Police Arrest 20-Year-Old Woman For Allegedly Stuffing Newborn In Duffel Bag Then Performing In Her School’s Play

A Florida college student allegedly stuffed her newborn in a duffel bag after giving birth in a toilet and took the stage at a local theater hours later.

The Flagler County Sheriff’s Office (FCSO) arrested Anne Mae Demegillo, 20, of Palm Coast on the afternoon of March. 6 after a death investigation, the agency said in a public statement. Deputies responded to her home after a caller told dispatchers around 4 a.m. that Demegillo had messaged her about a concealed pregnancy and unexpected birth. The caller alleged that “Demegillo had done something to the infant.”

Demegillo claimed she felt serious abdominal pain starting around 3 a.m. March 5 before giving birth in the bathroom toilet, the FCSO said. She allegedly said she believed the baby was already dead so she placed the body in a duffel bag inside her closet and went about her day. She attended a theater performance in New Smyrna Beach and later buried the infant in a shallow backyard grave after returning home, officials alleged. She never reached out to emergency services at any point, according to the agency. (RELATED: Police Arrest Florida Teen After He Allegedly Set His Friend On Fire With Gasoline Can)

FCSO Chief Deputy Joe Barile spoke to WESH. “She sees it in the toilet, leaves it there, watches it, hears it cry, and waits until it stops crying and moving,” Barile alleged. He told the outlet that Demegillo performed as the character Virtue in the musical “Anything Goes” at New Smyrna Beach’s Little Theatre.

The baby girl reportedly weighed 3 pounds, 6 ounces and measured 18.7 inches long, according to WESH. Demegillo got back to the house around 10 p.m. March 5 and buried the infant wrapped in a towel, deputies said. She allegedly revealed no signs of grief or regret.

The FCSO’s Major Case Unit and Crime Scene Investigation “detectives determined that Demegillo knowingly and purposefully allowed the newborn to drown in the toilet,” the agency alleged.

Demegillo, a Daytona State College student, faces a first-degree manslaughter charge carrying up to 30 years behind bars, FlaglerLive reported. A Flagler County judge denied her bond on March 7. FCSO Sheriff Rick Staly called the case “a heartbreaking tragedy” and urged expectant mothers to consider Florida’s Safe Haven Law.

Under that statute, parents can turn over an unharmed newborn to a fire station, hospital or law enforcement agency with no legal consequences, the FCSO said. A Safe Haven Baby Box at Palm Coast’s Fire Station 25 went live on September 30, 2025, allowing parents to anonymously and securely surrender an infant without any face-to-face contact.