An infant is dead after a mother claimed to have mistakenly put the baby down for a nap in an oven.
The Kansas City mother, Mariah Thomas, was charged with a first-degree felony of endangering the welfare of a child, death of a child, according to Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker.
The incident happened Friday afternoon when Kansas City police responded to reports of a non-breathing infant. They observed the baby with apparent burns.
The Kansas City Fire Department, which also responded, pronounced the 1-month-old dead at the scene.
"They were told the mother of the child was putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib," the prosecutor's office said in a press release.
Baker issued a statement Saturday when announcing the news.
"We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges. 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," he said.
If convicted, Thomas could be sentenced to 10 years to life in prison, per state law.
