College student accused of letting her newborn die, burying baby in yard bonds out

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Dacia Johnson & Gail Paschall-Brown

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    FLAGLER COUNTY, Florida (WESH) — After originally being denied, a $250,000 bond has been granted for the 20-year-old Flagler County woman accused of giving birth at home, watching the baby die and burying it in the backyard of her family’s home.

Anne Mae Demegillo has to follow a lot of conditions, including turning over her passport, wearing a GPS monitoring device and having no contact with any minors as part of the judge’s conditions.

Flagler County Sheriff’s Detective Shannon Smith testified during the bond hearing, saying, “She left it there as she was cleaning up the blood because she was concerned that her mother would find out what had happened.”

Detective Smith added, “I did ask her, if knowing what she knew now during our interview, if she could go back 48 hours and change how she handled the outcome of this, if she would change it, she said she doesn’t believe that she would.”

The state argued for no bond, citing Demegillo as a threat to the community and a potential risk for destroying evidence.

However, Demegillo’s attorney, Michael Politis, countered by stating she poses no threat.

“There’s no diagnosable mental condition. But there is something obviously that is off… but I think as far as the community and the danger to the community I don’t think this is. This is an isolated episode,” Politis said.

Records show she bonded out Thursday afternoon. She walked out of jail around 5:30 p.m.

As Demegillo left jail, she did not respond to questions from reporters but made a quick exit.

The state attorney’s office said they expect to file more charges against Demegillo, including tampering with evidence.

Deputies went to Demegillo’s home near the intersection of Florida Park Drive and Forest Hill Drive on March 6 for a welfare check after a friend had called 911, explaining what Demegillo told them about the baby.

Chief Deputy Joe Barile of the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said, “It baffles me, to be completely honest. Sometimes you can’t explain everything.”

Upon arrival, deputies say Demegillo led them to a shallow grave in the backyard. Investigators revealed that she gave birth sometime the day before and watched her child die.

The baby was a girl, weighing 3 pounds, six ounces, and measuring 18 inches long.

Demegillo then allegedly put the baby in a duffel bag in her closet so she could perform in a show at a theater, the Flagler County Sheriff’s Office said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

This Minnesota doctor is helping “The Pitt” keep it real

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Beret Leone

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    MINNESOTA (WCCO) — The hit HBO Max series “The Pitt” is getting buzz for how real it feels, and there’s a Minnesota doctor making sure it stays that way.

Dr. Jacob Lentz is an ER physician at M Health Fairview Lakes in Wyoming, Minnesota.

“They really care to get things right, and so there’s a lot of doctors and nurses in the mix making sure that things are as accurate as possible,” Lentz said.

Lentz is one of them, serving as a technical consultant for the show. That gig is on top of his work as a physician, splitting his time between Southern California and Minnesota.

If you aren’t familiar with the medical drama, it takes place in Pittsburgh and follows an emergency department through a 12-hour shift. It has all the things fans are looking for in a medical drama: high stakes, great characters and medical “realness.”

“I continued to work full-time while consulting a bit. Most of last season or season two, I would like wrap up, like on a Friday, and they’re like, ‘Alright, we’re wrapped,’ and I was I like, ‘Cool, I’m going to go to work now,'” he said.

As a technical consultant, Lentz reviews each script, often writing 20 to 25 pages of detailed medical notes for a 70-page episode.

He outlines everything from what a wound should look like to which staff members would realistically be in the room, what should appear on patient monitors and how a scene should be choreographed. Then he’s on set, answering questions and ensuring accuracy.

“I’m there to sort of make sure that things look realistic and that everyone’s saying the words the right way and people are kind of like reacting the right way,” he said.

It’s no doubt a grind. He jumps from set to an overnight shift in the ER, but it’s a grind that Lentz calls a privilege. Medicine was a career he sought out later in life. He never thought it would bring him back to television.

“I really did not, yeah, so I think it’s been a pleasant surprise,” he said.

After college, the Mahtomedi, Minnesota, native moved to Los Angeles to become a television writer. He worked for shows like “Jimmy Kimmel Live!” until he had the urge to do something different. He went to medical school, started his residency in Minnesota in 2019 and somehow ended up doing both years later.

