By Erika Hernandez
11 Feb 2024, 16:35 PM EST
Authorities reported that A mother from Kansas City, Missouri, burned her one-month-old baby to death after putting her in an ovenwhich he allegedly mistook for a crib.
According to court documents filed in Jackson County, Missouri, Mariah Thomas was arrested and charged with one felony count of first-degree child endangerment.
The complaint filed Friday in county Circuit Court stated that Kansas City Police Department officers went to the home Friday afternoon after receiving a report of a “baby not breathing.”
“Officers observed apparent burns on the victim’s body. “The Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) responded and pronounced the victim dead at the scene,” a detective said in the probable cause statement.
Police described scene at Kansas City home as “horrific”according to The Guardian.
Thomas told the rescuers that “went to put the child to bed for a nap and accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.”according to records.
The baby’s grandparents told detectives that they left the house they share with their daughter that same morning.
The girl’s grandmother received a call around 1 pm from Thomas. The woman was hysterical and told him that she had put the baby “in the oven instead of in the crib,” police said in a statement cited by NBC News.
The grandfather returned home after his wife called him and told him “something was wrong with the baby,” according to court records.
The man told detectives he could smell smoke inside and found the baby dead in his crib. Her daughter also told her that she “accidentally put it in the oven.”
Detectives executing a search warrant found the baby in a car seat in the living room with thermal injuries to several parts of her body. The girl’s clothes seemed to have melted onto her diaper and also found a baby blanket with burn marks, according to the documents.
“We recognize the horrific nature of this tragedy and our hearts are overwhelmed by the loss of this precious life. “We are confident that the criminal justice system will respond appropriately to these terrible circumstances,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement.
If found guilty, Thomas faces 10 years to life in prison.
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