A man from Indiana will serve time in prison when it was discovered that his 6-month-old baby had more than 50 rat bites on him in their vermin-infested home.
Based on online court documents, 32-year-old David Schonabaum was sentenced to 16 years on Wednesday. He was convicted on three charges of neglecting the boy and the other two children living in the house.
The case was first made public on September 3, 2023, when Evansville Police Department officers were called to a house in the 1600 block of South Linwood Avenue regarding a newborn that needed emergency medical assistance.
The caller, who was subsequently named as Schonabaum, informed the dispatcher that when he woke up, his baby son was “covered in blood” and that it looked like his fingers had been “chewed off.”
First responders stabilized the infant on the scene, treated him for emergency medical conditions, and transported him to a hospital. The boy received additional specialist care shortly after arrival and was sent by helicopter to another hospital in Indianapolis.
Doctors described the baby as having a “near fatal event” and needed a blood transfusion after nearly falling into shock, according to hospital papers that were given to the authorities.
According to the baby’s doctors, his nose, cheek, and forehead alone had more than 50 bites.
On his right hand, the boy’s four fingers and thumb were missing flesh, revealing bone on all five fingertips. The police reported that the index and pinkie fingers were the most severely affected, with “the flesh missing halfway down each finger.”
The youngster also sustained further bites on his toes, feet, arms, and legs. When he got to the hospital, his blood pressure was 50/30 and his internal body temperature was approximately 93.5.
When asked how critical the boy’s condition was, Evansville police Sgt. Anna Gray told local news outlet, “From what the doctors and nurses told the detectives, very near to death.”
“The child had lost so much blood that the child actually had to have blood transfusions as well. Several fingers had to be amputated.”
She continued, “The only reason that we even knew about it was because the dad woke up and the baby was covered in blood.”
The baby’s bassinet was located just three feet from his parents’ bed in the home’s room that was littered with rat droppings, half-eaten food, and clutter. The investigator reported finding “a large amount of blood” inside the bassinet and seeing “covered in blood” blankets and “boppy pillows.”
According to the affidavit, there was also “blood smeared all over it and what appeared to be rodent footprints left in the blood” on the diaper disposal container.
According to Gray, the adults said that “they did not hear the child cry” in response to questions about how they could have let such horrors be done to a baby.
“This was a case where rats had been living in the home,” Gray stated. “The home was overwhelmed with rodents.”
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Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers told the Evansville Courier & Press that following his conviction, the crime was so horrifying that it will affect law enforcement for a long time.
“The victim in this case was a 6-month-old baby who suffered horrific rat bites to his entire body while lying in a bassinet in his home,” Moers stated.
“When paramedics and police arrived the infant was laying in his crib in a pool of blood and the bites were so bad on his body — including his face, mouth, and extremities — that they left bone showing on one hand and he is now permanently disfigured.”
In the case, the boy’s aunt Delaina Thurman and mother Angel Schonabaum have also entered pleas. On October 24, Angel Schonabaum is scheduled to be sentenced. According to documents, Thurman was given a two-year suspended prison sentence.
