Baby Dies After Mother Placed Her in Oven to Sleep

A woman in the United States was arrested and charged with the death of her newborn baby after allegedly placing her baby in the oven to sleep, according to authorities in a report. The report detailed information presented by Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker during a press release on Saturday.

The prosecutor said that the 1-month-old daughter of suspect Mariah Thomas, a Kansas City resident, was found with apparent burns on February 9. The police complaint outlined that when the infant’s grandfather went home, he smelled smoke and later discovered the deceased baby in the crib.

According to People, police responded to an emergency call reporting “a non-breathing infant,” and when the Kansas City Fire Department arrived at the scene, the baby was pronounced dead.

People also reported that a criminal complaint detailed that the baby was discovered “in the living room lying in a car seat just inside of the front door” with “apparent thermal injuries on various parts of her body.”

The newborn, according to the complaint, was wearing a bodysuit that appeared to have melted onto her diaper, and a burned blanket was found.

The prosecutor said that authorities were informed that Thomas, a Kansas City resident, was “putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib.”

The prosecutor further stated that Thomas is now charged with a “Class A felony of Endangering the Welfare of a Child in the 1st Degree, Death of a Child.” If convicted, Thomas could potentially be sentenced to a mandatory minimum of 10 years and a maximum of life imprisonment.