Moore County Sheriff Ronnie Fields announced an arrest following an investigation into the October 2024 death of a 2-month-old in Vass.
On Oct. 2, 2024, deputies with the Moore County Sheriff’s Office, alongside emergency medical personnel, responded to a distress call reporting an unresponsive child in the 200 block of Sunny Road in Vass. The child, identified as Gracelyn Uppole, was pronounced deceased at the scene, said Fields in a media release.
“In the months that followed, investigators conducted a comprehensive review of the circumstances surrounding the child’s death, which included awaiting toxicology and forensic testing, as well as detailed findings from the Office of the Chief Medical Examiner,” said Fields. “Based on those findings, authorities determined that the child’s mother, 28-year-old Jessica Diane Uppole of Vass, NC, had ingested an impairing substance and placed the infant in an injurious environment, resulting in the death.”
Sheriff’s investigators arrested Uppole on April 28. She has been charged with one count of felony involuntary manslaughter and one count of felony child neglect inflicting serious bodily injury.
Uppole has been committed to the Moore County Detention Center without bond, with her first court appearance scheduled in Moore County district court on May 15.
Photo: Jessica Uppole is presumed innocent until proven guilty in a court of law.
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*Media release from the Moore County Sheriff’s Office.Â
