A Florida nurse has been arrested and charged with felony aggravated child abuse resulting in death after her three-month-old son died from head injuries, with investigators alleging she struck him with a diamond ring. Jessica Vlasac, 42, told police the baby died while co-sleeping with her, but an autopsy found subdural haemorrhaging and three separate head injuries, one apparently caused by a small, square-shaped object, and the coroner found no evidence that co-sleeping caused the death. The case has drawn added scrutiny because Vlasac had prior arrests for violent conduct, including one just a month earlier.

That earlier incident, on 2 August, saw deputies called to her Lakeland home after a housemate reported a domestic disturbance; Vlasac allegedly struck a deputy and, while being arrested, defecated on officers, according to a probable cause affidavit. She was released on a $1,000 bond and had pleaded not guilty, with a pre-trial hearing due in December. Her boyfriend, Quinton Rosario, told police she "becomes violent" when drinking and had bought alcoholic shots hours before their son's death on 6 September; she also faced a domestic battery charge in July 2023 that was dropped shortly afterwards.