A Lakeland, Florida mother is charged with killing her 3-month-old son after investigators determined a large stone on her ring matched the shape of the fatal wounds on the infant’s skull. Jessica Vlasac, 42, was arrested September 10 and charged with aggravated child abuse resulting in death; she remains held without bond.
What did Vlasac originally tell investigators?
The Polk County Sheriff’s Office responded to Vlasac’s Lakeland home just before midnight on September 6 after a report of an unresponsive infant. Paramedics rushed the boy to the hospital, where he was pronounced dead shortly after arrival. Vlasac initially told deputies she had accidentally fallen asleep with the baby and woke up to find him face down on the bed, “not moving and cold to the touch,” according to the arrest report — describing what sounded like a tragic but accidental co-sleeping death.
What did the autopsy actually find?
The medical examiner’s autopsy told a different story: bleeding around the skull and three separate impact injuries to the infant’s head, including an L-shaped wound consistent with being struck by a square-edged object, not the kind of injury typically associated with an accidental co-sleeping death. When detectives interviewed Vlasac again, they noticed she was wearing a large ring with a square-cut stone matching the shape described in the autopsy. According to investigators, Vlasac herself asked them whether the ring could have killed the baby. The medical examiner later determined the injuries were consistent with being struck by the ring.
What happens next in the case?
Vlasac is being held at the Polk County Jail without bond. She has a pretrial detention hearing and an arraignment scheduled for October 13. The Polk County Sheriff’s Office has not released a detailed account of how the earlier impacts to the infant’s head occurred beyond the ring evidence, and the investigation remains open.
Sources: Law & Crime · Local 12 · Tampa Free Press · WFTV
