A Kansas City mother allegedly killed her 1-month-old baby by placing her in the oven, according to court documents filed in Jackson County, Missouri.
The mother was arrested and charged with felony child endangerment in the first degree, according to a complaint filed Friday in county circuit court.
Officers from the Kansas City Police Department went to the home Friday afternoon after receiving a report of a “non-breathing infant,” the complaint stated.
“Officers observed apparent burn wounds to the victim’s body,” a detective said in the probable cause statement. “The Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) responded and declared the victim deceased on scene.”
First responders learned the mother “went to put the child down for a nap and accidentally placed her in the oven instead of the crib,” the records said.
The baby’s grandparents told detectives they left the home they share with their daughter earlier that morning.
The child’s grandmother received a call about 1 p.m. from the child’s mother, who was hysterical, and told the grandmother she had put the infant “in the oven instead of the crib,” police said in the statement.
The grandfather returned home after his wife called and told him “something was wrong with the baby,” court records said. He told detectives he could smell smoke inside and found the baby dead in her crib. The baby’s mother told the grandfather that she “accidentally put her in the oven.”
Detectives executing a search warrant found the infant in a car seat in the living room with “thermal injuries on various parts of her body.” The child’s clothing appeared to have melted onto her diaper, and they also found a baby blanket with burn marks, the documents said.
“We acknowledge the gruesome nature of this tragedy and our hearts are weighted by the loss of this precious life,” Jackson County Prosecutor Jean Peters Baker said in a statement. “We trust the criminal justice system to respond appropriately to these awful circumstances.”
It was unclear Sunday whether the mother had retained an attorney. If she is found guilty, she faces 10 years to life in prison.