“I will confess, like I felt, still feel pressure because I don’t, I want to, like, represent our field, and do, you know, make sure we’re doing things the right way and so on,” he said. “So it’s been really gratifying, you know, like to see that they actually did pull it off.”

He credits the show’s makeup, props and wardrobe teams for bringing authenticity to life, even when they’re recreating injuries most people have never seen.

“They’ll say, ‘You wrote that this wound is oozing, what does that mean?'” Lentz said. “They just want to get it right.”

The series is created by Scott Gemmill, who also serves as showrunner and executive producer, and it’s executive produced by former “ER” showrunner John Wells and “The Pitt” star Noah Wyle — who also played Dr. John Carter on “ER.”

Lentz described Wyle as earnest and deeply committed to portraying health care workers accurately.

“He needs very little coaching,” Lentz said. “He’ll ask one question, and then he’s got it. He works really hard.”

The show’s been renewed for a third season. Don’t bother asking Lentz for any spoilers.

“Um, no, because I like having a job,” he said.

While he didn’t want to give away any upcoming show secrets, Lentz did say “The Pitt” fans can expect some really good medical cases, great acting, amazing props and make-up work.

New episodes come out on Thursday nights. The season two finale airs April 16. There’s no word yet on when season three will air.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Florida teens accused in murder plot laugh about mugshots, shout ‘yay’ about going to same jail

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Allison Petro

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    ALTAMONTE SPRINGS, Florida (WESH) — Two teenage girls accused of plotting to murder a fellow student at a Seminole County school were heard laughing in the back of a patrol car while being taken into custody.

The suspects, Lois Lippert, 14, and Isabelle Valdez, 15—who is transgender and goes by Jimmy—are best friends from Lake Brantley High School, according to the arrest report.

Officials said the pair believed the boy they were plotting to kill resembled the killer from the 2012 Sandy Hook Elementary School shooting.

The two thought that by killing their classmate, they could somehow bring the shooter back to life. However, the plan failed after another classmate tipped off authorities.

They’re accused of bringing a knife to Lake Brantley High in January, along with flowers, candy, and cigarettes, as part of a ritual to carry out the plot.

In the video released by officials, the two girls are heard discussing their makeup to look good for their mugshots.

They are also heard cheering after finding out they were going to the same jail.

“Are we going to be in the same one?” Isabelle Valdez asked an officer.

“Yeah,” the officer responded.

Valdez replied, “Yay!” followed by laughter.

The other suspect, Lippert, is then heard expressing regret over not visiting a psychiatrist to obtain a diagnosis. In the video, she explains that having a diagnosis would have given her something to “clean up.”

During a court hearing on Wednesday, a judge ruled that the teens be held without bond. Both teens are also being charged as adults.

“I certainly understand that parents want their children home, but this is not the case,” assistant state attorney Domenick Leo said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Fort Myers father accused of providing his children with acid, narcotics

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Carson Zorn & Edward Franco

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    FORT MYERS, Florida (WBBH) — A Fort Myers father was arrested on Wednesday after he was accused of giving his child acid.

According to the Lee County Sheriff’s Office, deputies responded to a call at around 4:45 a.m. of a disoriented 13-year-old boy found wearing only a T-shirt and underwear lying in a Fort Myers grocery store parking lot near Fiddlesticks Boulevard and Daniels Parkway.

The child was transported to Golisano Children’s Hospital, where they told deputies their father had given them acid.

Deputies began to investigate and spoke to other children who told deputies their father would pressure them into using narcotics and would provide them with drugs, LCSO said.

According to the arrest report, Rivenburg’s other children informed investigators that he advised them to try drugs with him because he “knows what he was doing.”

“I’m just appalled. I just can’t believe that a parent would be that uncaring,” Kimberly Hunnel said.

Deputies located the father, Jeffrey Rivenburgh, 38, at the La Quinta Inn on Marketplace Road. According to LCSO, in the hotel room, deputies discovered fentanyl, LSD, cocaine and marijuana.

Mike Hunnel said, “Oh, it’s a terrible thing to hear anything like that. It’s a tragedy.”

According to LCSO, Rivenburgh was intoxicated when arrested and faces charges of two counts of child neglect without causing great bodily harm, trafficking fentanyl, trafficking LSD, possession of cocaine and possession of marijuana.

