A college student from Florida faces serious charges after allegedly killing her newborn last month, and it appears she had a photo of Casey Anthony on her phone, per various reports and officials.
Twenty-year-old Ann May Demejilo was indicted by a grand jury on charges including first-degree premeditated murder, aggravated child abuse, and failing to report a death with the intention to destroy evidence related to the death of her newborn on March 5. The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office provided this information.
Demejilo was initially arrested the day after the incident when police conducted a welfare check and found a shallow grave in her Palm Beach backyard, where she had buried her daughter, according to law enforcement.
Reports indicate she confessed in a text to a friend that she gave birth in the bathroom, observed the baby until she passed away, and then buried her. This friend subsequently contacted the police, as noted in the arrest affidavit.
Deputy Joe Burrill from the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office stated that Demejilo admitted to watching her daughter struggle before dying. After thinking the baby was dead, she wrapped the body in a towel and put it in a duffel bag in a closet. She went to class and participated in a theater performance later that day, the affidavit reveals.
That evening, she returned home and buried the infant, who was just 3 pounds, 6 ounces and 18.7 inches long, under a few inches of soil.
During the welfare check, she led officers to a cemetery where they noticed what appeared to be “tiny human feet” in the ground.
In the month following her initial arrest, detectives discovered that her phone contained images of a baby and Casey Anthony, the woman famously acquitted in the murder of her own daughter, Kaylee, back in 2008.
The sheriff’s office noted in a statement that these images were significant to the investigation into the child’s death.
On her phone, Demejilo also searched topics like “newborn prematurity,” “Palm Coast ob/gyn,” and “foods to reduce fertility,” police reported.
Court documents revealed that Demejilo told investigators her mother was unaware of her pregnancy, childbirth, the child’s death, or the burial.
“This is one of those heartbreaking cases that leaves you stunned—a mother permitting this to occur to her newborn. The baby suffered because she was an obstacle in Demejilo’s life,” remarked Sheriff Rick Staley.
“It’s unfathomable how a mother would choose not to intervene as her baby struggled. I commend the investigators and digital forensics personnel who uncovered evidence confirming this was a premeditated act,” Staley added.
Demejilo is scheduled to appear for arraignment on April 21st.
