HOUSTON – The mother of a toddler burned to death inside an oven appeared in court Tuesday morning.
Racqual Thompson is charged with four counts of child endangerment. Prosecutors say the charges could be upgraded.
"It's heart wrenching to see the innocent among us, tortured or basically killed in such an awful manner," said prosecutor Stephen Driver. "To see a child placed in a situation that they are not properly supervised, it's terrible, it's awful."
Investigators say Thompson and her boyfriend left the baby alone with her 5- and 3-year-old siblings to go get a pizza. When she and the boyfriend came back, they found the oven tipped over and 19-month-old J'zyra badly burned.
It appeared the child had been placed in the oven. She later died.
Thompson's brother says the family offered to help her care for the kids, but she often turned down their help.
"It's my sister so I hope for my best for her. Do I think she deserves time? Absolutely, my niece died because of her negligence," Kevin Thompson said. "She has to pay for it."
The judge ordered the mother held on a $36,000 bond. Her other children are all still in custody of Child Protective Services. Relatives are trying to get custody.
"She's done a lot of dumb things, but this is by far the worst," Kevin Thompson said.
Thompson is eight months pregnant with her fifth child.
