Jon Demeter is charged with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon. He’s being held at the Montgomery County Jail without bond.
MONTGOMERY COUNTY, Texas — Jon Demeter is being held in jail on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge, but legal experts said he could end up facing an even stiffer charge.
Demeter is accused of causing a woman’s miscarriage, and depending on what evidence is uncovered, he could be charged with capital murder. It will be up to the district attorney’s office to decide how they want to approach the case.
“I’m sure the aggravated assault charge is easier to prove,” legal expert Thomas Nixon said.
Investigators said Demeter secretly gave a woman an abortion drug after continually asking her to have an abortion. Investigators said he offered to pay for her to travel out of Texas to get it done.
Officials said the woman wanted to carry the baby to term.
“Poisoning someone with a pharmaceutical drug in itself can be considered a deadly weapon because people can die from poisoning,” Nixon said.
The woman told investigators that she believed the child’s father — Demeter — secretly administered mifepristone without her consent or knowledge, but she’s not sure how he did it.
“If they can discover how, when and where he obtained the medication to cause the miscarriage, he’ll be charged with capital murder,” Nixon said.
Legal experts said pharmaceuticals can be deemed deadly weapons.
A similar case played out in Parker County last year. In that case, a man was charged with capital murder after being accused of poisoning his girlfriend and causing the death of their unborn child. Surveillance video helped bring that case to fruition.
“I don’t know if the same evidence is going to exist in the Montgomery County case. It will be interesting to see what’s there before they can formulate a charge on how the drug was delivered,” Nixon said.
The woman, whom we decided not to name, ended up delivering her stillborn daughter — whom she named Presly Mae — at a hospital in The Woodlands area.
In a statement, the sheriff’s office said their thoughts and prayers were with the woman and her family as they mourned the loss of Presley Mae.
Demeter has been held at the Montgomery County Jail since Monday and will remain there for the time being without bond.
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