Father found guilty after his 6-month-old child nearly died from 50 rat bites in his contaminated home

An Indiana father was found guilty after his six-month-old son nearly died from more than 50 rat bites in his vermin-infested home, court records say.

David Schonabaum, 32, was found guilty of three counts of child neglect of his young son and two other children in the same household. The district attorney called the case “shocking.”

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers announced that the six-month-old is now permanently disfigured after suffering the “horrific rat bites” while lying in his crib before emergency responders arrived at the Evansville home on September 13, 2023.

“When paramedics and police arrived, the baby was lying in a pool of blood in his crib and the bites on his body – on his face, mouth and extremities – were so severe that bones were visible on one hand,” said the 34-year-old. Evansville Courier & Press.

In their closing argument, the prosecution argued that it was Schonabaum's responsibility to provide a safe and healthy home for his children, but instead he “knowingly” allowed conditions to deteriorate.

They also claimed that the Department of Child Services (DCS) had been advising him to sanitize his home for two years before his baby suffered the horrific injuries, and that a pest control worker had given him five to ten reusable rat traps on two separate occasions with no sign that they had been used.

Schonabaum was arrested a year ago along with his wife and the children's mother, Angel Schonabaum, 29, and their aunt, Delaina Thurman.

Thurman, David Schonabaum's sister, has two children of her own and was sentenced to two years' probation in January after taking a plea deal related to the neglect charge.

The Evansville Police Department (EPD) arrived at the home after David Schonabaum reported that the baby needed emergency medical attention. When they woke up, he was “covered in blood” and his fingers appeared to be “bitten off.”

Doctors found over 50 rodent bites on his forehead, cheek and nose alone. There were more on his arms, legs, feet and toes.

On the index and little fingers of his right hand, “flesh was missing halfway up each finger,” police said.

After the baby's condition was stabilized, emergency responders took him to a local hospital. Upon arrival, his temperature was around 34 degrees Celsius and his blood pressure was 50/30.

His condition was described as so serious that he was flown by helicopter to a more specialized hospital in Indianapolis. Doctors described the incident to police as “nearly fatal.”

“The child had lost so much blood that he actually needed blood transfusions. Several fingers had to be amputated,” EPD Sergeant Anna Gray told WEHT.

“The only reason we knew about it was because the father woke up and the baby was covered in blood,” she continued. “It's one of those situations where they just weren't paying attention.”

According to police, the room where the baby and his parents slept was littered with garbage and rat droppings, and the crib and blanket were smeared with blood.

According to the affidavit, they also found rodent footprints in the blood on the diaper bin.

The trial against Angel Schonabaum is still pending.