Missouri mom killed her new born by putting her in hot oven…gets 13 years after pleading guilty

A Missouri woman who said she mistakenly placed her one-month-old daughter in an oven instead of her crib has been sentenced to 13 years in prison after a plea deal saw a first-degree murder charge against her dropped.

Mariah Thomas, 28, pleaded guilty on Tuesday to first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death, according to Jackson County court records cited by Fox News. She was ordered to serve 13 years in the Missouri Department of Corrections, with no probation, though she will be credited for time already served.

The case stems from an incident on February 9, 2024, when Kansas City police responded to a report of a baby not breathing. Officers found the infant, later identified as Za’riah Thomas, with burns across her body; she was pronounced dead at the scene by fire department personnel.

Investigators said Thomas told them she had gone to put her daughter down for a nap but “accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib.” A family member reportedly relayed a similar account from Thomas.

Thomas was initially charged only with child endangerment, but prosecutors later added a first-degree murder count, which was dismissed under Tuesday’s plea agreement. Then-Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker had earlier described the case as a “gruesome” tragedy.

Judge Sarah A. Castle ruled that Thomas entered her plea freely and voluntarily, and ordered her to pay $68 to Missouri’s Crime Victims’ Compensation Fund.