Missouri mom who claimed she mistakenly placed infant in oven, killing her, cops a plea deal

A Missouri mom who placed her 1-month-old baby girl in an oven — then claimed to cops that she mistook the appliance for a crib — has pleaded guilty to the horrific death.

Mariah Thomas, 28, copped a plea deal on Tuesday three years after she was locked up in a Jackson County jail for placing her daughter, Za’Riah Mae, in the oven in February 2024, according to the Daily Mail.

She will serve 11 years in prison.

Cops described the scene inside her Kansas City home as “gruesome” after the helpless infant was found charred and not breathing, according to The Guardian.

Thomas gave police a bizarre excuse, alleging she “was putting her child down for a nap, and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib,” according to Fox 4.

The mother copped to a lesser charge of endangering the welfare of a child resulting in death after prosecutors dropped murder charges.

In the aftermath of the tragedy, Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker lamented that “our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life.”

“We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances,” Baker said, according to the local outlet.

Police responded to Thomas’ home when a witness was told “something was wrong with the baby and he needed to return home immediately,” according to a probable cause statement obtained by the Daily Mail. 

The witness smelled smoke upon arriving and discovered Za’Riah’s body lying inside her crib.

The tiny child was covered in horrific burns, her skin was “blackened” and her clothing and diaper were fused to her skin, court documents state.

First responders found the infant in a car seat suffering from “apparent thermal injuries on various parts of her body.”