“The Sandlot” star Marty York's mother killed, actor seeks help finding suspect
20th Century studios; getty Marty York in 'The Sandlot' and in 2023
Marty York, the actor known for playing Alan "Yeah-Yeah" McClennan in the coming-of-age comedy The Sandlot, posted troubling news on social media Friday: His mother has been killed, and authorities are searching for a suspect wanted for her homicide.
York's mother, Deanna Esmaeel, was a deputy in the Del Norte County Sheriff's Office in Northern California. "This is the hardest post I'll ever have to write but I found out from the sheriff department last night that my mother was murdered," York wrote on Instagram. "The emotions I have are horrible right now between rage, [vengeance], crying. There is a nationwide manhunt underway, please if you've seen this man contact the authorities immediately!"
The DNCSO issued an alert Friday on social media saying that a judge had signed a warrant for the arrest of suspect Daniel James Walter, who legally changed his name to Edward Patrick Davies in July. Authorities said that Walter was Esmaeel's boyfriend and is a murder suspect, and that he was last seen on N. Bank Road in Crescent City on Thursday at 7:43 a.m., traveling eastbound on foot toward highway 101.
The DNCSO also said that Walter has connections to Curry County in Oregon, and that his car — a black four-door 2010 Mazda sedan with California plates 6JYD676 — had been located, but he was still at large.
"We are all deeply heartbroken with the loss of Deputy Esmaeel," Sheriff Garrett Scott said in a statement. "Our hearts and prayers go out to her family, friends, and co-workers."
Representatives from the DNCSO and the Crescent City Police Department didn't immediately respond to EW's request for comment.
York, 43, made his big-screen debut in The Sandlot in 1993, and his subsequent credits include Boy Meets World, Hey Arnold, and SMILF.
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