The college student accused of letting her newborn drown in a toilet before performing in a school play allegedly told police that while watching her child drown, she “was hoping the baby would hurry up and die.”
ClickOrlando.com obtained the 911 call as well as the bodycam footage from Anne Mae Demegillo‘s arrest on Friday, March 6.
Demegillo’s friend had called 911, concerned about her and seeking a welfare check. “My friend had told me that she had been secretly pregnant and this morning she had given birth,” the friend explained to dispatch operators. “She’s saying these things and she seems very mentally disassociated from it.”
Police alleged Demegillo, 20, gave birth to a little girl on a toilet in her Palm Coast home and left the baby in the toilet to die.
“She reported watching the infant moving inside the toilet with its head partially submerged, hearing it cry, and waiting until it stopped moving and crying,” read charging documents shared with Us Weekly. “She stated that after she believed the infant was no longer alive, she removed the body using a towel, placed it in a duffel bag and stored it in her bedroom closet.”
Police said Demegillo then went to a class at her school and later performed in a production of Anything Goes.
Afterward, she returned to the home she shares with her mom and buried the child in a shallow grave in the backyard.
Demegillo was arrested on an aggravated manslaughter of a child charge.
Charging documents claim Demegillo gave police the shovel she used to bury the body and led them to the grave. Officers noted seeing a baby’s leg protruding from the ground.
Forensic investigators were called in to excavate the newborn’s remains.
Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly told reporters on Monday, March 9, police do not believe Demegillo’s claims that she had no idea she was pregnant, noting text messages they’ve recovered as evidence contradict her claim.
It was unclear what college Demegillo attends.
Flagler County Sheriff’s Office Chief Deputy Joe Barile said that the deceased baby weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces, and added the investigation into the baby’s death continues.
He also took a moment to remind people Florida’s Safe Haven Law protects parents who cannot care for a newborn and gives them the option of safely surrendering the child at any fire station, hospital or police station.
“This is a heartbreaking tragedy for our community, for the family involved, and an emotionally difficult case for our team,” said Staly in a statement. “I want to remind our community, especially our expectant mothers: Florida law allows you to bring a child at birth to a local fire station, hospital or law enforcement agency and surrender the child. That is a much better solution than what we are investigating today — for everyone involved, but most importantly the infant who was prevented from the life they deserve. May God bless this infant and hold and comfort the baby in his loving hands with the love the baby never received on earth.”
Demegillo is being held without bond.
Anyone with any information relevant to the investigation is urged to call the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office at (386) 313-4911.
