Callum Jones
Warning: this article discusses graphic themes which some readers may find distressing.
Here's the horrific moment a dad admitted his son was eaten by rats while he slept downstairs on the sofa.
Back in September 2023, David Schonabaum called for the emergency services after he woke up to discover his young son, who was six months old at the time, covered in blood after being bitten by rats.
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The infant had suffered from more than 50 bites across, with his fingers badly affected.
Speaking to Evansville Police during questioning, Schonabaum said: “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.”
Fox 59 reported the boy’s flesh had been chewed off the top of his fingers by the rats, and once he had been transported to hospital for treatment, several of the baby’s fingers had to be amputated.
The Indiana father told police he had been working on getting the house clean and tidy for his wife prior to his son getting bitten.
“Trying to be a good husband and make sure the house is clean for her,” he told investigators, as per 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 said.
Upon further investigation, a prosecutor called the inside of the home a 'house of horrors', while the investigating team also found old food in Schonabaum's room.
The dad admitted to regularly seeing rats in the bathroom every single morning, a short distance away from where the baby would be sleeping.
While officials released Schonabaum after initial questioning, he was later detained and charged three counts of child neglect — one for the injured child and two for the other children living in the 'horror' home.
In October last year, he was sentenced to 16 years behind bars.
As for the mother, Angel Schonabaum, she pleaded guilty to one count of neglect of a dependent resulting in serious bodily injury and two counts of neglect of a dependent and was sentenced to prohibition, according to the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor’s Office.
Prosecutor Diana Moers said: “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."
Aunt to the baby, Delaina Thurman, also took a plea deal and was served two years of probation.
Although the baby survived, authorities say they will be permanently disfigured.