College student Anne Mae Demegillo, 20, allegedly gave birth in a toilet at home and watched the newborn drown, authorities say

Anne Mae Demegillo.Credit : Flagler County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

A Florida college student who is accused of giving birth at home and leaving her newborn to die in the toilet has been charged with murder.

On Monday, April 6, a grand jury indicted Anne Mae Demegillo, 20, of Palm Coast, on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, aggravated child abuse, and failure to report the death of a person with intent to conceal the death or alter the evidence or circumstances surrounding such death.

She is accused in connection with the March death of her newborn daughter, the State Attorney for Florida’s 7th Circuit said in a statement.

Arrested in March, Demegillo was initially charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.

After investigating, detectives allegedly uncovered additional evidence, including searches on Demegillo’s phone for “newborn premature babies,” “Palm Coast OBGYN,” and “foods to decrease fertility,” the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said in a statement.

“Also located on her phone were images of Casey Anthony and newborn babies, which suggest searches on the death of a child and subsequent investigation,” the sheriff’s office alleged in the statement.

Anne Mae Demegillo.Flagler County Sheriff’s Office/Facebook

Anthony is the Florida mother who was acquitted of murdering her 2-year-old daughter, Caylee Anthony, after a sensational 2011 trial. She was convicted of lying to police.

Speaking about the allegations against Demegillo, Sheriff Rick Staly said in the April 6 statement: “It’s hard to comprehend how a mother would choose to watch their infant drown instead of lifting the baby out of the toilet. I commend our investigators who followed every lead and our Digital Forensics team that uncovered the digital evidence to prove this tragic case was a premeditated murder.”

The caller told dispatchers that Demegillo had allegedly sent messages stating that she had secretly been pregnant and had unexpectedly given birth at home, the sheriff’s office alleged.

“The message indicated that Demegillo’s baby was born alive and crying, but Demegillo had done something to the infant,” the sheriff’s office alleged in the statement.

When deputies arrived, Demegillo told them she wasn’t sure if she was pregnant but had begun experiencing severe abdominal pain around 3 a.m. on Thursday, March 5, and later delivered the child in her bathroom toilet.

Demegillo claimed she thought the newborn was dead, so she hid the newborn in a duffle bag in her closet “and went about her normal daily routine,” the sheriff’s office alleged.

When Demegillo returned home from a theater performance in New Smyrna Beach, she “decided to bury the deceased infant in a shallow grave in her backyard,” the sheriff’s office alleged.

“At no point did Demegillo contact emergency services for assistance,” the sheriff’s office said.

Following the investigation, detectives allegedly determined that Demegillo “knowingly and purposefully” allowed the newborn to drown in the toilet, the sheriff’s office said.

Staly reminded residents that under Florida’s Safe Haven Law, parents who cannot care for a newborn may safely surrender the child at any fire station, hospital or police station.

Demegillo turned herself in at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. She remains held without bond pending her next court hearing.