Authorities in Missouri reported that a mother accidentally put her one-month-old child in the oven rather than a cot, and now she is being charged with a crime.
Following a response from Kansas City police the previous day to her residence due to allegations of a baby not breathing, Mariah Thomas of Kansas City was charged on Saturday with endangering the welfare of a child.
When EMS and police arrived, the one-month-old was found lifeless and covered in burns. According to NBC station KSHB-TV, the infant was declared deceased at the scene.
Thomas called the child’s grandfather at about one in the afternoon, claiming there was a problem with the infant, the grandfather told authorities. Upon his arrival, he detected the scent of smoke inside the house and discovered the baby dead in her cot.
Then he disclosed to investigators According to court documents, Thomas informed him that she “was putting her child down for a nap, and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib.”
“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,” Jackson County Prosecutor, Jean Peters Baker stated in a statement.
