Circuit Judge Dawn Nichols this afternoon denied the defense’s motion to reinstate Anne Mae Demegillo’s $250,000 bond now that Demegillo has been indicted on a first-degree murder charge in the death of her newborn last month.
“There’s only one penalty if found guilty, and that’s life in prison in this case,” Nichols said before her ruling. “And the court does, in fact, find that State has met its burden with respect to the findings that were made at the original hearing. That was based upon an aggravated manslaughter charge. The stakes are certainly much, much higher in this case. The state hasn’t presented anything to the court other than what was at that prior hearing.”
There hadn’t been. Not yet, though Demegillo’s attorney tried to make an argument for bond.
“Nothing has really changed other than the first-degree murder indictment,” Politis argued to the judge. “ She’s not in danger of the community. She’s not a flight risk. She’s already surrendered. her passport. She still has medical needs to attend to, she still has counselors and doctors to evaluate and things like that. She just turned 21, in fact, on the date of her surrendering herself.”
He then acknowledged that the case has changed, since the indictment cannot be minimized, but she has not changed, from her constitutional protections to the presumption of innocence. “We should not be punitive with this,” Politis said. “We should focus more on litigating the merits of the state’s prosecution and also the defenses that will be forthcoming as we continue to develop, but to let her sit there for another six months or a year, we’re hoping that the court would recognize that.”
Politis also said that the defense would not have put up $25,000–the cash amount required to post bail on $250,000 bond–had it known that the indictment would follow, revoking the bond.
Demegillo’s family had posted bond when she was originally charged with aggravated manslaughter. Demegillo was released, and her attorney sought in a motion to give her the freedom to travel to Volusia County for college classes. On April 6, however, a grand jury indicted Demegillo on the murder charge. She turned herself in and bond was revoked.
Politis today filed a plea of not guilty on her behalf.
“The state’s position is that things have changed,” Assistant State Attorney Andrew Urbanak argued. “An indictment was returned by a grand jury charging the defendant with, among other things, first degree murder under both the theory of premeditated murder as well as felony murder. That is a capital offense under the State of Florida, and the defendant is no longer legally entitled to a bond if the proof is evident or the presumption is great.”
Urbanak also cited a 1933 case that would make the reinstatement of the original bond invalid. The indictment requires a new bond, which the judge was not granting.
“So the defense’s motion to reinstate original bond is respectfully denied,” the judge said, citing the case the assistant state attorney had cited. “But more importantly, this is a capital felony.”
That means Demegillo will remain at the Flagler County jail for the duration of the legal proceedings, which are expected to take months–and may not regain her freedom if found guilty, absent a plea deal.
“That makes the other motion moot,” Nichols said of the motion to give Demegillo the freedom to travel to college classes.
There was a surprise today. Politis withdrew as attorney of record, and Daytona Beach Attorney Aaron Delgado took over, with Politis in second chair when necessary.
“Two alpha males in this courtroom–we’re going to drive you nuts, judge,” Politics told Nichols. She granted the motion to withdraw. Delgado said there may be “a hundred-plus” depositions ahead. The judge agreed to have zoom appearances by the attorneys for some of the hearings ahead.
JC says
Not shocked the state won’t pursue a death plenty but instead a life in prison. I’m curious if they will offer her a plea or just fight with her to the court. If she is going to die on the plea of not guilty then high chance this is a slam dunk case of most likely guilty with rest of her life in prison. I will be surprised if the SA office will even offer her a plea at this point.
Atwp says
We will see what happens.
DaleL says
The charge of first degree murder against Anne seems excessive, inflammatory and speculative. She just turned 21 and so is very young. She claims that she didn’t know she was pregnant. In the various news stories that I have read, there doesn’t seem to be any evidence to contradict this claim. Most of the “evidence” appears to be from text messages she made to friends after the birth and death of her child. The child is reported to have weighed 3.6 pounds. That is a premature birth with a gestational age of about 7 months. Even in a hospital, in a neonatal intensive care unit, there is a significant chance the baby would have died.
Anne cannot be compelled to testify against herself. No one else was present as witness to the birth or her actions immediately after birth. The claim that she drowned the baby is probably based on an autopsy which found fluid/water in the baby’s lungs. However, the baby’s body had been buried and there could be other circumstances which might account for the fluid. It also does not provide evidence that Anne intentionally drowned her baby. A lot of the “evidence” is from texts which she made to friends. The texts may or may not be admissible in court. Even if they are admissible, they were not made under oath. Finally, the prosecution will have to prove that Anne was competent, mentally able to tell right from wrong, at the time of birth and immediately afterward. The burden is on the prosecution to prove this beyond a reasonable doubt.
