A pregnant Texas woman suffered a miscarriage after a man allegedly spiked her electrolyte drink with an abortion drug, according to court documents. Jon Rueben Demeter, 25, was indicted on Thursday by a grand jury on charges of abortion and injury to a child, prosecutors said.
Details of the Incident
An unnamed woman told deputies with the Montgomery County Sheriff's Office that on February 20, Demeter, the father of her child, offered her a bottle containing a milky substance he claimed was 'passion fruit liquid IV,' according to legal documents obtained by the Houston Chronicle. While at his apartment that day, the woman—who was 14 weeks pregnant—noted that Demeter was 'insistent that she consume the entirety of the liquid,' which allegedly contained a crushed mifepristone pill, court papers said.
Around 1 a.m. the following day, the woman began to feel ill and rushed to the hospital, where she gave birth to a stillborn baby girl named Presley Mae, the document detailed. According to the mother, Demeter had tried to convince her on several occasions to get an abortion and had even offered to pay $1,000 for her to travel out of state to do so, the court records stated.
Legal Context
There is a near-total ban on abortions in Texas, with only doctors allowed to perform them if medically necessary. Because of this, Demeter allegedly had abortion pills shipped to him and slipped the medication into the woman's drink with the intention of causing the death of their child, investigators allege.
Demeter was initially arrested on February 24 on an aggravated assault with a deadly weapon charge, but the grand jury's indictment now replaces that charge, according to the Montgomery County District Attorney's Office. The two latest charges each carry a punishment of five years to life in prison.
Investigation and Evidence
A search warrant was issued on Monday to seize Demeter's gaming console, laptop, and cell phone. During a search of his home, investigators discovered white powder residue inside a glass bowl, as well as evidence of a crushed white pill, the warrant showed, according to KPRC 2 News.
Shortly after Demeter's arrest, his mother, Refugia 'Cookie' Demeter, revealed her son is a father to a three-year-old and a 15-month-old. It is unclear if he shares those children with the woman he is accused of administering the pills to. When asked by a reporter to comment on the investigation, Refugia told WKRN News 2: 'You don't know the other side of the story,' but refused to elaborate. 'I'm not telling you the other side of the story, no. But God knows it, and that's the important part,' she added.
Demeter remains in custody for the first-degree felonies, which, if convicted, could see him jailed for five years to life in prison for each charge. The Daily Mail contacted his attorney, Aaron N. Holt, for comment.
Broader Implications
The topic of mail-delivered abortion medication has been controversial across the U.S., with the Supreme Court ruling on Thursday that patients can, for the time being, obtain the pills by mail. This comes after the state of Louisiana sued the Food and Drug Administration (FDA) in 2025 to stop the delivery and prescription of mifepristone. Two justices, Clarence Thomas and Samuel A. Alito Jr., objected to the decision. The justices who approved did not explain why they chose to rule that way.
