Nearly one year after a Missouri woman’s baby was found dead, burned alive in an oven, officials have charged the mother with involuntary manslaughter.
Mariah Thomas claims that when she put her 1-month-old daughter down for a nap, “I thought I put (redacted) in her crib, and I accidentally put her in the oven,” she allegedly told an unidentified adult who lived in the Kansas City home, according to court documents, as reported by Kansas City Star.
The unidentified witness notified authorities after he received a “hysterical” call from Thomas on Feb. 3, saying something was wrong with the baby. When he returned home, police said he could smell smoke inside the house and found the infant dead inside the crib. According to the affidavit, he picked up the baby, which had apparent “thermal injuries” on various parts of her body.
She was dressed in a “bodysuit” over a diaper and the clothing appeared to have melted to the diaper, police said. The clothing was “very dirty, possibly burned on the backside,” according to the affidavit, per Kansas City Star.
In the living room, a baby blanket with “significant burn marks” was found.
“We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges,” Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a press release.
“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,” Baker continued.
Neighbor Corinne Foreman told The Kansas City Star she heard someone yelling in distress, followed by the sound of emergency sirens.
“And the next thing you know, I just heard, ‘They’re gone. They’re gone,’” Foreman said.
Thomas, 26, was initially charged with one count of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child. She pleaded not guilty. Last week, a grand jury added the first-degree involuntary manslaughter charge in a superseding indictment.
Thomas’ trial is set to begin Jan. 13. The incident occurred in February of this year.
Thomas remains in custody on a $100,000 bond, according to jail records.
