A Kansas City mother allegedly killed her 1-month-old baby by putting it in an oven, according to Jackson County, Missouri court records.
The mother was arrested and charged with first-degree child endangerment, according to a complaint filed Friday in county circuit court.
Kansas City Police Department officers went to the home Friday afternoon after receiving reports of a “baby not breathing.”
“Officers observed obvious burn wounds to the victim’s body,” the detective said in a probable cause statement. “The Kansas City Fire Department (KCFD) responded and pronounced the victim dead at the scene.”
First responders learned the mother “went to put the child to sleep and accidentally put him in the oven instead of the crib.”
The baby’s grandparents told detectives they had left the home they shared with their daughter earlier in the morning.
According to the police statement, the child’s grandmother was called by the hysterical mother of the child around 1:00 p.m. and told the grandmother that she “put the child in the oven instead of the crib.”
The grandfather returned home after his wife called and told him “something happened with the baby,” court documents say. She told detectives she smelled smoke inside and found the baby dead in her crib. The baby’s mother told her grandfather he “accidentally put it in the oven.”
Detectives who executed a search warrant found the baby in a car seat in the living room with “heat injuries on various parts of her body.” The child’s clothes had melted over his diaper and a baby blanket with burn marks was also found, the documents said.
“We recognize the horrific nature of this tragedy and our hearts are heavy with the loss of this precious life,” Jackson County District Attorney Jean Peters Baker said in a statement. “We believe the criminal justice system will respond appropriately to these horrific situations.”
It was not clear Sunday if the mother had retained an attorney. If convicted, he faces 10 years to life in prison.