A Florida nurse has been charged with fatally abusing her three-month-old son after police say she punched him in the head hard enough that a large stone on her diamond ring fractured his skull. Jessica Vlasac, 42, called 911 just before midnight on 6 September to report her son August Lionel unresponsive at her Lakeland home, initially telling deputies she had fallen asleep beside him and woken to find him unresponsive; paramedics took the infant to hospital, where he was pronounced dead. The case has drawn attention both for the child's death and for the striking detail that investigators say the fatal injury matched the ring she was wearing.

An autopsy found the baby had suffered subdural bleeding and three separate head injuries, one consistent with a small, square-shaped object, and ruled out co-sleeping as a cause of death; detectives noted a diamond-like stone on Vlasac's ring that appeared consistent with the wound. The infant's father told police Vlasac becomes violent when drinking and had bought alcohol that day, and showed officers messages in which she allegedly admitted killing the baby; investigators also say she deleted messages and urged the father not to share others. Vlasac was arrested last Thursday, charged with felony aggravated child abuse resulting in death, is not yet eligible for bond, and is due for a pre-trial hearing with arraignment set for 13 October; she has not entered a plea, and the sheriff's office says the investigation continues.