Missouri – Missouri woman, who prosecutors say killed her child and claimed she mistakenly placed the baby in a kitchen appliance instead of the child’s crib, has been indicted, court records say. Last week, the defendant, 26-year-old Marah, was also charged with involuntary manslaughter, in addition to endangering the welfare of a child. The Missouri mother is now facing between 13 and 40 years behind bars if found guilty on both charges, court records say. On Thursday, a grand jury added a count of first-degree lnvoluntary mansIaughter in a superseding indictment.
The investigation process began earlier this year after the 911 caller told the dispatcher about an unresponsive baby. First responders arrived on scene only to realize that the 1-month-old child, Zaria, suffered severe burns all over her body and pronounced the baby dead at the scene. The responding officers reportedly found the baby in the living room, suffering from severe burns. The baby’s clothes and diaper were completely melted and burned. According to the court documents, the woman reportedly refused to speak with authorities, local news outlet KCS reported.
The responding officers also made contact with a family member, who according to prosecutors is the defendant’s father and victim’s grandparent. The man reportedly told investigators that he left the woman with the baby several hours before. When he left, the woman and the baby were doing alright, the man reportedly told investigators. Several hours later, the woman reportedly called the family member and reportedly told him that ‘something is wrong with the baby’ and he needs to come home immediately. When the man arrived home, he reportedly found the child unresponsive and said the home smelled like smoke. According to the family member, the woman reportedly told him that she ‘thought she put the 1-month-old baby in her crib, but accidentally put her in the 0ven.”
The defendant alleged she was putting the child down for a nap and accidentally placed the child in the kitchen appliance instead of the crib, according to the court documents. According to The Daily Beast, the mother has been dealing with mental illnesses since a child and she stopped taking medication for her conditions while pregnant. The defendant’s friend also told the outlet that the mother’s mental health deteriorated further after she gave birth, pointing to posts the woman made on social media in which she claimed that people only cared about her because she had a baby.