Man convicted of killing 3-week old infant son in 2008 cold case
Provided
SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. — An El Dorado County man is expected to receive a 15 years-to-life prison sentence after being convicted last month for the 2008 murder of his 3-week-old son.
David Paul Demartile, Sr. pleaded no contest to second degree murder before Judge Michael J. McLaughlin on Feb. 24, following an investigation revitalized by the El Dorado County Cold Case Homicide Task Force and South Lake Tahoe Police, said a news release from the El Dorado County District Attorney’s Office.
David Paul Demartile, Jr. on Nov. 14, 2008, was only 22 days old when he was found in his crib not breathing. Paramedics attempted to resuscitate him to no avail and he was pronounced dead at Barton Memorial Hospital.
The release said an autopsy revealed the infant died as a result of blunt force trauma to the inside of his brain consistent with being abused.
Detectives with the South Lake Tahoe Police Department initially investigated and found evidence that the baby’s death was a homicide. In 2017, SLTPD detectives, along with the El Dorado County Cold Case Homicide Task Force, reopened the investigation and determined that the infant’s father had killed him.
In accordance with the plea agreement, Demartile, Sr., who was 51 years old when he was taken into custody on June 27, 2018, is expected to be sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. Sentencing will occur on April 17.
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