Toddler burns to death in oven
PUBLISHED ONNovember 25, 2015 2:26 AM
A 19-month-old toddler in Houston, Texas, died from severe burns after she was put in an oven by one of her two three-year-old siblings.
The children were left alone in their apartment last Monday night, according to court documents.
The two siblings told investigators from the Texas Child Protective Services (CPS) that one of them put little J'zyra Thompson inside the oven and the other turned it on, local TV station KTRK-TV reported, citing court documents it obtained.
The oldest sibling, who is five years old, was apparently asleep at the time.
Police believe the four children had been left home alone by their mother Racquel Thompson and her boyfriend.
The couple went out without telling their grandmother, who lived in the same apartment complex.
J'zyra and two of her siblings then began playing with the oven.
The two siblings told CPS workers that they made the oven "hot".
They also said that baby J'zyra was kicking the oven door while inside, according to court records.
When Ms Thompson returned home from going out with her boyfriend to get a pizza and pick up a prescription, she attempted CPR but it was too late, USA Today reported.
J'Zyra died of multiple burns.
The grandmother of the four kids said she's still trying to figure out why her grandchildren were left home alone and exactly how her youngest grandchild died.
"Never leave your child home alone. Never," Ms Gina Dennis said in an interview with Houston news website Khou.com
Neighbours claimed it was not uncommon to see the toddler and her siblings unsupervised.
"With just a (diaper) on, no shirt, no shoes or nothing," neighbour Miranda Oneil Johnson said.
"Like, running around. I'm like, 'Where is the momma or the daddy?'"
Police have not filed any charges against the mother or her boyfriend, but CPS workers said in court documents that charges are expected to be filed.
J'zyra's three other siblings have been taken into CPS custody.
This article was first published on Nov 24, 2015.
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