Florida Mom Charged After Baby's Fatal Injuries; Watched TikTok, Porn Instead of Seeking Help

A Florida mom watched content on TikTok and pornographic videos after her baby suffered fatal injuries and now faces a criminal charge, police say.

Tatiana Norman, 23, has been accused of throwing her 6-month-old son, Jeremiah, into a playpen on a tiled floor at a property in Lakeland, Florida, and waiting hours before contacting emergency services.

During a press conference, officials with the Lakeland Police Department confirmed that their investigation began after law enforcement responded to reports of an unresponsive infant at 11:39 p.m. on June 29.

Jeremiah was pronounced dead at the hospital less than an hour later at 12:32 a.m.

After authorities found an unexplained mark on the boy, Norman claimed that Jeremiah fell from a bed onto the tiled floor. She said that the baby cried and that she had been able to soothe him before putting him to sleep.

When interviewed again by police, Norman said that she had fallen asleep with both Jeremiah and her one-year-old child, with all three sharing the same bed. She suggested that either she or her one-year-old could have rolled atop Jeremiah.

Norman also claimed that the mark was caused by placing Jeremiah in bath water that was too hot, authorities said.

An autopsy found that the injuries sustained by the baby were inconsistent with falling from a bed and that the mark was inconsistent with a burn from bath water. Instead, the mark was likely caused by a “thermal event,” police say.

When confronted with the findings of the medical exam, Norman admitted that her son had suffered multiple injuries on June 29 and that she had been feeling “overstimulated and fatigued” by caring for her two children.

On June 29, Norman says that she accidentally dropped Jeremiah at around 9 a.m before her one-year-old later tipped a bassinet while the younger child was inside. She also admitted to intentionally throwing the six-month-old into the playpen at around 1 p.m.

Jeremiah did not cry upon hitting the ground and instead briefly opened his eyes before clenching his hands, she said. He later fell from the bed, in a fourth incident that day.

Jeremiah was “unusually sleepy” after the incidents, Norman told authorities. He also refused the normal amount of formula that he would usually consume.

When detectives searched Norman’s phone, they found that she had searched “baby feels cold” and “baby has a concussion, is it an emergency?” on the day that her son had sustained his injuries.

Detectives also found that she watched two videos on TikTok and made “30 entries” on different pornographic sites instead of contacting the emergency services.

Officials at the medical examiner determined that the four falls were consistent with the injuries identified in the autopsy. The child may have survived if he had received immediate care, the medical examiner added.

Now, Norman has been charged with aggravated child abuse, which carries a maximum penalty of 30 years behind bars, police confirmed.

The Independent has contacted the Lakeland Police Department for comment.