Homicide arrest at Sacramento-area home where ‘child was killed,’ sheriff’s officials say
Sacramento sheriff’s detectives arrested a father accused of beheading his 1-year-old son in what officials called a “gruesome” homicide after a report of domestic violence at the family’s home.
Andrey Demskiy, 28, was arrested on suspicion of homicide, corporal injury on a spouse and assault by means of force likely to cause great bodily injury, Sacramento County Jail records show. He was being held without bail and scheduled to appear for his arraignment Tuesday afternoon in Sacramento Superior Court.
About 4:15 a.m. Friday, deputies were called to the home in the 7500 block of Versailles Way, just south of Antelope Road, on the northern end of the Foothill Farms suburb. It was initially reported as a family disturbance, the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office said in a news release.
Deputies arrived and found a woman outside the home. Sheriff’s officials said the woman told deputies her husband, later identified as Demskiy, assaulted her and her mother. The woman’s mother suffered injuries that were not life-threatening and was taken by ambulance to a hospital.
The deputies tried to speak to Demskiy, but sheriff’s officials said the father refused to answer the door.
Shortly after, the deputies learned Demskiy was inside the home with his 1-year-old son. Sheriff’s officials said the deputies also learned that Demskiy had possibly injured the boy after throwing him.
The deputies, fearing for the child’s safety, forced their way into the home and tried to detain Demskiy. Sheriff’s officials said the father “was uncooperative” and became physically resistant.
As they took Demskiy into custody, sheriff’s officials said the deputies “made the gruesome discovery of a severed child’s head in the bedroom” where Demskiy was found and detained.
Detectives from the sheriff’s Child Abuse Bureau, which typically handles murder investigations involving children, were called to the Foothill Farms home, along with crime scene investigators.
Sheriff’s officials said the detectives determined Demskiy was initially involved in a domestic violence incident with his wife and his mother-in-law before the women left the home and waited for deputies to arrive.
The detectives believe that Demskiy then “used a knife to behead and murder” his son, sheriff’s officials said.
The Sacramento County Coroner’s Office will release the child’s name.
This story was originally published December 20, 2024 at 10:36 AM.
