According to the complaint, the baby was found in the living room lying in a car seat just inside the front door.
Jackson County prosecutors said Saturday that the mother of a 1-month-old baby was accused of putting her son in an oven to nap instead of a crib in Missouri, Kansas City.
According to the complaint, Mariah Thomas was reportedly “putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed him in the oven instead of the crib.”
Authorities found the deceased child on Friday after being informed that a baby was not breathing. When officials arrived, they discovered the one-month-old baby had thermal injuries.
“We recognize the horrific nature of this tragedy and our hearts are overwhelmed by the loss of this precious life. We are confident that the criminal justice system will respond appropriately to these terrible circumstances,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement.
According to the complaint, the baby was found in the living room lying in a car seat just inside the front door.
“She was dressed in a onesie over a diaper. The clothing appeared to have melted onto the diaper and was very dirty, possibly burned on the backside,” the complaint states.
The baby's grandparents said they left the home they shared with their daughter that morning.
Police said: “The child's grandmother received a call around 1:00 pm from the child's mother, who was hysterical, and told the grandmother that she had put the baby in the oven instead of in the crib.” .
He also stressed that the baby's grandfather also smelled smoke in the house when he arrived.
Thomas allegedly told officials that she “accidentally put it in the oven.”
Thomas now faces a class A felony count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child, death of a child, the prosecutor said.
If found guilty, she will serve a minimum sentence of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.
