Fired Fire Captain Pleads Guilty to Gunning Down Girlfriend, Her Young Son | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 03.21.26

0:00A former captain with California's wildfire management agency has pleaded guilty to gunning down his girlfriend and her second-grader son last year. Darren McFarland may have changed his plea to guilty to avoid the death penalty, as prosecutors had initially said he faces death or life without parole because of special circumstances. Those special circumstances were added because McFarland killed 29-year-old Marissa Herzog and Josiah DeVody Lesa because they were witnesses to a crime. Details about that crime have not been released, although the boy's death may have been because he witnessed his mother's murder. McFarland also attempted to kill Herzog's daughter in the home but was unsuccessful. Prosecutors say that McFarland attacked Herzog inside a bedroom before she left the room and used her cell phone. McFarland then obtained a gun and went out to the dining room to kill her. The arrest affidavit says that Herzog's murder was willful, deliberate, and premeditated

1:00and that she and her son were killed because they witnessed a crime. McFarland then attempted to kill a second child, identified as Herzog's daughter. The court documents say the killer did willfully and unlawfully inflict unjustifiable mental suffering on a child or permitted child to suffer unjustifiable mental suffering under circumstances and conditions likely to reduce great bodily harm. While Dorado County deputies found Herzog dead at the scene when they arrived, Josiah was taken to a hospital where he died. McFarland had fled the scene and was later arrested several counties away in Mono County. McFarland was fired shortly after his arrest. McFarland pleaded guilty to two counts of first-degree murder 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 13th. A 37-year-old Pennsylvania man was charged with abuse of a corpse this week, months after his 70-year-old mother was found dead in the home they shared in Ben Salem.

2:00Police said they were called to the home by a neighbor who reported a foul odor in October. Derek Bufard answered the door and told an officer he was about to call, quote, by mom stopped breathing this morning. Officers found Cynthia Bufard in the family room amaciated and decomposing. She weighed just 60 pounds and the coroner said she'd likely been dead for nearly two weeks. Investigators found that Derek Bufard had been ordering food delivered to the home multiple times a day and he had to walk past his mother's body to get to the front door to retrieve the food. The Bucks County District Attorney's Office said the medical examiner's report indicates Cynthia Bufard died of medical causes and did not appear to have been denied food. Her daughter, Carrie Assevedo, said it suspected her mother had severe dementia but was never diagnosed. She said that her brother had been living with her for years. Assevedo, who lives out of state, said she had begged her mother to come live with her but her mom would not leave her son behind. She commented, I feel super conflicted. I know my mom loves my brother very much.

3:02I don't want to feel hate for my brother. It feels like a movie. It doesn't feel like it's real life. I feel regret for not being there, for not doing more. Derek Bufard is doing court for a preliminary hearing next month. Honey, snap out of it. Oh, sorry. Just dreaming about updating our kitchen. Well, stop dreaming and let's do it. We can't afford that and we don't have the equity in our house yet to do a home equity loan. We can afford it with Renify. It's a new kind of home equity loan that lets us borrow based on the value of our home after we make our renovations. Oh, wow. Well, I'm also dreaming of a new bathroom. We can do that too. With Renify, we can get up to $750,000 and keep our existing low mortgage rate locked in so we can tackle every project our list. Finish the basement for the kids? Yes, with Renify. Home office or me? Let's do it. Girls drift to duskety. Oh, Renify doesn't do that. Visit Renify.com, that's r-e-n-o-f-i-i.com to receive a text message to see if you qualify for up to $750,000 to renovate your home with Renify. Unlock the future value of your home right now to get the money you need without refinancing.

4:05Visit Renify.com or r-e-n-o-f-i.com to get started today. N-M-L-S, number 1802847, terms apply. Not all borrowers are properties qualify. California Department of Real Estate License, number 02195141, and N-M-L-S, number 2412747, equal opportunity broker. I'm Nicole Parton, police in Florida have arrested 31-year-old Joseph Garrett Dugger, charging him with lute and lascivious conduct related to the unlawful sexual interaction with a minor. The Bay County Sheriff's Office reported that a detective from the Tauntie Town Police Department in Arkansas reached out to them on Wednesday regarding allegations of past sexual abuse. During a forensic interview, a 14-year-old victim recounted incidents involving Dugger that occurred during a family vacation to Panama City Beach when she was just nine years old. The investigation revealed that these incidents transpired while the family was staying at a residence in Panama City.

