Thumbnail photo: Deanna Esmaeel (left) is sworn in as a Del Norte County Sheriff’s deputy by then-sheriff Erik Apperson. | Photo courtesy of the Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office.
A 55-year-old man faces 15-years to life in prison after a jury found him guilty of second-degree murder earlier this month in connection with the death of Del Norte County Deputy Deanna Esmaeel.
Edward Patrick Davies was also found to be sane when he killed Esmaeel, District Attorney Katherine Micks told Redwood Voice Community News on Monday. The jury reached a verdict in the case on March 6 and ruled on Davies’ insanity defense on March 10, she said.
Esmaeel was found dead at her North Bank Road home the morning of Oct. 12, 2023. One of her colleagues at the sheriff’s office was sent to investigate when she didn’t show up for work and wasn’t answering phone calls.
Davies had been seen leaving the North Bank Road area about an hour before Esmaeel’s body was found, Scott told the Wild Rivers Outpost in October 2023. Brookings police arrested Davies at a homeless encampment near the Chetco River the next day, according to the sheriff.
On Monday, Scott said Davies’ murder trial took place before Judge William Follett. Deputy District Attorney Todd Zocchi was the prosecutor with a Crescent City lawyer representing Davies, Scott said.
“I am thankful for the dedication and extremely thorough investigation done by Del Norte County Sheriff investigators McClaflin and Balch on this case,” he told Redwood Voice. “Also to all of our partners who assisted and the Del Norte County District Attorney’s Office for the prosecution in this case.”
Esmaeel already had a career as an animal wrangler and cinematographer under her belt when she entered the College of the Siskiyous Law Enforcement Academy at age 63. She graduated in 2020 and took the oath of office as a Del Norte County Sheriff’s deputy in March 2021.
According to Esmaeel’s son, Marty York — known for his role as Alan “Yeah-Yeah” McClennon in the 1993 baseball film The Sandlot — she trained animals for about 70 different films, TV shows and commercials. She then set her sights on learning how to use a camera and making movies.
When her daughter Nadia died of a drug overdose in 2017, York said his mother joined the police academy, wanting to “clean up the streets.”
“For years she learned how to fight, got sprayed in the face with Mace, learned how to use weapons, beat cadets in their 30s at obstacle courses, passed out, got back up, failed again and got back up,” York said during his mother’s memorial service at Cornerstone Community Church on Oct. 23, 2024. “On March 19, 2021, she beat the odds and joined the Del Norte County Sheriff’s department.”
Esmaeel’s colleagues described her as a woman with a “heart of gold [who] wanted to help everyone.”
Davies will be sentenced at 2 p.m. April 17, according to Micks.
