KANSAS CITY, Mo. (TCD) — Police arrested a 26-year-old mother last week on suspicion of murdering her baby after putting him in the oven.
According to an amended probable cause affidavit posted by the Jackson County Prosecutor's Office on Feb. 9, Kansas City police responded to a call that the baby was not breathing and found an adult holding an unresponsive child. The 1-month-old victim suffered apparent burns, and the Kansas City Fire Department pronounced the infant dead at the scene.
According to a probable cause statement, the mother, Mariah Thomas, told her grandfather that when she went to drop off her daughter for a nap, she thought she had put her in her crib, but “accidentally put her in the oven.” Her grandfather reportedly called 911 and handed the baby over to firefighters as soon as they arrived.
The girl was reportedly found in a car seat near the front door. Her affidavit states that she “suffered obvious lacerations to several areas of her body” and that her clothes “appeared to have melted” over her diaper. Investigators found a baby blanket with “significant burn marks.”
Jackson County prosecutors announced Feb. 10 that Thomas was charged with first-degree endangerment of the welfare of a child and child death. She remains incarcerated in the Jackson County Detention Center.
“I would like to thank all of the emergency responders who worked at the scene of this incident and the prosecutors who traveled to the scene to file charges,” said Jackson County Prosecutor Gene Baker.
Baker continued, “We acknowledge the horrific nature of this tragedy and the loss of this precious life weighs heavily on our hearts. We trust that the criminal justice system will respond appropriately to these horrific circumstances.”
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