5:06According to the Sheriff's Office, the victim alleged that Dugger persistently urged her to sit on his lap, sit next to him on the couch, and then covered himself and her with a blanket. Authorities further stated that Dugger allegedly manipulated the girl's underwear made contact with her private areas and rubbed his hands on her thighs. Investigators noted that the victim shared that Dugger eventually expressed remorse saying he was sorry, leading to him stopping the actions. Earlier this week, the girl's father confronted Dugger regarding the incidents, according to the Sheriff's Office, Dugger confessed to both the father and the Tauntie Town detectives. Dugger faces charges that include molestation of a victim under the age of 12. The family member known for his appearances on TLC's 19 Kids and Counting is currently awaiting extradition to Bay County. I'm Drew Nelson. In Georgia, a longtime grocery store manager says he was fired after stepping in to protect

6:08an elderly coworker from shoplifters, suffering a head injury during the attack. It went down in Decatur, where Michael Self says it happened at the Kroger on North Decatur Road. That's my Kroger. Cell phone video shows masked suspects swinging a bag of paper towels at an elderly employee and shoving her. Cell also shows Self on the ground after he says he was struck in the head. And as soon as I got away from that out of that door, someone hit me in the back of the head with something. That's Self on WSB. Police responded to the store on May 24th of 2025, around 820 that morning. Self was taken to Emory University Hospital with a concussion and he had to have staples in his head. Self says he had managed that location for 14 years. He says he went outside to protect a coworker who had followed the suspects. I literally just wanted to draw the attention away from my associates that were already on their way out there, get them to stop and everybody just be done. Self says he did not chase anyone. He says he did not throw a punch.

7:09He says he was trying to keep the situation from getting worse. No telling what would happen if I wouldn't have drawn their attention away. Three days later, Self says he was fired. He says the company accused him of violating its shoplifting policy and starting the fight. I didn't even get to talk to the people that decided to fire me. Broger told WSB it cannot comment on personnel matters. It's comment among many companies to put strict rules and writing, telling employees not to engage with shoplifters because of the risk of injury. Self says the outcome has been devastating for his family. A fundraiser has been created to help with medical bills, legal costs, and daily needs as he recovers and tries to rebuild. I'm Jennifer Gould, a terminal cancer diagnosis, allegedly sent in Arizona stand-up comedian on a cross-country mission of murder, ending in a blood-soaked, final tour through the streets of Anchorage, Alaska. Matthew Thomas Becker, the 61-year-old owner of Busby's Chuckleheads Comedy Club in Arizona,

8:11traveled over 3,000 miles to hunt down his ex-wife before executing her 87-year-old father Romaine Clark in cold blood. The nightmare began when Becker's ex-wife, Rebecca Clark, arrived at her Midtown hair salon to find her door locks tampered with, unaware her terminal ex was lurking in a Nissan Altima just feet away. As Rebecca fled from a hail of pistol fire, hiding between buildings to save her life, Becker allegedly pivoted to his next target. He drove straight to her airport Heights home and opened fire on the defenseless 87-year-old Patriarch, chief Sean Case with the Anchorage Police Department spoke to K-T-U-U, Alaska News 2. Based on preliminary investigation, it appears that the suspect went to the rear of the victim's residence, fired a couple of rounds through a glass window, striking and killing the victim, and then fleeing the scene.

9:13Neighbors and friends found the elderly victim's body after Becker vanished into the Alaskan wilderness. The Anchorage Police Department swiftly IDed Becker as the prime suspect, charging him with first-degree murder in the killing of Romaine Clark and attempted murder in the Salon attack. The Anchorage Police Department launched a massive manhunt for the armed and dangerous comic whose brother confirmed he was recently told his days were numbered due to terminal cancer. The search ended though the next day, when search teams discovered Becker's lifeless body in a wooded area near Eagle River, while the medical examiner is still finalizing the cause of death authorities believe the comedian took his own life. These are still tracing Becker's movements from Arizona to Alaska to see if anyone helped him obtain the murder weapon used in the spree, as his 2020 divorce was marked by a domestic

10:17violence restraining which barred him from possessing any firearms under federal law. As for the motive, Bizzby cops recovered rambling handwritten notes taped to the chuckle heads stage shortly after Becker led for Alaska. The cryptic messages reportedly detailed his quote-unquote final gig and a desperate desire to quote-unquote settle the score before his terminal flock ran out. Follow the crime alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app with this crime alert I'm Jennifer Gould. Do you ever feel like you're drinking from a firehouse? Paikor's intelligent HR solution empowers leaders to turn down the pressure. Their unified platform includes payroll, talent management, compliance software, and a lot more, connecting you to the people, data, and expertise you need to drive long-term business results.

11:17Visit Paikor.com slash leaders and go from work flood to work flow. That's Paikor.com slash leaders. When you stay in your home, what you love gets to stay too. From the gardens that grow wild to the grandkids that run wilder. From the Friday night baseball games to the Sunday morning brunches, even the daily crosswords, and weekly book clubs, there's room for it all with help from home instead. The largest in-home senior care network. With over 30 years of trusted experience delivering the peace of mind you deserved, visit home instead online for a better what's next. This is an iHeart podcast, Guaranteed Human.