A Florida Nurse Told a Premature Baby’s Oxygen Alarm to “Shut Up” and Muted It All Night While He Struggled to Breathe, Police Say

The baby was born at 24 weeks and needed oxygen monitored all night. Home cameras caught the nurse silencing the alarm again and again while his levels kept dropping, police say. His parents didn’t find out until morning.

Home surveillance captured Sharlene Janet Pflugrad, 65, muting a premature infant’s pulse oximeter throughout an overnight shift on September 15, 2025, according to a Cape Coral Police Department affidavit. Investigators reviewed 147 video clips that allegedly showed her silencing alerts, changing sensors, telling the monitor to “shut up,” and continuing to mute the alarms without giving the baby oxygen or calling 911.

The child, born at 24 weeks, needed continuous oxygen monitoring while sleeping. Under a physician-approved care plan, Pflugrad was supposed to administer up to two liters of oxygen, alert the parents, contact her nursing agency, and call 911 if his oxygen saturation dropped below 88%.

Instead, the affidavit says she texted the boy’s mother at 11:24 p.m. with photos of readings at 81% and 79%, then did nothing more. The mother didn’t see the message until about 6:13 a.m. She and the father found their son still struggling to breathe and called 911 after four liters of oxygen failed to bring his levels back to a safe range.

Doctors at Golisano Children’s Hospital diagnosed RSV bronchiolitis, respiratory acidosis, and prolonged oxygen deprivation. A later medical evaluation found evidence of neglect, concluding Pflugrad failed to perform even basic nursing assessments while the child was in respiratory distress. The boy recovered and was discharged the next day.

Pflugrad told her employer, Aveanna Healthcare, that she thought the low readings came from sensor problems and didn’t stay low long enough to count as an emergency. Aveanna’s own investigation found she failed to administer oxygen, perform required assessments, or properly document his care, and suspended her without pay. When investigators sent the pulse oximeter to manufacturer Masimo for testing, technicians found it worked properly with no defects.

The affidavit notes Pflugrad was investigated in 2024 over another medically fragile child, after detectives alleged she ignored multiple medical alerts that resulted in permanent brain damage. Prosecutors declined to file charges in that case.

She is now headed to trial after Lee County Judge Bruce Kyle rejected her plea deal. Prosecutors had offered 364 days in jail, 48 months of probation, forfeiture of her nursing license, no contact with the family, a DNA sample, and court costs, according to Fort Myers CBS affiliate WINK. When Kyle asked whether the signature on the plea form meant she agreed with its terms, she answered, “Not really, but.”

That was enough for him to reject it. “See you tomorrow morning, 8:30 for trial,” Kyle said. “I cannot accept the plea after that.” “No, I meant yes, sir,” Pflugrad said, adding “Please” repeatedly as the judge insisted on seeing her at trial. Her trial is scheduled to begin Tuesday morning.

Thanks for reading Thought Catalog. Join us on Facebook, or keep reading on our website.