A Florida mother has been charged in the death of her 3-month-old infant after her ring was linked to his fatal injuries, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office.
Jessica Vlasac, 42, resides in Florida, where deputies were dispatched to her residence, according to the sheriff’s office.
On the evening of September 6, deputies arrived at the mother’s home in response to a report of an unresponsive infant, the sheriff’s office said. The boy was subsequently pronounced deceased after arriving at Orlando Health Medical in Lakeland, authorities said.
“He had an abrasion and bruising on his head,” authorities said.
Vlasac allegedly told deputies that she had fallen asleep with her baby in bed by accident, according to the sheriff’s office.
The mother claimed she had no memory of anything else before finding the child face down, unresponsive and “cold to the touch,” according to the agency. But investigators said there was “no evidence of co-sleeping causing the death.”
“She made statements such as, ‘I think I killed our son,’ and said she believed it happened while she was asleep,” the agency said.
Evidence later showed the defendant allegedly contributed to her son’s fatal injury, according to the sheriff’s office.
In a Friday, September 11, news release, the agency stated that an autopsy conducted by Dr. Stephen Nelson revealed hemorrhaging around the baby’s skull, according to the sheriff’s office.
The medical examiner also identified “three separate impact injuries” to the infant’s forehead, according to the release.
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Dr. Nelson documented an “L-shaped injury to the baby’s forehead, which he stated appeared to be consistent with being caused by a square-like object,” according to the agency.
That injury was “consistent with” a “large, diamond-like stone ring” worn by Vlasac during an interview conducted after her son’s autopsy, according to the agency.
Following the autopsy, detectives executed a search warrant to obtain the mother’s devices and the ring she had worn when the infant died, the sheriff’s office said.
During the execution of the search warrant, Vlasac allegedly asked if her ring killed her infant, authorities said.
Detectives also interviewed the baby’s father, who said the mother “becomes violent” when she drinks alcohol, according to authorities.
The father showed investigators messages indicating Vlasac bought alcoholic shots the afternoon before the infant died, the sheriff’s office said. “Later that night, she sent multiple messages stating that she had killed the infant and that he was dead,” the agency said.
Vlasac is accused of deleting some messages implicating her involvement and knowledge regarding the infant’s death, according to authorities. She also allegedly instructed the deceased child’s father to keep their messages private from law enforcement, the agency said.
During a subsequent examination, the medical examiner viewed the ring and determined the baby’s injuries were likely caused by being hit by the ring, according to authorities.
On Thursday, September 10, Vlasac was arrested on an aggravated child abuse charge, the sheriff’s office said.
Information on whether she had retained legal counsel was not immediately available.
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