Infant Dies After Mother Accidentally Placed Her In The Oven

A Missouri mother is behind bars after she allegedly placed her infant daughter in the oven instead of her crib. Mariah Thomas, 26, was taken into custody and was charged with first-degree endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death.

If convicted, she faces between ten years and life in prison.

Authorities said that they received a 911 call from Thomas's father, reporting that the child was not breathing. When officers arrived, they found the child in a car seat near the front door.

"She was clothed in a bodysuit over a diaper. The clothing appeared to have melted onto the diaper, and it was very dirty, possibly burned on the backside," officers wrote in the criminal complaint.

The baby was declared dead at the scene.

"We appreciate all first responders who worked this scene and the prosecutors who went to the scene in order to issue these charges," Jackson County prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a press release. "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."