Authorities say a Spring man is behind bars after allegedly slipping his pregnant partner abortion medication without her knowledge, leading to a stillbirth. The mother named the child Presley Mae. The suspect is being held in the Montgomery County Jail with no bond while investigators continue to work the case.
How Investigators Say It Happened
Deputies were called to a hospital in The Woodlands on Feb. 21 after a woman arrived suffering what appeared to be a miscarriage under suspicious circumstances, according to the Houston Chronicle. The woman told deputies she suspected the father of her unborn child, identified as 25-year-old Jon Rueben Gabriel Demeter of Spring, had secretly given her a drug to end the pregnancy.
Investigators with the Montgomery County Sheriff’s Office, the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and the county medical examiner say their investigation found that Demeter obtained abortion medication and covertly administered it to his partner.
Arrest And Charges
Major Crimes detectives arrested Demeter on Feb. 23 and booked him into the Montgomery County Jail on a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury - family violence, as reported by KBTX. Investigators say the mother had repeatedly refused to terminate the pregnancy and that Demeter had offered to pay for her to travel out of state for an abortion.
Officials say additional or enhanced charges are on the table as more evidence is processed.
Sheriff's Response
Sheriff Wesley Doolittle publicly praised detectives, crime-scene investigators and prosecutors for their work and offered condolences to the family, saying the sheriff's office’s "thoughts and prayers remain with the mother and her family," according to ABC13. The sheriff’s office described the case as both difficult and sensitive and said detectives are still conducting interviews and collecting evidence.
Authorities have not released information on the gestational age of the fetus or identified the specific medication involved at this stage.
Legal Implications
Under Texas law, aggravated assault is typically classified as a second-degree felony, but it can be elevated to a first-degree felony when it involves family violence and the use of a deadly weapon that causes serious bodily injury, according to the Texas Penal Code summary at FindLaw.
Montgomery County prosecutors have been working alongside sheriff’s detectives and the medical examiner, and officials say they are weighing whether to seek enhanced charges once lab work and other evidence are fully reviewed. If they do, Demeter could face substantially steeper penalties than those that come with a standard aggravated assault conviction.
What’s Next
Demeter remains in custody with no bond listed in county jail records, according to KBTX. The Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office will decide whether to file additional charges once medical records and forensic testing are complete.
No court date had been posted at the time of reporting.
