A Florida college student is in custody after investigators say she secretly gave birth, left her newborn to die in a toilet, and buried the infant in a shallow backyard grave, with the grim discovery triggered only by her own alarming text messages to a friend.
Flagler County Sheriff’s deputies were summoned to a home on Florida Park Drive in Palm Coast for a welfare check in the pre-dawn hours of Friday, March 8. The call came from a person who had received disturbing social media messages from 20-year-old Anne May D’Egilio.
The messages indicated D’Egilio had been secretly pregnant and had unexpectedly given birth at home. What deputies uncovered in the following hours has been described as one of the most disturbing cases local law enforcement has handled in years.
Upon arrival, deputies made contact with D’Egilio. After initial hesitation, she confirmed she had given birth in a bathroom during the early morning of Tuesday, March 5. She then led investigators to the backyard of the residence.
There, in a shallow grave only four to five inches deep, they made a devastating discovery. Buried inside a duffel bag was the body of a newborn baby girl, wrapped in a towel.
According to the sheriff’s office and arrest affidavits, D’Egilio’s own statements paint a harrowing timeline. She claimed to have been unaware of her pregnancy, attributing her symptoms to menstrual cramps.
Around 3 a.m. on March 5, she went into a bathroom and gave birth to the baby girl while on the toilet. Investigators state D’Egilio told them the infant was born alive and crying.
Instead of seeking help, D’Egilio allegedly told deputies she waited and watched as the baby cried and moved in the toilet until it stopped. She stated she was “hoping the baby would hurry up and die.”
Shockingly, she reportedly remained in the bathroom, cleaning up blood with paper towels and washcloths while her newborn daughter was still alive. After the infant died, she placed the body in a duffel bag and concealed it in a bedroom closet.
As dawn broke, D’Egilio allegedly proceeded with her normal routine. She attended classes at Daytona State College, where she was a forensic science student.
That same evening, she performed in a local theater production of “Anything Goes” at a venue in New Smyrna Beach, playing the character Virtue for an audience of hundreds.
It was not until she returned home around 10 p.m. that she allegedly retrieved the duffel bag, took a shovel, and buried her daughter in the backyard while her parents were home. Deputies later recovered the shovel.
The entire sequence might have remained hidden were it not for text messages D’Egilio sent to a friend, details of which were alarming enough to prompt that friend to call 911.
“This sounded as urgent as a 911 call can be,” said Flagler County Sheriff Rick Staly during a press conference. “I wish I was making this up, but it’s all true.”
The medical examiner’s preliminary findings indicate the cause of the newborn’s death was drowning. Based on the evidence and D’Egilio’s statements, she was arrested and charged with aggravated manslaughter of a child.
“She’s young. They’re going to…place [that] she’s young, she wasn’t aware of it,” Sheriff Staly said, anticipating a potential defense. “But what matters is what she chose to do once she gave birth. Her choice was to let the baby die and put it in a duffel bag and walk away.”
The charge, a first-degree felony, carries a potential sentence of up to 30 years in prison. Prosecutors noted the investigation is ongoing and charges could be amended.
The case has cast a pall over the community and those who knew D’Egilio. Friends and classmates described a seemingly normal, busy student focused on her studies and theater, with no indication of a pregnancy.
Authorities emphasized the existence of Florida’s Safe Haven Law, which allows a parent to surrender a newborn up to seven days old at a hospital, fire station, or emergency medical services station without fear of prosecution.
“Her girl could have easily been saved,” Sheriff Staly stated, “but she chose to go the worst way about it.”
During a court appearance, D’Egilio’s mother was seen wiping tears from her eyes. The family’s attorney stated they have not spoken to her since her arrest.
D’Egilio remains held without bond at the Sheriff Perry Hall Inmate Detention Facility. Her next court date has not yet been set, as investigators continue to build their case against the young woman whose secret pregnancy ended in an unmarked grave.