Deborah Comella, executive director of Drug Free Lee, emphasized the importance of communication between parents and children to prevent drug use, noting that early drug use can severely impact a child’s development.

“In many cases, the part of the brain that’s affected is impulse control. So it’s really important that we draw a firewall between ourselves and drugs and alcohol,” Comella said. “We do that by talking to our kids. We tell them we love them. We tell them what to do in case of an emergency, in case someone offers.”

Deputies say the 13-year-old is expected to recover.

LCSO said Rivenburgh has been booked more than 30 times for a variety of charges, including multiple drug offenses.

Rivenburg was taken to the Lee County Jail.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Man accused of pointing handgun with laser at driver during Florida road rage incident

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Tyler Watkins & Kyle Schmidt

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    CAPE CORAL, Florida (WBBH) — An 18-year-old was arrested after Cape Coral police say he brandished a firearm during a road rage incident at the Santa Barbara Boulevard N and NE Pine Island Road intersection.

On Wednesday night, the Cape Coral Police Department responded to the disturbance. The victim told officers that a driver in a black Cadillac sedan pointed a black handgun with a green laser at them while making threatening statements.

“If a day goes by and I don’t see a road rage, that is amazing down here in the Cape,” Pine Island resident Silver Angel said. “Even if it doesn’t involve me personally, I see it in and out, people yelling, people flipping each other off.”

The victim said that he attempted to distance himself from the vehicle, fearing for his safety, according to the CCPD news release.

Officers found a vehicle matching the description at a KFC parking lot on Hancock Bridge Parkway, near where the incident happened.

Police identified the driver as Dismas Jeffrey Ballez. According to CCPD, Ballez told officers that he was “scared” during the encounter, and a passenger in the vehicle said Ballez did point the weapon toward the other vehicle.

Officers found a black handgun with a green laser attachment on the passenger seat during a search. CCPD said it was seized and placed into evidence.

Ballez was arrested and is facing a charge of aggravated assault with a deadly weapon at this time.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

California farmers concerned over fertilizer shortage as Iran war disrupts shipments

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Steve Large

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    SACRAMENTO (KOVR) — The war with Iran is now leading to growing concerns among California farmers over a fertilizer shortage, with many fertilizing products coming from shipments that are stuck in the Persian Gulf.

The fears of shortages come at a critical time for California farmers, who are about a month ahead of schedule for spring planting because of recent warmer weather.

Pat Klingler is a sales manager for Wilbur-Ellis Agribusiness, which sells fertilizer products to farmers across California’s Central Valley. He said some farmers are now calling him, concerned he could be running out due to the conflict in the Middle East.

“This whole Iran conflict has changed the whole fertilizer dynamics,” Klingler said. “A large percentage of fertilizer components come from that area.”

The war with Iran has caused the price of fertilizer to skyrocket. The cost of Urea is up 30% in the past month, according to the American Farm Bureau Federation.

Shipments are stuck in the Persian Gulf as a result of Iran blocking shipping lanes at the Strait of Hormuz.

Stockton Port CEO Kirk DeJesus, CEO of the Port of Stockton, said the travel time from the Persian Gulf to his port in California’s Central Valley is 30 days.

“Ninety-five percent of the fertilizer used in growing those crops moves through and is imported through the port of Stockton,” DeJesus said.

The American Farm Bureau has sent a letter to President Trump recommending he use “the U.S. Navy to provide and maintain safe and reliable maritime transit for fertilizer shipments through the Strait of Hormuz.” The White House has not yet committed to using the Navy to escort the cargo ships out of the Persian Gulf.

“The production’s still there. The supply is still there. Getting it from there to here is where the difficulty lies,” DeJesus said.

Klingler said these shipment delays “put a scare into the whole market.”

“You hate to run out,” Klingler said. “You’ve got a lot of money invested in the crop.”

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Streamer targeted in dangerous “swatting” prank at LA County mall

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Nicole Comstock

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    LOS ANGELES (KCAL, KCBS) — Police swarmed a San Gabriel Valley mall after a hoax left people stunned and afraid.

Social media personality Diego Zavaleta Penaloza was streaming a shopping spree with a 4-year-old fan at a mall in Arcadia when someone pulled a “swatting” prank on them.

“I get trolled a lot,” Penaloza said.

