callers may remain anonymous. Anonymous tips can also be submitted through the free P3 Tips smartphone app, and callers may be eligible for a reward of up to $1,000.
A Rare Case Amid Falling Homicide Numbers
The case lands against a backdrop of historically low violent crime in the region. Sacramento County recorded 67 homicides in 2025, a 23% decrease from 2024 and the county's lowest annual total in more than four decades, according to CapRadio, with the county's homicide clearance rate reaching a 15-year high of 92%. Within Sacramento city limits specifically, police recorded 42 homicides in 2025, down from 45 the year before, with overall drops across every major crime category. Statewide, California's homicide rate fell 20% between 2019 and 2025, reaching its lowest recorded level since tracking began in 1966, according to the Office of Governor Gavin Newsom.
Even so, Sacramento County has seen a string of fatal child abuse cases in recent months. In a case Hoodline covered in December, a Sacramento father was sentenced to 25 years to life under Penal Code 273ab for fatally shaking his 7-month-old son. Weeks later, a Galt father was arrested on suspicion of homicide after his infant daughter died from head trauma, and in January 2025 a 23-year-old Sacramento father was arrested on murder charges after an autopsy revealed traumatic brain injury in his 3-month-old son. Families affected by fatal child abuse cases can access the Sacramento County District Attorney's Office's Victim Witness Assistance Program, which offers a Homicide Survivors Support Group and crisis intervention services.
