Missouri mom gets 13 years after she ‘accidentally’ puts baby in oven instead of crib — murder charge dropped

BS BULLETIN:

Mariah Thomas pleaded guilty Tuesday to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.
Her 1-month-old daughter died in 2024 after Thomas said she accidentally put the baby in an oven instead of her crib.
Thomas received 13 years in prison while a first-degree murder charge was dismissed under the plea agreement.

A Missouri mother whose infant daughter died after being placed inside an oven will spend 13 years in prison after reaching a plea agreement that resulted in prosecutors dropping a first-degree murder charge.

Mariah Thomas, 28, pleaded guilty Tuesday in Jackson County to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.

Judge Sarah A. Castle sentenced Thomas to 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections without probation. She will receive credit for time already served.

The case dates back to February 2024, when Kansas City police were called to a home after receiving a report that an infant was not breathing.

First responders discovered Thomas’ 1-month-old daughter, Za’Riah, with severe burns. She was pronounced dead at the scene.

According to charging documents, investigators were told Thomas had intended to put the baby down for a nap but instead placed her inside the oven.

A family member told detectives that Thomas said:

“I thought I put [her] in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven.”

Investigators said the infant was wearing a bodysuit over a diaper and that portions of her clothing appeared to have melted onto the diaper. A badly burned baby blanket was also recovered from the home.

Thomas was initially charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. Prosecutors subsequently added a first-degree murder charge.

That murder count was dismissed Tuesday as part of the agreement under which Thomas pleaded guilty to the child-endangerment charge.

The plea came just two weeks before Thomas had been scheduled to face a jury trial on Oct. 5.

Court records indicate Castle determined that Thomas entered her plea voluntarily and understood both the charge and its consequences. The judgment also states that Thomas had no mental disease or defect defense.

When the case was originally filed, then-Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker described the baby’s death as a “gruesome” tragedy.

“We acknowledge the gruesome nature of this tragedy, and our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life,” Baker said at the time.

Thomas will now be transferred from Jackson County custody to the state prison system to serve her sentence.