Former California fire chief Orville Fleming was charged with the murder of his 26-year-old girlfriend, Sarah Douglas, on Tuesday. He confessed to stabbing Douglas in their Sacramento home on May 1.
After Douglas’ body was discovered in the couple’s home on May 1, investigators searched desperately for Fleming. The search lasted 16 days, until Fleming was spotted boarding a public bus by a detective on Friday.
The Sacramento Bee The Sacramento Bee reports that Sheriff Scott Jones said at a news conference on Friday, “He did the kind of fleeing equivalent of curling up in the fetal position, and we found him.” Sheriff Jones also said that Fleming “admitted culpability in the stabbing of Miss Douglas and gave a full statement in that regard.”
The day of Fleming’s arrest was the same day Sarah Douglas’ body was discovered. The Houston Chronicle Houston Chronicle reports that Sacramento County Sheriff Scott Jones said that the 26-year-old was “brutally stabbed,” and detectives found “a horrific crime scene.”
KTVU News KTVU News reports that Fleming filed for divorce from his wife, Meagan Fleming, in Fresno County Superior Court in October, but the case has not been finalized. His wife had requested a protective order against Sarah Douglas last fall. She claimed Douglas had been harassing her and her children in an attempt to get money from Orville Fleming. Her request was denied due to her failure to fill out the required paperwork.
Orville Fleming was fired at a battalion chief for the California Department of Forestry and Fire Protection for failing to attend work since the day before Douglas’ body was found.