Infant Found with 50 Rat Bites Nearly Died from Blood Loss. His Father Was Just Convicted

09/16/2024 01:07 PM

The 6-month-old child is "permanently disfigured" from the injuries, according to authorities

Content warning: The following article contains disturbing descriptions.

A Southern Indiana father was found guilty on three felony charges after his 6-month-old son "nearly died," according to prosecutors, after suffering more than 50 untreated rat bites at the family's dilapidated house last year in 2023.

The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office announced a jury found David Anthony Schonabaum guilty on three felonies on Sept. 11. 

Last September, first responders discovered the baby "in his bassinet in a pool of blood with over 50 bites to his body including his face and extremities" after Schonabaum, now 32, called 911 saying he found his infant son "covered in blood," according to the prosecutor's office statement last week.

"The infant's right hand suffered the most traumatic injuries with all four fingers and the thumb missing flesh and exposing the fingertip bones," the prosecutor's office said. 

Related: Indiana Baby Found with More Than 50 Rat Bites Covering His Body

According to authorities, officials from the Department of Child Services had already been to the Evansville, Ind., home to "address the safety concerns" at the house and got a "third party" involved with helping fix up the house, telling Schonabaum that his "participation was necessary" to help upkeep the house, as well. However, the prosecutor's office said photographs taken of the house on the day the 6-month-old child was found nearly bleeding to death had "revealed the home in a deplorable, unlivable condition."

"A medical professional testified at the trial to the severity of the infant's injuries, reporting the infant child nearly died from blood loss," the prosecutor's office added. "This baby now faces permanent injuries from this incident."

Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers said in a statement last week that Schonabaum's most serious charge of child negligence causing serious bodily injury carries a potential maximum sentence of 16 years in prison. 

Moers said the rat bites had "permanently disfigured" the baby boy. 

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"The home he was forced to live in with his young siblings was overrun by rats and bugs, and the photos of the home show it full of trash and rat feces," Moers added. "This baby lived in an absolute house of horrors along with his siblings and pet dog."

Calling the situation "unimaginable," Moers continued: "This case is horrific, and we will live with the images of this baby forever. It is completely shocking to the conscience that anyone would live in these conditions, much less allow their children, baby, and animals to live among absolute filth when they cannot help themselves."

If you suspect child abuse, call the Childhelp National Child Abuse Hotline at 1-800-4-A-Child or 1-800-422-4453, or go to www.childhelp.org. All calls are toll-free and confidential. The hotline is available 24/7 in more than 170 languages.

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