A former California sheriff’s deputy suspected of fatally stabbing his 11-year-old son was shot and killed by law enforcement officers Tuesday after leading them on a car chase along Interstate 5.
The morning began when police in Elk Grove responded to a call from a worried mother. According to officials, she had watched home security footage showing her husband attacking their son — so she called 911. When officers arrived, they found the boy severely wounded. He was rushed to a hospital but later died. His 6-year-old sister, who was at the home at the time, was unharmed.
Authorities say the father — identified as 40-year-old former deputy Marvin Morales — fled the scene before officers arrived. He was later spotted driving south on I-5. The chase ended near Lodi when highway patrol officers deployed a spike strip, causing his vehicle to crash. Following the crash, officers fired at him; he was struck, transported to a hospital, and died. No law enforcement officers were injured.
Morales, once a deputy with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office, had been dismissed from the agency in early 2024 after being caught using illicit drugs. A gun safe in his home was found emptied by investigators after his death.
The violent events — starting with what appears to be a brutal domestic crime, followed by a high-speed chase and fatal shooting — have left the community reeling. As investigation continues, many are shaken by how a person sworn to protect could have ended up at the center of such a tragic sequence of events.
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