A Spring man is jailed without bond after investigators said he secretly administered abortion medication to a pregnant woman.
CONROE, Texas — Prosecutors in Montgomery County are still reviewing whether to increase charges against a Spring man jailed without bond after investigators said he secretly gave abortion medication to the mother of his unborn child, who later delivered the baby stillborn.
The case is now defined by what has been charged and what has not. Jon Rueben Gabriel Demeter, 25, has been booked on a family-violence aggravated assault charge, but local officials have also said publicly that more serious counts remain possible as evidence processing continues. That leaves the matter in an in-between stage: the accusation is public, the arrest has been made, but the final prosecutorial path is still unresolved.
Investigators say the case began on Feb. 21, when deputies were called to a hospital in The Woodlands for a reported miscarriage under suspicious circumstances. The woman told deputies she believed the father of her baby had secretly administered a drug to end the pregnancy. The child, later named Presley Mae by the mother, was stillborn at the hospital, according to the sheriff’s office. Detectives with the Major Crimes Unit, prosecutors from the Montgomery County District Attorney’s Office and crime scene investigators responded, and the county medical examiner also assisted. Those agencies have not publicly released a detailed affidavit in the reporting reviewed here, but they have stated that the case was treated from the outset as a possible intentional act rather than an unexplained medical loss.
By Feb. 23, investigators had arrested Demeter, a Spring resident, and charged him with aggravated assault with a deadly weapon causing serious bodily injury, family violence. In public statements, authorities said their investigation found that he had repeatedly pressured the woman to have an abortion and had offered to pay for travel out of state. They say she repeatedly refused and remained firm in her plan to continue the pregnancy. Investigators then said Demeter obtained abortion medication and covertly administered it to her without consent. ABC13 reported the drug was mifepristone. What is not yet clear from the public reporting is whether prosecutors believe the current charge best matches the evidence or whether it serves as an initial holding charge while medical and forensic work is completed.
That uncertainty has shaped much of the discussion around the case. Local outlets reported that Demeter was being held without bond and had a bond review hearing scheduled soon after his arrest. Prosecutors also said the charge could potentially be upgraded. In practical terms, that means key decisions may rest on records that have not been made public, including toxicology, medical examiner findings, any digital communications between the couple, purchase records for the medication and investigators’ evidence about intent and administration. The charging language already alleges serious bodily injury and the use of a deadly weapon, but public officials have signaled that the current filing may not be the last word.
The broader context has helped make the case stand out in Texas. Public reporting has noted that investigators identified the alleged drug as mifepristone, a medication commonly associated with abortion care. But the legal focus in this case is not a woman obtaining her own abortion. It is the accusation that the medication was secretly given to a pregnant woman against her wishes. That distinction is central to the sheriff’s public description of the case and to the family-violence charge already filed. It also explains why investigators have emphasized the woman’s repeated refusal to end the pregnancy and her stated intent to carry the baby to term.
Public reaction has so far come mostly through official statements and the defendant’s family. Sheriff Wesley Doolittle praised the work of detectives, prosecutors and patrol deputies and said his thoughts were with the mother and her family as they mourned Presley Mae. Demeter’s mother, Cookie Demeter, told local television reporters that her son turned himself in and that “there is another side to the story.” She said the details would come out in court and described him as “at peace.” Those competing public messages have only sharpened attention on the coming court record, where the case will begin moving from initial allegation to tested evidence.
Jon Demeter remains the sole publicly named defendant and the case remained open. The next milestone is expected to be a court development or a prosecutor’s decision on whether the current charge will stand or be revised.
Author note: Last updated March 23, 2026.