Jury convicts father whose baby was found with over 50 rat bites

EVANSVILLE, Ind. (WFIE/Gray News) – An Indiana jury found a father guilty on three counts of child neglect.

David Schonabaum's 6-month-old son was found with dozens of rat bites on September 13, 2023. According to an affidavit, the 32-year-old called the police after finding his son covered in blood in his crib.

Police reported that the baby had over 50 bites on his forehead, cheek, nose, thigh, foot and toes. His right arm was bitten from the elbow to the hand and all of his fingers were missing, exposing the bones.

Prosecutors asked the jury to hold him accountable for allowing conditions in his home to become so extreme that tragedy eventually occurred.

In their closing argument, the prosecution stated that Schonabaum's son would be permanently disfigured because he had to live in what the lawyer described as an “unclean, unsanitary and rat-infested house.”

They argued that it was Schonabaum's responsibility to maintain a healthy environment for the children.

They said he had “knowingly” allowed conditions to deteriorate because child welfare officials had been advising him for two years to improve the home's condition.

In addition, a pest controller gave him five to ten reusable rat traps on two separate occasions, and there was no evidence that they had been used.

The defense responded that the youth welfare office would not have removed the children from the home in the months before if the conditions there had been so bad.

They also argued that Schonabaum could not have known what would happen and that major changes would cost money they did not have.

The jury found Schonabaum guilty of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily harm in connection with the incident involving his six-month-old son.

They also found him guilty of two other counts of neglect of a dependent towards the two stepchildren who also lived in the house.

Schonabaum's sentencing is scheduled for October 2 at 8:30 a.m.

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