A Kansas City mother has been charged with felony child endangerment after authorities allege she put her 1-month-old baby in the oven for a nap, causing the infant's death.
As Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker revealed in a press release on Saturday, the woman, identified as Maria Thomas of Kansas City, Missouri, placed her newborn baby in the oven earlier this week.
People.com reports,
According to the statement, police found the child on Friday after responding to a 911 call reporting an “infant not breathing.” Upon arrival, officers discovered that the child was suffering from “visible burns.”
Authorities were told that Thomas was “putting the baby down for a nap and accidentally putting him in the oven instead of his bed,” the prosecutor said.
The Kansas City Fire Department, which also responded to the alleged crime scene, pronounced the child dead at the scene.
The 1-month-old was discovered “in the living room lying on her car seat just inside the front door” and “suffering obvious thermal injuries throughout her body,” the criminal complaint said.
#to update: Here is a photo of the 26-year-old mother who reportedly accidentally put her baby in the oven. The mother has been arrested and charged for endangering the safety of the child. pic.twitter.com/enp4mvyU23
– Rosalerts (@rawsalerts) February 12, 2024
How does someone accidentally put their 1-month-old baby in the oven? Users on the X were also confused, to say the least.
Whoever does not accidentally put his child in the oven should throw the first stone.
— Illegal rib dealer (@tubingtyler1) February 12, 2024
Others were surprised to discover that the mother was only charged with reckless endangerment.
She was charged with endangerment only?!? You have to be kidding me.
– William Thomas (@williamrno) February 12, 2024
The People.com report goes on to say,
“She was wearing underwear over the diaper. “The clothing appeared to have melted onto the diaper, was very dirty, and possibly burned on the back,” according to the complaint.
A “baby blanket with significant burn marks” was also found on the property and collected by police, the complaint said.
Before calling the police, they said in their complaint that the child's grandfather returned home and smelled smoke in the house. Then he found the little girl dead in her bed.
Thomas then allegedly said she “accidentally put it in the oven.”
A minimum sentence of ten years, up to life, could be imposed on Thomas if found guilty.
So far, no one has issued a statement on Thomas' behalf indicating whether or not she has hired an attorney
