Authorities in Kansas City have charged a mother whose 1-month-old baby died after she allegedly placed the child in an oven instead of a crib. According to ABC News, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker on Saturday said 26-year-old Mariah Thomas has since been charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child over the death of her baby.
Authorities said the fatal February 9 incident occurred at a residence in Manheim Park, adding that police went to the address after they received a report about a nonbreathing infant. Court documents stated that responding officers found a baby who had suffered burn wounds. The minor was declared dead at the scene.
In the wake of the incident, Thomas claimed she was laying her child down for a nap but mistakenly put the minor in an oven instead of a crib, court documents stated. “I thought I put [infant’s name redacted] in her crib, and I accidentally put her in the oven,” Thomas is said to have informed her child’s grandfather, court documents stated.
Per Missouri state law, Thomas could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison if she’s convicted. “We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges,” Baker said in a statement.
“We acknowledge the gruesome nature of this tragedy and our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life. We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances.”
