Indiana Father Found Guilty After Baby Suffers Over 50 Rat Bites in ‘House of Horrors’
Angel Renee Schonabaum/Facebook
A Southern Indiana father has been found guilty on three felony charges after his 6-month-old son nearly died from over 50 untreated rat bites in the family’s deteriorating home last year. The Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office announced on Sept. 11 that a jury convicted 32-year-old David Anthony Schonabaum of three felony charges, including child negligence causing serious bodily injury.
The horrifying incident occurred in September 2023, when first responders arrived at the family’s Evansville, Indiana home. They found the infant in his bassinet, “in a pool of blood with over 50 bites to his body, including his face and extremities,” according to the prosecutor’s office. Schonabaum had called 911, reporting that he discovered his son “covered in blood.”
The most severe injuries were to the baby’s right hand, where “all four fingers and the thumb were missing flesh, exposing the fingertip bones,” the prosecutor’s office stated. Medical professionals testified that the infant nearly died from blood loss and now faces permanent injuries due to the neglect, reported FOX 8 News.
Authorities had already visited the home before the incident, responding to safety concerns raised by the Department of Child Services. Schonabaum was advised to cooperate in fixing up the house, but on the day of the incident, photos showed the home to be in a “deplorable, unlivable condition,” overrun with rats, bugs, trash, and rat feces.
“This baby now faces permanent injuries from this incident,” the prosecutor’s office emphasized. Vanderburgh County Prosecutor Diana Moers described the severity of the child’s injuries and living conditions in a statement, calling the situation “unimaginable.” She revealed that the rat bites had “permanently disfigured” the baby, who lived with his young siblings in what she termed a “house of horrors.” The family’s pet dog also lived in the same squalor.
“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. Schonabaum’s most serious charge, child negligence causing serious bodily injury, carries a maximum sentence of 16 years in prison. Moers remarked on the case’s lasting impact, saying, “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 allow their children and animals to live in such filth.”
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.
