Featured Image Credit: GoFundMe/Sacramento County Sheriff's Office
Topics: GoFundMe, California, Crime
Emily Brown
Topics: GoFundMe, California, Crime
Warning: This article contains discussion of domestic violence and child abuse which some readers may find distressing.
The family of a one-year-old boy have spoken out after he was found dead at a property occupied by his father.
Andrey Demskiy, 28, has been charged with assault by means of force likely to produce great bodily injury, corporal injury to a spouse of cohabitant, and murder after deputies with the Sacramento County Sheriff’s Office responded to an incident at a property in North Sacramento County.
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Officers were called to the scene on reports of a 'family disturbance' in the early hours of December 21, and found Demskiy's wife outside, claiming her husband had assaulted her and her mother.
After learning Demskiy was still inside the home with his one-year-old son, officers forced entry and detained the father, who was described as being 'uncooperative' and 'physically resistive'.
In the room where Demskiy had been detained, officers then found a 'severed child's head', which was later determined to belong to one-year-old Micah Demskiy.
Upon investigating, detectives came to the conclusion that Demskiy had used a knife to behead and murder his son after his wife and mother-in-law left the home.
Amar Gandhi, a spokesperson for the Sheriff's Office, said officers were 'visibly shaken' over the incident, and said the family had been left 'shattered'.
In the wake of the incident, the sister-in-law of Micah's mother set up a GoFundMe page and spoke out about the death of the young boy.
She described what happened as a 'devastating chain of events', and remembered Micah as a 'kind and joyful soul, loving all people and especially dogs'.
"His kind heart and beautiful smile warmed the hearts of everyone he came in contact with," she wrote. "He loved his family and especially his mama. He loved being with family, going to the park, and singing hymns with his family.
"If you have it on your heart to help our family in this difficult time, please keep us in your prayers."
The page explained that Micah's mother is currently unemployed, so the fundraiser had been set up to both help with funeral arrangements for Micah and provide financial support for his mother during this time.
"If you’re able to help financially, may God bless you threefold. If you are not able to help financially, please pray for the Demskiy and Vinnikov families! Please share this with your friends and family," the post concluded.
The fundraiser was set up with a goal of $100,000, and has raised more than $73,400 at the time of writing (December 23). If you'd like to donate, you can do so here.
If you’ve been affected by any of these issues or want to speak to someone in confidence regarding the welfare of a child, the Childhelp USA National Child Abuse Hotline (1-800-4-A-CHILD (1-800-422-4453) operates 24 hours a day, seven days a week, and receives calls from throughout the United States, Canada, US Virgin Islands, Guam and Puerto Rico.