A heartbreaking story is unfolding in Kansas City, Missouri, where a mother has been accused of accidentally causing the tragic death of her infant daughter. Mariah Thomas, a 26-year-old, has been in jail since February, facing serious charges for what prosecutors say was a horrific mistake.
The incident happened on February 9 when Kansas City police were called to a home around 1:30 p.m. They were responding to a report of a baby who wasn’t breathing. When officers arrived, they found a baby girl with severe burns. According to the police, a male relative told them that the family had gone out earlier that day, leaving Thomas home alone with the baby. He said everything seemed fine when they left.
But around 1 p.m., Thomas called him in a panic, saying something was wrong with the baby and that he needed to come home immediately. When the man rushed back, he said he smelled smoke as soon as he entered the house. He found the baby lifeless in her crib and asked Thomas what had happened.
Her response left him stunned: “I thought I put [the baby] in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven.”
Police found the baby in a car seat in the living room, and the details of what they uncovered are devastating. The little girl had burns all over her body, and her onesie appeared to have melted onto her diaper. They also found a burned baby blanket in the home. Thomas refused to talk to investigators after the incident.
A grand jury recently added an involuntary manslaughter charge to her case. She was already charged with endangering the welfare of a child, and together, these charges could result in a prison sentence of up to 40 years if she’s convicted. Her trial is scheduled to begin on January 13, and she remains in jail on a $100,000 bond.
Neighbors in the area are in shock over what happened. One neighbor, Corrine Foreman, described seeing emergency responders rushing back and forth with a baby carrier, calling the scene heartbreaking. Another neighbor, Amber Morgan, expressed her sadness over the loss, saying, “No child should have to go through something like this.”
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker released a statement calling the situation “gruesome” and expressing deep sympathy for the loss of the young life. “We trust the criminal justice system to handle this appropriately,” she said.
This tragic story has left the community grappling with the unimaginable loss of an innocent life and the haunting questions about how such a heartbreaking mistake could happen.
