Mom Claimed Co-Sleeping Led to Baby’s Death, But Her Ring Was Linked to Head Injury: Sheriff

A Florida woman charged in the death of her 3-month-old infant blamed co-sleeping for her son’s death despite evidence showing she allegedly contributed to his fatal injury.

A ring Jessica Vlasac, 42, had been wearing was ultimately linked to her son’s fatal head injuries, according to the Polk County Sheriff’s Office, which said there was “no evidence of co-sleeping causing the death.”

A medical examiner, Dr. Stephen Nelson, found during an autopsy that the baby had hemorrhaging around his skull and “three separate impact injuries” to his forehead, the sheriff’s office said in a Friday, September 11, news release.

The doctor also found 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.

This 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.

Deputies had arrived at Vlasac’s home the evening of September 6 in response to a report of her son being unresponsive. The boy was subsequently pronounced deceased after arriving at Orlando Health Medical in Lakeland.

“He had an abrasion and bruising on his head,” authorities said.

Vlasac told deputies that she had fallen asleep with her baby in bed by accident and that she had no memory of anything else before she reportedly found him face down, unresponsive and “cold to the touch,” according to the sheriff’s office.

“She made statements such as, ‘I think I killed our son,’ and said she believed it happened while she was asleep,” the agency said.

Following the baby’s autopsy, detectives executed a search warrant to obtain the mother’s devices and the ring she had been wearing at the time of the infant’s death, according to the sheriff’s office.

During the execution of the search warrant, Vlasac allegedly asked if her ring killed her infant.

When investigators spoke with the baby’s father, he said Vlasac “becomes violent” when she drinks alcohol, according to authorities.

The father also showed investigators messages exchanged between him and Vlasac that indicated she bought alcoholic shots the afternoon before her baby 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 of the messages implicating her involvement and knowledge of the infant’s death, and instructing the deceased child’s father to keep their messages private from law enforcement.

During a subsequent examination, the medical examiner viewed Vlasac’s ring and determined the baby’s injuries were likely caused by being hit by the ring, according to authorities.

Vlasac was arrested Thursday, September 10, on an aggravated child abuse charge, the sheriff’s office said.

Information on whether she had retained legal counsel wasn’t immediately available.