A 47-year-old California fire chief, Darin McFarlin, is accused of killing his girlfriend, Marissa Divodi-Lessa, and her son, Josiah Divodi-Lessa. At the time of the alleged homicides, his fellow firefighters were containing a 600-acre wildfire.
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According ot the El Dorado County Sheriff’s Office, the incident occurred on August 21. At around 9:00 p.m., EDCSO deputies responded to a shooting report on Oakwood Road in Cameron Park.
Upon arrival, Marissa and Josiah were found having suffered gunshot wounds inside the residence. Marissa was pronounced deceased at the scene, while Josiah was pronounced deceased at a local hospital. Additionally, another juvenile was found in the home, unharmed.
An initial investigation determined that Darin McFarlin was a person of interest. As reported by KCRA, he is a fire captain in the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection (Cal Fire), Amador-El Dorado unit. Hours later, before midnight, he was detained and booked in the El Dorado County Jail on two counts of homicide.
A motive has yet to be released.
Minutes before the shooting report was made on Friday night, the Amado El Dorado unit was fighting to contain the 624-acre Coyote Fire. Specifically, at the time of the alleged shooting, the latest Cal Fire report detailed a 5 percent containment.
As of Monday, August 25, containment had increased to 58 percent.
A Mother And Brother, Gone
A GoFundMe was set up to cover Marissa’s and Josiah’s funeral and interment costs. They will also help support Marissa’s suriving daughter and Josiah’s older sister, Serafina. It is unclear if she was the surviving juvenile found in the Oakwood Road residence.
A family statement described Marissa lovingly as “a light and full of love and life,” adding that she loved her babies, people, and God.
In an emotional statement, Serafina spoke about her mother and brother.
“She always made me laugh,” she said of her mother. “She would always tuck in at night and we would always tell each other, ‘I love you.’ ‘I love you more.’ ‘I love you most.'”
“My brother, Jojo, would always play games with me, especially Hide-and-Seek,” Serafina said of her brother. “That day, we made a box with cute necklaces.”
Serafina referred to Marissa as the “best mommy ever.”