A MOTHER who baked her newborn baby to death has been sentenced to over a decade behind bars, after she accepted a plea deal just weeks before her trial.

Mariah Thomas, 28, pleaded guilty in court on Tuesday, two years after placing her one-month-old baby in an oven.

Mariah Thomas pleaded guilty to endangering a child after she placed her newborn baby in an oven instead of her crib

Police began investigating the death of Za’riah Thomas in 2024 after she was found with her clothes melted to her diaper

Thomas entered a plea agreement that dropped a first-degree murder charge, but she told the court she was guilty of first-degree endangering the welfare of a child.

On February 9, 2024, police began investigating the suspicious death of an infant at a home in Kansas City, Missouri.

When officers arrived at the home, they found a one-month-old baby, identified as Za’riah Thomas, severely burned.

Cops were told Thomas “was putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the oven instead of the crib,” according to the Jackson County Prosecutor’s Office.

Thomas’ plea was accepted by Jackson County Judge Sarah A. Castle on Tuesday morning.

The judge then sentenced the 28-year-old to 13 years in prison without probation, the Kansas City Star reported, citing court documents.

First- degree child endangerment can carry various sentences in Missouri depending on what kind of class felony it is.

Prosecutors said Thomas faced a Class A felony, a charge that can carry a possible sentence of 10 to 30 years or life in prison if the child dies, according to Combs Waterkotte, a criminal defense firm in St. Louis, Missouri.

Thomas’ deal includes the two years she has served in custody, meaning she will serve 11 years behind bars, according to the Daily Mail.

The woman’s plea came just two weeks before she was set to face a jury trial on October 5.

A witness told officers in 2024 that he received a call saying something was wrong with baby Za’riah, and when he returned home, he could smell smoke, the Kansas City Star reported.

The man then found the infant dead inside a crib.

He told officers that he picked the baby up and asked Thomas what happened, which she allegedly replied, “I thought I put [redacted] in her crib and I accidentally put her in the oven.”

The eight-week-old baby was dressed in a “bodysuit” over a diaper, and the clothing appeared to have melted to the diaper, court documents reportedly read.

Source: https://www.the-sun.com/news/17044241/mariah-thomas-prison-sentence-baked-newborn-baby-oven-missouri/