On a warm summer night in Dayton, Ohio, in August 2005, 28-day-old Paris Talley was sleeping peacefully — or so her mother, China Arnold, claimed. But what really happened inside Apartment D of the Parkside Homes complex would soon make national headlines and horrify even the most seasoned investigators.

When emergency services arrived, they found baby Paris lifeless, her tiny body showing no visible signs of trauma. But as doctors examined her, they discovered something unthinkable: internal burns so severe, they couldn’t have been caused by fire, water, or any conventional source. The truth? This baby had been cooked from the inside out. And the device that caused it was found just a few feet away — a household microwave oven.

At the center of the investigation was China Arnold, a young mother of four with no history of violence, but a troubled past marked by instability, poverty, and alleged domestic abuse. At first, she denied any wrongdoing. Then came the conflicting stories, the changing alibis, and a shocking confession — followed by a retraction. The case spiraled through twists and turns: rumors of another child placing Paris in the microwave, allegations of intoxication and blackout, and a legal battle that stretched across multiple trials.

As the justice system tried to unravel what really happened that night, the world was left to grapple with a question too awful to imagine: Could a mother really do this to her own child?

In this episode, we trace the events leading up to that night, the police investigation that followed, and the court proceedings that would ultimately find China Arnold guilty of aggravated murder. She was sentenced to life in prison without the possibility of parole — but not before the case exposed cracks in the legal process, stirred controversy about maternal mental health, and left a permanent scar on the American true crime landscape.

This is a story about rage, tragedy, and unimaginable choices — and the chilling silence that followed one of the most horrifying crimes in recent memory.