Crime Stories with Nancy Grace - Fired Fire Captain Pleads Guilty to Gunning Down Girlfriend, Her Young Son | Crime Alert Recap Saturday 03.21.26

Episode Date: March 21, 2026

Breaking crime news as it happens throughout the day! Follow "Crime Alert Hourly Update" now on your favorite podcast app: https://link.chtbl.com/Crime_Alert Here's some of our top stories this week: A former captain with California’s wildfire management agency switches to guilty plea in murders of his girlfriend and her second grader son last year to avoid death penalty.  A second Duggar son now in custody charged with lewd and lascivious conduct related to unlawful sexual interactions with a minor. In Georgia, a longtime grocery store manager says he was fired after stepping in to protect an elderly co-worker from shoplifters and suffering a head injury during the attack. A cancer-stricken comic travels 3,000 miles on a murder mission. Although he misses his first target - he guns down & kills his 2nd and then cops say, turned the weapon on himself.    Stay informed, stay safe, and stay ahead with "Crime Alert Hourly Update.”See omnystudio.com/listener for privacy information.

Crime alert, hourly update. Breaking Crime News now. I'm Sidney Sumner. A former captain with California's wildfire management agency has pleaded guilty to gunning down his girlfriend and her second-greater son last year. Darren McFarlane 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 McFarlane killed 29-year-old Marissa Herzog and Josiah. Zaya devote Lessa 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.

McFarlane also attempted to kill Herzog's daughter in the home, but was unsuccessful. 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 willful, deliberate, and premeditated. and that she 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 documents 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 reduce great bodily harm. El Dorado 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 in most of the scene. was later arrested several counties away in Mono County. McFarlane was fired shortly after his arrest. McFarlane 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. Police 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, my 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 Bufar died of medical causes and did not appear to have been denied food. Her daughter, Carrie Acevedo, said it suspected her mother had severe dementia but was never diagnosed. She said that her brother had been living with her for years. Acevedo, 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. commented, I feel super conflicted. I know my mom loves my brother very much. I 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 due in court for a preliminary hearing next month. More crime and justice news after this. Getting ready for a game means being ready for anything. Like packing a spare stick. I like to be prepared. That's why I remember 988, Canada's suicide crisis helpline. It's good to know just in case. Anyone can call or text for free confidential support from a train responder anytime. 988 suicide crisis helpline is funded by the government in Canada.

I'm Nicole Parton. Police in Florida have arrested 31-year-old Joseph Garrett Dugger, charging him with lewd and lascivious conduct related to the unlawful sexual interaction with a minor. The Bay County Sheriff's Office reported that a detective from the Tanti 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 Duggar 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. According 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 Tontenton 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 N. County 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 an elderly co-worker 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. It 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 hell 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 tension 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. He 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. Kroger told W.S.B. cannot comment on personnel matters. It's common among many companies to put strict rules in 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 an 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 Bisbee's Chuckleheads Comedy Club in Arizona, traveled 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 X 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 KTUU, 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.

Neighbors and friends found the elderly victim's body after Becker vanished into the Alaskan wilderness. The Anchorage Police Department swiftly IDBekker 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. Detectives 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 violence restraining which barred him from possessing any firearms under federal law. As for the motive, Bisbee cops recovered rambling handwritten notes taped to the chuckleheads stage

shortly after Becker fled 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 clock ran out. Follow the Crime Alert hourly update on your favorite podcast app. With this Crime Alert, I'm Jennifer Gould.