Kansas City mother arrested after âaccidentallyâ putting baby in oven instead of crib

Prosecutors have charged a Kansas City mother with endangering the welfare of a child after she told police that she mistakenly placed her 1-month-old baby in an oven instead of her crib, according to court documents filed Saturday.

The charge against Mariah Thomas is a Class A felony, prosecutors said Saturday.

Her child was declared dead Friday afternoon after emergency workers descended on a home in the 4100 block of Forest Avenue in the Manheim Park neighborhood. The infant had burn marks on her body and melted clothing, according to a probable cause affidavit filed in support of the criminal charge.

In a statement Saturday, Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said she appreciated the first responders and the prosecutors who rushed to the scene where the child was found.

“We acknowledge the gruesome nature of this tragedy and our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life,” Baker said. “We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances.”

Kansas City police responded to the Manheim Park residence at 1:24 p.m. Friday on a report of an infant that was not breathing. According to the police affidavit, the baby lay in a car seat inside the living room near the front door.

Officers observed apparent burn wounds on the baby’s body, the affidavit said, and the Kansas City Fire Department declared the child dead at the scene.

In the affidavit, officers said they told detectives that a witness said the mother of the child went to put the infant down for a nap and “accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.” Detectives took statements from a witness who said around 1 p.m. he received a call that something was wrong with the baby and that he needed to return home immediately.

When he returned home, the affidavit said, he could smell smoke inside the house and found the baby dead inside the crib.

According to the affidavit, he picked up the baby and asked what happened. At that time, Thomas allegedly said, “I thought I put (redacted) in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven.”

The baby had apparent “thermal injuries” on various parts of her body, the probable cause statement said. She was clothed 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,” the affidavit said. A baby blanket with “significant burn marks” was found in the living room.

Corinne Foreman, whose family has lived in the neighborhood for three years, told The Star on Friday that the block is typically a quiet one, packed with children who play outside. She said she heard someone yelling in distress Friday and then the sound of emergency sirens.

“And the next thing you know, I just heard, ‘They’re gone. They’re gone,’” said Foreman, 31, who has been staying with her family members for the past couple months.

She said she suspected the investigation involved a child when she saw a police officer holding a baby carrier.

“I thought I saw some kind of bag or something covered up in it,” Foreman said.

A spokeswoman with the Department of Social Services did not respond to an email about the child’s death that The Star sent on Friday.