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Mariah Thomas, inset via Johnson County Jail, was arrested after she allegedly put her 1-month-old baby in the oven instead of a crib at their home in Kanas City, Missouri, prosecutors say. (WDAF/YouTube)
A mother in Missouri is behind bars after she “accidentally” put her 1-month-old in the oven which led to the child’s death, prosecutors say.
Mariah Thomas, 26, faces the first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, Death of a Child, according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.
Kansas City police responded to a home shortly before 1:30 p.m. Friday for a report of a non-breathing infant. Cops found the child suffering from apparent burns. Paramedics pronounced the infant dead at the scene. According to court records, Thomas said she was putting the child down for a nap but “accidentally” placed the infant in the oven instead of the crib.
Citing an arrest affidavit, the Kansas City Star reported officers found the baby laying in a car seat inside the living room near the front door. A witness told detectives he received a call around 1 p.m. that something was wrong with the baby and he needed to come home right away. When he got home, he could smell smoke and the infant was dead in the crib. The child’s onesie had melted to the diaper, the affidavit reportedly said.
Officials did not give the child’s name or gender.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement on Saturday that she appreciated the first responders and prosecutors at the scene.
“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.”
Neighbors said they were stunned.
“Within a matter of minutes I heard sirens. The next thing I know, there’s a baby carrier being transported between the [ambulance] and the house,” neighbor Corrine Foreman told local Fox affiliate WDAF.
The incident was tragic, the neighbors said.
“I’m pretty shocked by it and appalled that there’s a death in our neighborhood. It’s sad, especially when it’s a child. No child should be leaving here,” neighbor Amber Morgan told the outlet.
