A 19-month-old girl died after being placed in an oven while she and her three older siblings were left alone recently in a Houston apartment, according to authorities and a report.
The victim, identified as J’zyra Thompson, was found deceased next to a stove with severe burn marks on Nov. 17, according to a news release from the Houston Police Department.
The child’s parents were not in the apartment when the incident occurred,” the release stated, adding, “At this time, the incident appears to be an accident.”
According to television station KTRK, Racquel Thompson, the victim’s mother, left the toddler and three older children — all under the age of 5 — by themselves while she and her boyfriend went to get pizza.
While the couple was out, one of the children put the youngster in the oven while the other one turned it on, according to court records obtained by KTRK. The toddler apparently kicked the oven door from inside as the children made it “hot.”
Thompson tried, unsuccessfully, to perform CPR on the little girl when she got home, the television station reported.
The girl’s mother told authorities she would often leave the kids alone at home while she went to drive her boyfriend to work, the station reported, citing court records.
The night of J’zyra’s death, Thompson and her boyfriend went to get takeout at Domino’s Pizza, then stopped at a Walgreens.
The station reported that Thompson did not tell the children’s grandmother, who also lives in the apartment complex, that she was leaving the kids by themselves.
The children were last reported to be in foster care.
No charges have been filed in the case, according to Houston police.