A Florida college student has been indicted by a grand jury on murder charges after authorities said she admitted to giving birth unexpectedly and watching while the infant cried and drowned in a toilet.
Anne Mae Demegillo, a 21-year-old Palm Coast woman, was first arrested in March for aggravated manslaughter of a child and was released on bond. On April 6, she was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, aggravated child abuse, and failure to report a death with intent to conceal the death or alter evidence, authorities said. A judge ordered her held without bond on the first-degree murder charge, reported the Daytona Beach News-Journal, part of the USA TODAY Network.
In the last month of investigation, authorities said they found evidence that this was "premeditated murder."
Investigators found searches on Demegillo’s phone for “newborn premature babies,” “Palm Coast OBGYN” and “foods to decrease fertility.” They also found images of Casey Anthony, who was acquitted in her 2-year-old daughter's death, and newborn babies, "which suggest searches on the death of a child and subsequent investigation," the Flagler County Sheriff's Office said in a statement.
“This is one of those tragic cases that shock you to your core that a mother would allow a newborn to die because the newborn was a distraction to her life,” Sheriff Rick Staly said. “It’s hard to comprehend how a mother would choose to watch their infant drown instead of lifting the baby out of the toilet."
