Anne Mae Demegillo. Photograph: Flagler County Sheriff's OfficeView image in fullscreenAnne Mae Demegillo. Photograph: Flagler County Sheriff's OfficeFlorida woman accused of killing her newborn baby allegedly had images of Casey Anthony on her phoneAnne Mae Demegillo, 20, was charged with murder in death of infant; Anthony was charged with murdering her child in 2008 but acquitted
A 20-year-old woman charged with killing her newborn daughter had images of Casey Anthony on her phone, suggesting “searches on the death of a child and subsequent investigation”, the Flagler county, Florida, sheriff’s office alleged this week.
Anne Mae Demegillo, who was arrested on 6 March, was indicted on Monday on charges of first-degree premeditated murder, aggravated child abuse, and failure to report death of a person with intent to conceal the death or alter the evidence or circumstances surrounding such death, in the death of her infant.
Demegillo’s lawyer filed paperwork on 11 March entering a written plea of not guilty on her behalf.
Asked for comment. Demegillo’s lawyer, Michael Politis, said: “I believe that she suffers from severe postpartum psychosis and/or depression, and I think that explains her behavior that is alleged to have occurred.”
Politis said that his client had no prior criminal conduct or aberrant behavior. “Absent the state’s discovery telling me more details, it’s difficult if not impossible for me to speak beyond that,” he said.
Politis said Demegillo will enter a not guilty plea to the indictment at her upcoming arraignment.
Read moreAuthorities went to her residence last month after a caller told emergency dispatchers that they had received messages from Demegillo stating “that she had secretly been pregnant and had unexpectedly given birth at home”, officials claimed. “The message indicated that Demegillo’s baby was born alive and crying, but Demegillo had done something to the infant.”
After deputies arrived to her home, Demegillo allegedly said she wasn’t sure about the pregnancy but started feeling “severe” abdominal pain early on 5 March. Demegillo allegedly said that she delivered the baby in her toilet.
“Demegillo claimed she thought the infant was deceased, so she hid the infant in a duffle bag in her closet and went about her normal daily routine,” the sheriff’s office said. “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.”
Officials said that Demegillo never contacted emergency services for help.
“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,” Flagler county’s sheriff, Rick Staly, said in a press release. “It’s hard to comprehend how a mother would choose to watch their infant drown instead of lifting the baby out of the toilet.”
Demegillo’s attorney did not immediately respond to a request for comment on the allegations.
Anthony was acquitted of murdering her two-year-old daughter, Caylee, during a sensational 2011 trial. Caylee went missing in 2008 and authorities found her body six months later.
Prosecutors had claimed that Anthony killed Caylee because the girl interrupted her social and dating life. They alleged that Anthony buried the girl in a wooded area near home; Caylee’s corpse was discovered with strips of duct tape placed on her nose and mouth.
While Anthony was cleared of murder, she was found guilty of lying to police in relation to Caylee’s disappearance.
