A Missouri woman has pleaded guilty to first-degree “endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death” after she killed her infant daughter by putting her in the oven.
Prosecutors dropped a first-degree murder charge against the mother, Mariah K. Thomas, 28, as part of the deal.
Judge Sarah A. Castle sentenced the Kansas City woman to 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections with no probation.
The infant, Za’Riah Mae Thomas, was about eight weeks old when she was killed by the person she was dependent on for protection.
Kansas City police were called to a home on February 9, 2024, on a report that an infant could not breathe.
A relative who rushed home had said he smelled smoke and found the infant in her crib. He asked Thomas what happened. She told him she thought she had put the baby in the crib and had put her in the oven instead.
Officers found the baby unresponsive with burn injuries.
Firefighters pronounced her dead at the scene.
Thomas has been in the Jackson County jail since shortly after she was arrested.
The Daily Mail reported the killer mom will get time served for her pre-trial detention, so she is likely to serve approximately 11 more years.
Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said, “Our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life.”
Baker added, “We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances.”
Thomas was supposed to go to trial on the murder charge in October.
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