'The Sandlot' Star Marty York’s Mother Is Found Dead, Suspect Wanted In Homicide Investigation

“The Sandlot” star Marty York is mourning the tragic death of his mother, Deanna Esmaeel.

Del Norte County Sheriff’s Office announced on Friday that they were investigating the death of Esmaeel – who was a sheriff’s deputy with the organization – as a homicide.

Esmaeel was found dead in her home in Crescent City, Calif., on Thursday morning, law enforcement shared in a public statement.

The sheriff’s office also identified Esmaeel’s boyfriend as a suspect in the investigation, adding that a judge had signed a warrant for his arrest and that law enforcement were “actively looking for” him.

On Friday afternoon, Marty broke his silence on his mother’s death on Facebook, calling it “the hardest post [he’s] ever going to have to write.”

“Last night my mother was murdered by a man she was seeing,” he claimed. “Right now, there is a nationwide manhunt. If you’ve seen this man please call the police immediately.”

“I can’t even comprehend what is happening right now, but I feel if I find this person I’m going to physically maul him. I pray to God I don’t find him because it will be a fate worse then hell,” he wrote.

York is best known for his role as Alan “Yeah-Yeah” McClennan in the 1993 film “The Sandlot.”

In 2020, he shared a lengthy post reflecting on how he and his mom moved from Northern California to Los Angeles decades ago so he could pursue his dream as a child actor.

He added that Esmaeel pursued a career in law enforcement later in life and had become the oldest person to ever graduate from her police academy at 64.