A former Sacramento County sheriff’s deputy suspected of fatally stabbing his 11-year-old son was shot and killed by law enforcement on Tuesday. The incident followed a high-speed pursuit on Interstate 5, ending a morning of horror that began inside an Elk Grove home. The event unfolded in real time on a mother’s security camera feed.
Elk Grove police said the boy’s mother called 911 shortly after 8 a.m. She witnessed what she believed was a violent assault on the home’s live surveillance system. Officers arrived at the Ferrell Way residence within minutes. They found the 11-year-old boy suffering from stab wounds. He was rushed to a hospital but did not survive. A 6-year-old girl in the home was physically unharmed.
Investigators immediately identified the children’s father, 40-year-old Marvin Morales, as the suspect and learned he had fled before officers reached the residence. During a preliminary search of the home, police discovered an empty gun safe, heightening concerns that Morales was armed as he drove south out of Sacramento County. According to authorities, the alert prompted regional law enforcement agencies to broadcast the suspect’s vehicle description and initiate area-wide surveillance.
Sacramento County Sheriff’s Sgt. Amar Gandhi said Sheriff Jim Cooper was driving to work when he spotted the suspect’s vehicle. The car was heading south on Interstate 5 near Pocket Road. Officers from multiple agencies joined the pursuit. The chase crossed into San Joaquin County at speeds approaching 100 mph, according to the California Highway Patrol.
CHP Valley Division Chief Tyler Eccles said officers deployed a spike strip near the Highway 12 interchange west of Lodi. This disabled Morales’s SUV, causing it to veer into a roadside ditch. The crash triggered a rapid confrontation between Morales and the pursuing officers. Investigators have not yet determined whether he fired at police. “It was not clear whether the suspect discharged a weapon,” Eccles told reporters. He noted the investigation is still in its early stages.
At least two Sacramento County sheriff’s deputies and one Elk Grove police officer opened fire during the confrontation after the crash, according to both agencies. Morales was transported to a hospital, where he later died. No officers were injured. CHP and local agencies closed parts of Interstate 5 near Lodi for hours while detectives processed the scene.
The killing of the young boy has shaken the Elk Grove community and prompted an outpouring of grief from local officials. “This is a horrific and senseless tragedy. I am heartbroken to learn that this little boy was killed by his own father,” Elk Grove Mayor Bobbie Singh-Allen said in a statement. She added that the trauma extended well beyond a single household. “My heart goes out to his grieving mother,” she said.
The Elk Grove Unified School District confirmed that the victim was a district student and said counselors would be available to classmates and staff members. “During this difficult time, our thoughts are with everyone affected,” the district said in a written statement.
Morales’s troubled history with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office has now become a focal point of the investigation. Internal affairs documents obtained by The Sacramento Bee show Morales resigned in early 2024. An inquiry found he had used narcotics seized from suspects and overdosed on fentanyl inside a sheriff’s station bathroom in October 2023. At the time, he reportedly believed the substance was methamphetamine. “He was revived with multiple doses of Narcan,” the sheriff’s office wrote in its disciplinary summary.
Although Morales submitted a resignation letter citing “personal reasons,” the sheriff’s office fired him days later. Hair analysis suggested chronic illegal drug use. Sgt. Gandhi emphasized Tuesday that Morales “had no peace officer powers” at the time of the fatal stabbing.
The California Department of Justice has taken over the review of the officer-involved shooting. This is required under state law when a suspect is killed by police. The department is expected to examine body-camera footage, physical evidence, and autopsy findings. The findings will help determine whether officers’ actions were justified.
As investigators piece together the sequence of events, Elk Grove’s mayor urged residents to support the grieving family. She said it is important not to lose sight of the innocent victim at the center of the tragedy. “It is hard to make sense of this violence,” Singh-Allen said. “But our community will stand with this mother as she navigates the unimaginable.”
