EL DORADO COUNTY, Calif. — El Dorado County officials announced Saturday David Paul Demartile, Sr. was convicted of murdering his 3-week-old son in 2008.
The cold case homicide task force with El Dorado County partnered with South Lake Tahoe Police Department to reopen an investigation into the killing from almost 15 years ago.
According to law enforcement, David Paul Demartile, Jr. — only 22 days old — was found not breathing in his crib by paramedics Nov. 14, 2008. He was pronounced dead at Barton Hospital.
An autopsy revealed Demartile, Jr. suffered blunt force trauma to the inside of his brain consistent with child abuse.
The case sat cold for almost 10 years, according to El Dorado County officials, until it was formally re-opened in 2017. Investigators said they were able to determine the infant's father had killed him.
Demartile, Sr. faces 15 years-to-life in prison and he is set to be sentenced April 17.
