A baby girl died in the United States’ Missouri after her mother reportedly put her into an oven for a nap instead of a crib.
The incident came to light earlier this week when Kansas City Police responded to a report of a one-month-old baby not breathing.
The infant was pronounced dead at the scene.
The mother of the infant, Mariah Thomas, a resident of Kansas City, has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child.
According to first responders, the baby’s mother put her down for a nap and accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.
Narrating the incident, police said the child’s clothes were blackened and burnt into her diaper, and there was a smell of smoke in the house.
Thomas was taken to the police station but chose to remain silent under her Fifth Amendment rights, the report added.
According to court records, the child’s grandfather informed investigators that Thomas had called him around 1 pm on Friday, expressing concern about the baby.
Upon reaching the residence, he detected the smell of smoke and found the infant in the crib.
During the investigation, the grandfather revealed that Thomas had informed him she “was putting her child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib”.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker expressed condolences, stating, “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”.
Mariah Thomas is currently being held at the Jackson County Detention Center.
Child endangerment is classified as a class A felony in Missouri, carrying a potential prison sentence of 10 to 30 years.
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