A mother in Missouri has been accused of baking her newborn daughter to death in an oven, according to the Daily Mail. The mother claimed she thought the oven was a crib.
Mariah Thomas, 26, was eventually charged with endangering the life of a child after one-month-old Za’Riah Mae was discovered dead with “burn wounds.” The authorities were called to the woman’s Kansas City home after reports that the child was not breathing.
When the police arrived at the home, they discovered that the infant had been covered in burns. And her “blackened” clothing had been melted onto her diaper, per the report.
The New York Post reported that Thomas told the authorities she was “putting her child down for a nap, and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of a crib.” One of Thomas’ friends suggested that mental illness could have played a role in the horrific incident.
“Mariah had mental issues from what I know and didn’t have the mindset of a [sic] adult, she thought like a child,” the friend said.
The infant’s grandfather told the authorities that he received a call from Thomas around 1:00 p.m. on Friday. She told him that “something was wrong with the baby and he needed to return home immediately.”
Upon returning home, the grandfather immediately smelled smoke and found the infant dead in her crib. Thomas said that she had “accidentally” put the infant in the oven, according to court filings.
When Thomas was taken into custody, she apparently invoked her Fifth Amendment right to remain silent.
Reports suggested that her social media accounts appear to show she was a loving mother who cared for her child. She referred to the infant as her “princess.”
The Daily Mail reported that in one Facebook post, she expressed how she wanted to be the “best mother I can be to my beautiful daughter.”
However, not all of her social media posts painted a positive image.
Leading up to the horrific incident, she claimed on social media that no one was looking out for her or her daughter, writing: “Mfs claim they my friend by don’t never check up on me or Za’Riah.”
The ominous message was written on January 20.
Thomas is being held at the Jackson County Detention Center.
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