Penaloza has 181,000 followers on the streaming platform Kick, where he posts day-in-the-life-style videos for fun.

“My fan bases comes up to me and tell jokes a lot,” Penaloza said. “I thought it was just another one of those jokes.”

Several officers bolted into the store where Penaloza and his group were in and commanded everyone to get on the ground.

“He told me there was a guy in the mall with a rifle that wanted to kill people and they described me,” Penaloza said.

Police temporarily put the mall on lockdown until they confirmed it was a hoax.

“They have to treat it like a real situation,” Penaloza said. “They came to the mall, like SWAT, big guns. I got really scared.

Penaloza and his girlfriend did their best to calm their young fan.

“When she fell down and started crying, I felt really bad,” Penaloza said.

They took her to a makeup store after and let her paint their faces. Penaloza said he’s seen other streamers getting swatted recently and it needs to stop.

“Just some donuts on the internet that have nothing better to do,” he said. “Please stop swatting us streamers, we just want to stream.”

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Pennsylvania mausoleum investigated in grave thefts linked to Jonathan Gerlach case

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Baylee Martin

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    PLAINS TOWNSHIP, Pennsylvania (WGAL) — A cemetery in Luzerne County, Pennsylvania, is dealing with the aftermath of grave thefts as community members hope to prevent future incidents and relocate remains.

Man accused of stealing more than 100 human remains Jonathan Gerlach, a 34-year-old man from Lancaster County, is accused of stealing more than 100 remains from a Delaware County cemetery and is set to appear in court for a preliminary hearing to determine if there is enough evidence to go to trial on Friday, March 13.

Investigators have also linked a cemetery in Luzerne County to the Gerlach investigation.

Good Shepherd Memorial Mausoleum Good Shepherd Memorial Mausoleum in Plains Township, Luzerne County, is one of the abandoned cemeteries affected. Historians like Ava Petersen oversee the grounds when no one else does.

“It’s a concern to me that it’s so open. There’s nothing preventing people from breaking in, and unfortunately, that’s what did happen,” Petersen said.

Sometime after Nov. 1, 2025, the graves of Mary Cappellini Paga and Leo Terence were broken into and robbed. Local funeral director Chris Yanaitis was there when the mausoleum was boarded up as a crime scene.

“It’s one thing to know where your family is, and they’re at peace, or they’re possibly being moved to someplace they could rest. But it’s another thing to be taken and not known what’s being done with them,” Yanaitis said.

Court documents revealed that human remains wrapped in plastic were found near cigarettes and energy drink cans near the open crypts. Investigators believe this evidence could be tied to Gerlach, who was arrested at a Delaware County cemetery in January and found with the skeletons of 100 people in his Lancaster County home and storage shed.

“These were the crypts that were all compromised, just like this one was. They were looking for something,” Yanaitis said.

Shortly after the initial break-in, Yanaitis said they received an emergency order to remove two other crypts due to evidence of attempted break-ins.

“No maintenance has been done to this building in 40 years,” Yanaitis said.

Petersen added, “The structural damage has gone too far.”

With no records of who or how many people are buried at the cemetery, unfinished crypt plates, and a crumbling facade, the concern is getting the people who are buried there out.

Attorney helping family members relocate loved ones Jeff Kulick, a local attorney, is helping family members relocate their loved ones.

“The three of us have partnered together, and we’re trying to make a solution there to come up with a solution. That way, this doesn’t continue to happen,” Kulick said. “Hopefully, none of us would have to understand what it is to rebury a loved one more than once.”

As the investigation continues, the community’s work and hope for new laws protecting cemeteries go on with it.

“This has become a legacy of trying to get these poor people to rest,” Yanaitis said.

Petersen concluded, “I don’t think anybody thinks their final resting place is going to be disturbed in such a way, and I don’t think that should ever happen.”

News 8 will be in the courtroom on March 13 for updates on this investigation.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Baltimore firefighters get special training to better handle wildfires

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Jennifer Franciotti

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    BALTIMORE (WBAL) — OWINGS MILLS, Md. — Baltimore County firefighters are getting training this week from national and international instructors on how to better handle wildfires.

It’s an opportunity that came out of lessons learned from the massive wildfire three years ago in Owings Mills.

