New details are emerging about the Missouri mother who allegedly mistook an oven for a crib and caused the infant’s death.
As CrimeOnline previously reported, authorities in Kansas City found 1-month-old Za’Riah Mae dead with burn injuries on Friday. The girl’s mother, 26-year-old Mariah Thomas, allegedly told investigators that she thought she had put the girl in her crib but “accidentally put her in the oven.”
Thomas has been charged with endangering the welfare of a child leading to death, a felony, according to Fox 4.
Someone who claims to be Thomas’ friend told the Daily Mail that Thomas may have had mental health or cognitive challenges, which may have been a factor in the incident.
“Mariah had mental issues from what I know and didn’t have the mindset of an adult, she thought like a child,” the unnamed friend told the DailyMail.
CrimeOnline has not independently verified the friend’s account, nor have police confirmed it publicly.
The baby’s grandfather told authorities he got a call that something was wrong and he needed to come home immediately. When he got to the home, the grandfather told police that he could smell smoke and found the baby in a crib.
The baby’s grandmother also says Thomas called her and was yelling “hysterically” on the phone.
Thomas reportedly lived with her parents.
When she was found, Za’Riah Mae was wearing a bodysuit and a diaper, which appeared to have melted on the child. Police also recovered a charred baby blanket.
On social media, Thomas appeared to be a doting mother, in one post writing that she wanted to be “the best mother I can be to my beautiful daughter,” according to a Facebook account reviewed by CrimeOnline.
Another post raised questions about her state of mind. “Mfs claim they my friend by don’t never check up on me or Za’Riah,” Thomas wrote on January 20.
[Feature Photo: Za’Riah Mae/Facebook]
