Infant dies after Missouri mom puts her in oven, claims she mistook cooker for crib

Prosecutors were told that Mariah Thomas “was putting her child down for a nap, and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib

Published on: Feb 12, 2024, 07:36:49 IST

By Sumanti Sen

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A Missouri mom burned her infant to death in an oven, only to later claim that she thought the cooker was a crib. Kansas City’s Mariah Thomas was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and for the death of a child after her one-month-old baby’s demise. The scene was described by police as “gruesome,” according to The Guardian.

Mariah Thomas was charged with endangering the welfare of a child and for the death of a child after her one-month-old baby’s demise (Jackson County Detention Center)

According to charging documents, police arrived at the scene on Friday, February 9, to discover that the baby was badly burned. Prosecutors were told that the mother “was putting her child down for a nap, and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib, according to Fox 4.

“We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges,” Baker said in a statement. “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.”

According to Baker, police received a 911 call about an infant who was not breathing. ‘The victim was located in the living room, lying in a car seat just inside the front door,” a police affidavit said, according to the Daily Beast. “The victim had sustained apparent thermal injuries on various parts of her body.

“She was clothes in a bodysuit over a diaper. The clothing appeared to have melted into the diaper, and it was very dirty, possibly burned on the backside. A baby blanket with significant burn marks was located in the living room and was collected,” it added.

ABOUT THE AUTHOR
Sumanti Sen
Sumanti Sen covers everything that’s happening in the US, from politics to entertainment, but her expertise lies in covering crime news. She has comprehensively chronicled the Idaho student murders, the Laken Riley and Iryna Zarutska cases, and the killing of Charlie Kirk, among other incidents. Over the years, she has interviewed several victims/families of victims of crimes seeking justice. She digs up stories that might otherwise remain unheard, and does her bit to ensure that victims and survivors’ voices are heard. Sumanti’s many years of experience also include interviews with Hamas attack survivors and mental health experts, among others. Her coverage of the October 7 Hamas attack on Israel and interviews with survivors of the tragedy, coupled with her other works including the Titan submersible coverage, earned her the Digi Journo of the Quarter award during her first year at Hindustan Times. Sumanti actively tracks missing person cases in the United States, and peruses Reddit and other social media platforms to bring to light cases that frequently elude public attention. She has extensively covered the disappearances of Nancy Guthrie, Thomas Medlin, Beau Mann, and Sudiksha Konanki, among others. When not at work, you will either find her with her novels, or with her beloved rescue pooches.Read More

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