“When we got there, we had fire that was rapidly expanding exposures to houses that we were really concerned about,” said Edmund Schwartz Jr., a battalion chief with the Baltimore County Fire Department.

It was April 2023 when more than 700 acres burned in a brushfire at Soldiers Delight in Owings Mills. An eight-alarm fire was Baltimore County’s biggest wildland fire in more than 60 years, and because of the challenges that arose during that incident, it is why Baltimore County firefighters are in the classroom this week.

“To not only protect firefighters and save their lives, but to protect the community that they serve,” Lt. J.P. Adams, with the Lewiston Fire Department in Maine, said during the training.

“We’re seeing more wildfires in areas that are not trained to cover it, so we have structural firefighters used to going into buildings fighting fire with a gear that we’ve always used and trained with, and this is a different environment,” said Steve Redmer, president of the Baltimore County Professional Firefighters Association.

At Stevenson University’s Greenspring campus, 25 Baltimore County firefighters are taking part in a 10-hour course taught by instructors from the International Association of Firefighters. They are learning communication and tactical strategies in the classroom and in the field.

“Moving from house to house for being tactical, we call a tactical agility,” Adams said during the training session.

“A lot of it has been how to move quickly, prepare a fire apparatus more efficiently to protect multiple dwelling at one time,” Schwartz said.

The course is funded by the National Fire Academy, and every participant is being trained as an instructor who will now go back to their firehouses to teach 1,100 other members of the department.

“Having them be able to take this training and go out and train the rest of the department is now a force multiplier for us, and that we can really get ready for these events and really hammered down on what needs to be done,” Schwartz said.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.

Grand jury indicts man in case of missing Denver hairstylist Jax Gratton

CNN Newsource on March 13, 2026

By Jasmine Arenas

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    COLORADO (KCNC) — New developments have emerged in the case of Jax Gratton, the 34-year-old Denver hairstylist who disappeared in April of last year and whose body was found two months later.

A grand jury has indicted a man accused of tampering with Gratton’s body and evidence connected to her death.

According to court records, Brandon David Mumma, 44, has been charged with felony counts of tampering with physical evidence and abuse of a corpse. Investigators say Mumma was one of the last people seen with Gratton before she disappeared.

Gratton, a well-known hairstylist and transgender woman in Denver, was missing for nearly two months before her remains were discovered in June.

“Justice for Jax is an ongoing fight … it does not start or end with this court date,” said Z Williams, co-director of the Bread and Roses Legal Center and a victim advocate working with Gratton’s family.

Williams said the family believes there were significant failures during the investigation.

“Many, many missteps were made from the moment that she was reported missing to when she was found dead,” Williams said.

Nearly a year after Gratton’s remains were discovered, a grand jury returned the indictment against Mumma. Williams said the family and Gratton’s community were unfamiliar with his name before the charges were announced.

“After having done her rosary, her celebration of life, hosted multiple vigils, and met with many people who love Jax from all of her different communities, no one has ever heard this name,” Williams said.

Investigators say Gratton was last seen with Mumma and another man. According to the indictment, Mumma allegedly left Gratton around 2 a.m. while she was under the influence of drugs. When he returned a few hours later, authorities say he attempted to conceal her body and personal belongings to avoid detection by police.

Prosecutors say Gratton’s cellphone has never been recovered. Investigators relied on security camera footage from the building where her body was found and cellphone records to piece together a timeline of events.

“There are hundreds of unanswered questions about what happened to Jax,” Williams said.

Authorities say they have been unable to determine how Gratton died. Because of the length of time between her death and when her body was found, investigators say the cause and manner of death may have been “obscured or eliminated.”

For Gratton’s family and supporters, that uncertainty has only intensified their calls for answers.

“This is a drop in the bucket compared to what she deserves and what her community and family deserve,” Williams said.

Friends and family remember Gratton as a vibrant and compassionate presence in the community.

“Jax was incredibly colorful, beautiful, effervescent,” Williams said. “She made everyone she met feel loved and cared for.”

Mumma has been transferred from the Summit County Jail to the Jefferson County Jail, where he is being held on a $100,000 cash bond. He is expected to appear in court on Friday.

Please note: This story was provided to CNN Wire by an affiliate and does not contain original CNN reporting. This content carries a strict local market embargo. If you share the same market as the contributor of this article, you may not use it on any platform.