Missouri mom sentenced to just 13 years in prison for roasting her baby to death in an oven, claimed she thought it was the crib

A Missouri woman has accepted a plea deal with prosecutors that will see her behind bars for 13 years after she placed her one-month-old baby into an oven, claiming that she thought it was her crib. The infant died as a result, suffering severe burns.

Mariah Thomas, 28, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death. She had also been charged with first-degree murder, but that count was dismissed as part of the plea deal, per Fox News. She has been ordered to serve 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections.

The incident took place on February 9, 2024, with officers responding to a call at around 1:30 pm reporting that a baby was not breathing. When police arrived, they found the one-month-old child with burns across her body. She was pronounced dead at the scene by Kansas City Fire Department personnel. 

Investigators had been told that when Thomas went to put her daughter down for a nap, she “accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.” A family member told detectives that Thomas had said, “I thought I put [her] in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven."

Investigators said that the bodysuit the child had been wearing appeared to have melted onto her diaper, and a baby blanket with significant burn marks was recovered from the living room. Local news identified the infant as Za'riah Thomas. 

In announcing the charges back in 2024, then-Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, “We acknowledge the gruesome nature of this tragedy, and our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life. We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances.”