Warning: this article discusses graphic themes which some readers may find distressing.
This is the shocking moment a father confessed that his son was attacked by rats while he slept on the sofa downstairs.
In September 2023, David Schonabaum contacted emergency services after discovering his six-month-old son covered in blood from rat bites.
The infant suffered over 50 bites, with severe injuries to his fingers.
During an interview with Evansville Police, Schonabaum recounted: “Blood was all over the pillow. I picked him up, I saw [sic] the blood everywhere, his diaper was half hanging off of him.
“I took him into the bathroom and I didn’t know what was going on at the time yet, because I hadn’t seen his hands…I thought he had a nosebleed.”
According to Fox 59, the rats had gnawed the flesh from the tips of the boy’s fingers, and following his hospitalization, several fingers required amputation.
The Indiana father explained to police that he had been cleaning the house for his wife before his son was bitten.
“Trying to be a good husband and make sure the house is clean for her,” he stated in a video obtained by Law & Crime.
“Instantly, it was the rats because that’s the only thing that could have been in that room all night,” he added.
A prosecutor described the home as a ‘house of horrors’ during the investigation, with old food found in Schonabaum’s room.
The father admitted to frequently seeing rats in the bathroom each morning, not far from where the baby slept.
Although initially released after questioning, Schonabaum was later arrested and charged with three counts of child neglect—one for the injured child and two for the other children in the ‘horror’ home.
He was sentenced to 16 years in prison in October of the previous year.
Angel Schonabaum, the mother, pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of neglect of a dependent, receiving probation as per the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutor Diana Moers remarked: “Today Angel Schonabaum took responsibility for her role in a home which was found to be a disgusting and dangerous environment for her three children to reside. Although she was not in the home during the rat-bite incident, it is important to note she is being prosecuted for not providing an adequate living arrangement for her children and has lost custody of them.”
Delaina Thurman, the baby’s aunt, also accepted a plea deal and received two years of probation.
Though the baby survived, authorities indicate there will be permanent disfigurement.