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Toddler burned to death in oven: Shocking story of severe neglect

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'She was a sweet baby. This is unexplainable. I have no words.'

In a heart-breaking and gross display of child endangerment, 19-month-old J'zyra Thompson was found burned to death near the stove in her home Tuesday morning. 

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LOS ANGELES, CA (Catholic Online) - Thompson was left alone with three siblings aged three to five-years-old while their mother, who has yet to be named, went to work. 

Authorities claim the child's mother left her kids under her boyfriend's supervision while she went to work, but when emergency responders arrived, there were no adults to be found. 

Police reported the children began to play with the oven, and at nearly midnight someone called 911. By the time responders arrived, little Thompson was already dead, burned and laying on the floor near the oven. 

It is not clear whether she had been playing on the stove top or in the oven, but authorities arrested Thompson's pregnant mother and boyfriend and no charges have been announced. The three surviving children were immediately placed in protective custody.

Thompson's grandmother, Gina Dennis, was interviewed by KPRC and said J'zyra "was a sweet baby. This is unexplainable. I have no words."

Meanwhile, Thompon's uncle, Jessie Braden, told KHOU, "I just need to know what happened. What really happened? So something like this don't happen no more."

Following the incident, neighbors admitted they often saw the kids alone at home. One neighbor, Miranda Oneil Johnson, said the children would sometimes wear "just a Pamper on, no shirt, no shoes or nothing. Like running around I'm like, 'Where is the momma or the daddy?'"

The family has created a GoFundMe account in an effort to raise money to pay for little Thompson's funeral. The description reads: "As many of you may have already heard our family lost previous [sic] J'Zyrah last night.She was only 1 yrs old and loved by everyone, her smile was neverending. I've created this account to help my niece with funeral arrangements. We don't have the exact date or time of the funeral but will keep everyone posted. Thanks for taking the time to help."

As of Wednesday afternoon, the fund had received $65 of a $5,000 goal.

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Deacon Keith Fournier Hi readers, it seems you use Catholic Online a lot; that's great! It's a little awkward to ask, but we need your help. If you have already donated, we sincerely thank you. We're not salespeople, but we depend on donations averaging $14.76 and fewer than 1% of readers give. If you donate just $5.00, the price of your coffee, Catholic Online School could keep thriving. Thank you. Help Now >

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