The Missouri mother who told police she accidentally baked her baby to death had suffered from mental illness for years, a longtime friend told The Daily Beast on Sunday.
Mariah Thomas , 26, is charged with endangering the welfare of a child and could face a decade or more in prison in connection with the death of 1-month-old daughter Za’Riah.
According to a police affidavit, Thomas told her parents—who were not home at the time—that she went to put the infant down for a nap and mistakenly put her in the oven instead of the crib.
Responding officers found the baby covered in “thermal” burns, her onesie melted into her diaper.
It was not immediately clear if authorities accepted Thomas’ explanation for the death of her child, and her family did not respond to requests for comment. Authorities did not release any details about Thomas’ mental health history.
A close friend, who asked not to be identified amid an outpouring of vitriol against Thomas and her family on social media, does not believe she purposefully killed the child.