TANNERSVILLE, Utah — 26-year-old Demajhio Smith was killed at an apartment complex in Holladay on Thursday. Days have gone by as questions remain unanswered while a family is left grieving over the sudden loss of a man they said was kind, gentle and curious.
"He'd have inventions stacked together, like 'oh I thought about this, Dad ’ or’ I even thought about this and all of them were very very convincing," Ronald Smith, Demajhio’s father.
Smith said when Demajhio was growing up, he was like any other kid.
"Loved going outside, loved playing with people, and as he started getting a little bit older, he started shying away from people,” said Smith.
As an adult, Demajhio is described as being gentle and a little quiet.
"Very, very very soft-spoken, very soft-spoken. So soft sometimes you'd have to get your ears so close to him to hear what he had to say,” said Smith.
It's because of how he was, kind, gentle, softspoken, that news of Demajhio's death was such a shock.
Ronald Smith’s mother, Demajhio's grandmother, was told before he was.
"It was devastating, it was devastating, it was early in the morning when I was told, my son hadn't even found out yet,” said Deborah Smith, Demajhio's grandmother.
Deborah learned of Demajhio's death Friday morning, she was the one who broke the news to Ronald.
"To tell my son was horrible, that was the most horrible thing I had to do,” said Deborah.
And that moment, it's something Ronald Smith can never forget.
"It's a feeling that, I've never ever felt (long pause) in disbelief, as if they had the wrong child,” said Smith.
Police say they have two juveniles in custody for Demajhio's death. The family says the investigation is ongoing.
"When I got information, or the little bits of information that I was able to gather because the investigation is just kind of has on a halt, we haven't got a chance to view his body,” said Smith.
But now as they wait for the investigation to finish, they're preparing for Demajhio's funeral, remembering who he was and how he'd want to be remembered.
"I think he'd want to be remembered by his ideas and the love that he had for his sisters and his brother and his mother for sure,” said Smith.
His ideas are something Smith wants to bring to life.
"One way that I'll live through my son is to one, hopefully make a way for the inventions and create a business for him,” said Smith.
Demajhio's family is currently collecting donations for his funeral.
You can donate at at their GoFundMe found here.