Man pleads "no contest" in killing his infant son in South Lake Tahoe in 2008

SOUTH LAKE TAHOE, Calif. - An El Dorado County man has been convicted for the 2008 murder of his three-week-old infant son following an investigation revitalized by the El Dorado County Cold Case Homicide Task Force and South Lake Tahoe Police Department.

David Paul DeMartile, Sr. pleaded no contest to second-degree murder before Judge Michael J. McLaughlin on February 24, 2023. A jury trial had been scheduled when the plea was entered.

On November 14, 2008, officers from the South Lake Tahoe Police Department (SLTPD) arrived at a local home after a call about a baby who was found unconscious. The South Lake Tahoe Fire Department arrived shortly after and transported the infant to Barton Hospital where he was declared deceased. Both the baby's mother and father were present at the time police arrived.

The death was initially thought to be from Sudden Infant Death Syndrome. or SIDS. But police investigators said at the time things weren't adding up and asked for an autopsy that revealed the infant died as a result of blunt force trauma to the inside of his brain consistent with being abused.

Charges were not filed at the time due to lack of leads and evidence, but the case became the subject of an El Dorado County Cold Case investigation, resulting in charges against David Paul DeMartile, Sr. in 2018.

DeMartile, Sr. was a prison inmate in Arizona at the time of the charges being filed after being arrested on a felony burglary charge. He was subsequently given a 14-year prison term after a South Lake Tahoe jury trial found him guilty. He was in Arizona due to a contract between California and Arizona prisons. According to South Lake Tahoe police at the time, DeMartile, Sr. had a long history with the departments including spousal abuse and battery.

In accordance with the plea agreement, Demartile, Sr. will be sentenced to 15 years to life in state prison. Sentencing will occur on April 17, 2023, in Department 3 in South Lake Tahoe.