A Missouri woman named Mariah Thomas "accidentally" placed her one-month-old in an oven, thinking she was placing the baby in a crib in February. The hot oven burned the baby's body and killed the newborn. First responders declared the baby dead, and police have now charged Thomas with involuntary manslaughter.
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The incident took place on February 9 at the 4100 block of Forest Avenue, when first responders received a report of a "non-breathing infant," according to court documents. The infant suffered burns on her body and her clothes had melted into her diaper. "I thought I put (redacted) in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven," Thomas allegedly said at the time, according to The Kansas City Star.
The Kansas City Fire Department declared the one-month-old dead at the scene, according to The Kansas City Star. According to statements gathered by detectives, an unidentified witness came into the house after he received a call from Thomas. Thomas said that something was wrong with the baby, asking the witness to "return home immediately."
The Jackson County Prosecutor's Office issued a press release on January 10, one day after the tragedy. One of the prosecutors, Jean Peters Baker, issued a statement in it as well.
"We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges," prosecutor Baker said in a statement. He called the tragedy "gruesome" and that the "loss of this precious life" weighed their hearts. "We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances," he concluded.
A Gruesome Incident
Neighbors were in shock after hearing about the one-month-old's death. The Manheim Park neighborhood, in particular the block where the incident took place, is a very quiet one, according to Corinne Foreman. She was staying in the Missouri neighborhood at the time with her family.
Foreman had heard yelling the day the incident happened and subsequent sirens. "And the next thing you know, I just heard, 'They're gone. They're gone," she told the Kansas City Star. She then correctly guessed that something horribly wrong had happened involving a child. She saw one officer with a baby carrier. "I thought I saw some kind of bag or something covered up in it," Foreman said.
At the time, authorities charged Mariah Thomas with endangering the welfare of a child, according to KMBC. She pleaded not guilty. However, in December, in a superseding indictment, a grand jury added a first-degree involuntary manslaughter count. Thomas' trial will start on January 13, 2025.
