Woman charged in death of baby she ‘accidentally placed in the oven’

KANSAS CITY, Mo. (WKRC) — A Missouri woman is facing felony charges in connection with the death of her newborn baby.

Kansas City Missouri Police responded to the woman’s home Friday afternoon after she called 911 saying her child was not breathing.

They found Mariah Thomas and her one-month-old daughter, who appeared to have suffered burn wounds, lying in a car seat.

Officers noted the infant’s clothing appeared to have melted onto her diaper. A blanket with significant burn marks was also located.

According to court documents, Thomas told EMTs she was putting the baby down for a nap and “accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.”

Police say Thomas lives with her parents, who were at work when it happened. They say she called them, hysterical and yelling that something was wrong with the child.

They told detectives that they both headed back home. The father arrived first and said he smelled smoke before finding the unresponsive infant.

By the time the mother returned, police were at the residence. Thomas was taken into custody for questioning.

She is charged with endangering the welfare of a child, resulting in death, which carries a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of 30.

“We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker. “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.”