A Kansas City mother, Mariah Thomas, has been charged with a felony after she allegedly put her one-month-old baby in an oven while the baby slept. According to a press release from Jackson County Prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker, police found the baby on Feb. 9 after they responded to a 911 call that described a “non-breathing infant” and when they arrived at the residence, officers found that the small child had “apparent burns,” People
reported.According to Baker, officers were told that Thomas was “putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib.” The Kansas City Fire Department, which also responded to the scene, pronounced the baby dead at the scene.
According to the criminal complaint, the baby was discovered “in the living room lying in a car seat just inside of the
front door” and “had sustained apparent thermal injuries on various parts of her body.” The complaint continued, “She was clothed in a bodysuit over a diaper. The clothing appeared to have melted onto the diaper, and it was very dirty, possibly burned on the backside.”According to the complaint, a “baby blanket with significant burn marks” was also found at the scene and collected by officers. Before the call was placed, the
baby’s grandfather returned to the home and smelled smoke and later found the child in the crib, deceased. After this, the complaint says, Thomas said that she “accidentally put her in the oven”According to Baker, Thomas is now facing a “Class A felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the 1st Degree, Death of a Child.” If Thomas is found guilty, she will be sentenced to a minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life in prison. People reported that as of Feb 12, it is not yet known whether Thomas has retained the services of an attorney to represent her.
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