An Indiana father whose infant was found deformed in a pool of blood after being eaten alive by rats will spend more than 10 years behind bars after a judge handed him the maximum sentence. Become.
When Evansville police responded to a “house of horrors,” a 6-month-old baby was left in a basket with more than 50 bites on her body, face and limbs, her tiny fingers gnawed to the bone, and bloodied. was discovered inside. Sept. 13, 2023, according to the Vanderburgh County Prosecutor's Office.
Prosecutors said the infant nearly died from blood loss and now has permanent damage.
The baby's father, David Schoenabaum, 32, was sentenced Wednesday to 16 years in prison after a jury found him guilty last month of three felonies related to neglect and endangerment of children. fox 59 Reported.
“This case was horrific and we will forever live with this photo of this baby,” prosecutor Diana Moers said in a statement. news release.
“The baby was living in a veritable house of horrors with her siblings and the family dog.”
Schoenabaum, his wife Angel Renee Schoenabaum, 29, and his sister Delania Thurman were arrested after a father called 911 to report that his infant son was covered in blood and seriously injured by a rat inside their home. was arrested.
According to police records, the tragic baby was flown to an Indianapolis hospital where she was treated and received a blood transfusion after her temperature dropped to 93.5 degrees.
Officials said the infant's right hand suffered the most trauma, with the flesh of each finger and thumb missing and the bones of all five fingertips exposed.
The family's South Linwood Avenue home, which also includes the boy's siblings, ages 3 and 6, and his cousins, ages 2 and 5, is in deplorable conditions, infested with rats, clutter, trash, bugs, and more. It was full of trash. It was rat droppings, prosecutors said.
But the rat attack on the baby wasn't the first time the pest had targeted children in the home.
Prosecutors said three children in the home had previously been bitten by rats while sleeping, and that the Indiana Department of Children's Services had visited the home to address safety concerns prior to the infant's terrifying scratch. It added that it had provided assistance.
Prosecutors argued that the infant's father failed to address issues that would have provided the children with a safe environment to live in.
“It is an absolute shock to the conscience for anyone to live in such conditions, especially when their children, babies and animals are helpless. To allow them to live in filth,” Moers said.
“I also can't imagine how the rat was able to cause so much damage to this toddler before the father called for help.”
The child's mother pleaded guilty last week to felony child neglect and will be sentenced on October 24, FOX 59 reported.
Thurman was sentenced to two years' probation in April. 14 News reported.