Anne should face charges that represent crimes that can actually be proven in court. The overcharging a defendant and vilifying them in news stories, usually in an attempt to get a plea deal, is unethical. It can backfire spectacularly, as in the Trayvon Martin killing. (George Zimmerman was acquitted.) It can also result in defendants, usually poor and poorly educated, being excessively sentenced.
Skibum says
Did you not see the previous articles and news media reports showing that detectives found evidence that this woman lied about not knowing she was pregnant? Internet searches she made that were damning? This was an INTENTIONAL act of murder, which she tried to cover up after the fact.
She is NOT a child! She is enrolled in college, an adult with a car, and is supposed to be making adult decisions if she is sexually active. While she may not ultimately be convicted of 1st degree murder, that charge is an appropriate starting point based on the evidence prosecutors have in this case.
As far as I am concerned, she is not to be pitied, but condemned for the unimaginable and unnecessary brutality that she let happen to an innocent baby. She easily could have availed herself of the no questions asked, safe way to give up her newborn by simply driving to the nearby fire station and it would have been done and over with, and she could have gone on with her life without her parents knowing about the pregnancy or birth.
Now her parents and the whole world knows she murdered her newborn in the toilet and buried it in her back yard. And she needs to stay locked up in jail pending her murder trial, period.
DaleL says
@Skibum: Perhaps you missed the point of my post. I believe it is bad to overly sensationalize a criminal case before the accused is tried. Not everything which is reported in the news is true. Even if true, the “evidence” may not be admissible in court.
I am also reminded that our sheriff continues to employ a deputy who flagrantly violated the speed limit on A1A by 33 mph. That same deputy claims to have been oblivious to attempts to pull him over. He is now suing for “false arrest”. Our sheriff also employs a deputy who was target shooting and one of the stray bullets hit a neighbor’s home and entered a bedroom with a child inside. That same deputy appears to have earlier perjured himself in a trial concerning his son.
You may be correct that Anne is a horrible person and a murderer. However, she has not been tried, let alone convicted. Until then, she should be treated as though she may be innocent. Whether she remains locked up without bail, should be based on whether she is a flight risk and/or a danger to herself or others.
Skibum says
Dale, I don’t disagree with some of the points you make. Since my career was just under three decades in law enforcement, that is where I speak from. And BTW, I have had my own discontent and problems with some of the employees in our local sheriff’s office, notably the two instances you mentioned above.
One note that I will make on your comment above is that the standard of proof and operational practice of our country’s justice system certainly treats those facing trail as innocent until proven guilty, but that doesn’t mean as individuals we must have the same view of those charged with heinous crimes. I know from personal experience how some media reporters don’t always get the facts right. In this case, there has been a huge amount of reporting from multiple sources, and I have paid particular attention to the statements attributed to the investigator and the prosecutor. The facts I gleaned from them, not so much the news media, is what has informed my opinion.
Maybe the jury will end up with a completely different take on this murder case once it goes to trial, but if I were a betting man, based on my extensive law enforcement knowledge and experience, I would predict that this woman will indeed be convicted and sentenced to prison for a number of years – maybe quite a long sentence. We will see. But since he has been charged with 1st degree premeditated murder, she no longer meets the qualifications to be released on bond so she will stay in jail pending her upcoming trail.
Pogo says
Thank you.
Disgusted in Flagler County says
She was googling what to eat to cause infertility and googling Casey Anthony. She knew she was pregnant.
Pig Farmer says
Please don’t make uninformed statements. 3.6 pounds not a likely reason for the baby to die. I have seen babies born at 1 pound live. I had several friends in the NICU when I worked in healthcare.
DaleL says
The survival chances of a 3.6 pound baby is up to 90% with hospital care, in a neonatal intensive care unit. A home birth will lower the survival rate. In the past, a one pound baby (22 week gestation) had almost no chance of survival. Improvements in care has changed that. A Stanford Medicine study, published in 2022, found: “This study showed that even those delivered at 22 weeks — 18 weeks early — had a chance of living. With active treatment, about 28% of them survived;…”
The study also found that very premature babies had a high rate of impairments. “About 21% of the children had severe impairments,…” Survival is not the same as normal and healthy.
https://med.stanford.edu/news/insights/2022/02/premature-babies-survival-rate-is-climbing-study-says.html
Skibum says
I agree. I know about preemies because my identical twin and I were preemies who had to stay in incubators in the hospital after we were born, just over 3 lbs ea. We both turned out fine as we grew up.