BUNNELL — The Palm Coast woman accused of letting her newborn baby drown in a toilet and then burying the her in the backyard will remain in jail after a judge denied a motion to reinstate her bond.
Anne Mae Demegillo, 21, is accused of giving birth to her daughter in a toilet at her Palm Coast home on March 5 and waiting for the baby to die. She then hid the body in a duffle bag in her closet, went on with her day and later buried the newborn in her backyard.
Demegillo was originally arrested March 6 on a charge of aggravated manslaughter of a child. She was released March 12 on $250,000 bond. She was 20 at the time of the crime.
But Demegillo was jailed again on April 6 when she was indicted on charges of first-degree murder, a capital felony; aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony; and failure to report a death of a person with intent to conceal the death or alter the evidence or circumstances surrounding such death, a misdemeanor.
Defense lawyers Aaron Delgado and Michael Politis filed a motion April 14 asking for her bond to be reinstated so she can be released from jail, receive treatment for mental illness and prepare for her defense.
The motion states that based on a preliminary opinion, Demegillo suffers from “severe postpartum psychosis and/or depression, as well as other mental issues.”
Demegillo does not have any prior criminal record and has not “exhibited aberrant behavior in the past,” the motion states.
“Nothing has really changed other than the first-degree murder indictment,” Politis said. “She’s not a danger to the community, she’s not a flight risk.”
Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols said that Demegillo is not entitled to a bond under a first-degree murder indictment.
It is the judge’s discretion whether or not to grant bond.
Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak said the situation has changed with the first-degree murder indictment. Urbanak also said the defendant could not use the original bond money for any new bond.
The judge rejected the defense request for bond, so Demegillo will remain jailed.
This article originally appeared on The Daytona Beach News-Journal: No bond for Palm Coast woman accused of letting baby drown in toilet
Reporting by Frank Fernandez, Daytona Beach News-Journal / The Daytona Beach News-Journal
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