Trigger Warning: This article contains references to child abuse that some readers may find distressing.

A disturbing case of child abuse and murder has emerged from Lakeland, Florida, where a mother is accused of fatally injuring her six-month-old son and then spending hours watching TikTok and adult videos instead of getting him medical help.

Tatiana Norman, 23, is accused of throwing her infant son, Jeremiah, into a playpen on a tile floor. According to police, the baby suffered severe head injuries but was not taken to a hospital or treated before he became unresponsive.

Officers received a call about an unresponsive baby at 11:39 p.m. on June 29. Emergency crews rushed Jeremiah to the hospital, but he was pronounced dead less than an hour later, at 12:32 a.m.

During the investigation, investigators noticed an unexplained mark on the infant’s left thigh. When they first questioned Norman, she claimed her baby had accidentally fallen off a bed onto the tile floor. She said he cried immediately, but she was able to calm him down, feed him, and put him to sleep before noticing anything was wrong. She now faces criminal charges.

“This week, we arrested Jeremiah’s mother, Tatiana Norman, and charged her in his death. This investigation began June 29th of this year at about 11:39 at night,” the police department revealed during a press conference.

“During the initial medical examination, there were no obvious signs of trauma that would have explained why the child passed away. There was, however, an unexplained mark on the child’s left thigh.”

“When officers spoke to Ms. Norman at the scene, she relayed that she had placed Jeremiah in bed while she went to prepare a bottle. When she returned, she found Jeremiah had fallen from the bed onto the tile floor. She said the infant cried immediately, but she was able to soothe him, feed him, and put him to sleep. It was later discovered that he was unresponsive.”

As detectives continued interrogating Norman, her account changed. She later claimed she had slept in the same bed as Jeremiah and her one-year-old child, suggesting that either she or the older child may have rolled onto the infant while sleeping. 

Officers said Norman admitted she initially hid the “co-sleeping part” because she feared facing criminal charges. When detectives asked about the mark on Jeremiah’s leg, she initially claimed it happened accidentally when the bath water was too hot. 

Dr. Garavan from the Polk County Medical Examiner’s Office performed an autopsy on the baby. The findings showed the injuries were far too severe to have been caused by falling off a 22-inch bed onto a tile floor. The death was officially ruled a homicide. Additionally, it was discovered that the mark on the baby’s leg was not caused by hot bathwater but rather by direct heat or contact with something hot.

When investigators confronted the mother about the burn, Norman admitted she had lied previously and claimed she accidentally spilled hot broth on the baby. However, medical examiners noted this burn was inconsistent with the explanation either.

Norman eventually confessed that she became overwhelmed while both of her children were crying. She threw her infant son into a playpen from several feet away while standing up. She demonstrated both an underhand and an overhand throw. The playpen sat on a hard tile floor without any padding, and the baby hit the back of his head during the throw.

She told officers that the baby did not cry after being thrown, but he briefly opened his eyes and clenched his hands and fingers inward. Norman claimed the baby also fell off a bed the same day, hitting the back of his head a second time. For the rest of the day, he was unusually sleepy, drank far less formula than normal, and had to be woken up to feed. 

According to investigators who searched her phone, Norman had searched “baby feels cold” and “baby has a concussion, is it an emergency?” on the day. She also watched two TikTok videos and reportedly made “30 entries” on various adult sites. 

Medical experts determined Jeremiah likely would have survived if he had received immediate medical care after being injured. The deputy opined that Norman should have gotten a babysitter to ease her stress and the tragedy could have been avoided.

Norman has been charged with aggravated child abuse, a first-degree felony. If convicted, she faces up to 30 years in prison.

Disclaimer: The Inquisitr could not independently confirm the facts of this incident and is reporting based on the information available.